Sky of blue, sea of Green (Beer Day shirts)

Starting in the wee hours of March 19, Miami University students across Oxford will begin celebrating Green Beer Day (GBD), a “holiday” where students dress up in green clothing or wear shirts sporting pop culture references related in some way to drinking beer colored a ghastly shade of green.

A quick search of “Green Beer Day” on Instagram reveals countless apparel accounts, each offering their own take on the local holiday, promotions and prices. To someone shopping for clothing, all the brands might blend together and look the same.

The individuals who create the apparel, however, are distinctly different from one another.

Some creators juggle this side hustle and attend classes at Miami simultaneously.

Brent Reichert is a senior mechanical engineering major, and co-creator of the GBD-centric brand Do Epic Shirt. He and his partner, a fellow Miami senior, started their business last year.

As a student, Reichert doesn’t dedicate himself entirely to his business. But he and his partner still put plenty of effort into their entrepreneurial efforts.

All of the designs are created by Reichert and his partner. However, neither one has any background with graphic design. Through watching tutorials, the two were able to teach themselves how to use Adobe Illustrator.

“I’m passionate about entrepreneurship,” Reichert said, “and being able to go home and spend your time building something that can benefit other people and you can build a product that someone else might want.”

Unlike Reichert, Tyler Nichols isn’t a Miami student; at least not anymore.

Nichols, who attended Miami in 2013, started Green Beer Day Inc. last year with the help of two friends. Before coming together as a team, each member had individually worked to sell GBD apparel. After realizing they could work together, they merged their business ventures for fun.

“We were like, ‘you know what, screw it, let’s make Green Beer Day shirts,’” Nichols said.

And just like that, the business was created with its first post on Instagram in January 2019.

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Nichols, the only partner still living in Oxford, takes on the responsibility of engaging with people and taking photos for their Instagram. After being in the area for many years, Nichols has gotten to know many faces, and these are the people that are usually featured in the posts.

While other GBD apparel accounts tend to feature students, Green Beer Day Inc. features several photos of bartenders Uptown.

Currently, Nichols himself is a bartender at Pachinko’s.

Another member of the business, who lives out of state, creates the designs.

All three of them contribute to the brainstorming process. Anything related to pop culture, memes or songs is fair game. It is designs like these that help the business stick out among competition from other apparel Instagrams and websites.

“You have to find things that are actually ‘in,’” Nichols said.

Other “in” designs made by the business are a “Save The Turtles Drink Green Beer” shirt and a shirt that appears to play off the hit song “Old Town Road” by Lil Nas X. The shirt reads: “I’m Gonna Get My Beers From The Uptown Bars I’m Gonna Drink Till I Can’t No More.”

Green Beer Day Inc. also hopes to set themselves apart from the rest by forming partnerships with some of the Uptown bars, such as Brick Street, O Pub, and Corner Bar.

By following the bars’ accounts, customers are able to win free clothing from Green Beer Day Inc., as well as gift cards, depending on the promotion and the bar.

But, to Nichols, the most rewarding aspect of running the business is getting to see people wear his designs in public.

“On Green Beer Day last year, I’d be like ‘Hey, I made this. Let me take a picture of you with this and post it on our Instagram.’ We’re going to be doing that again this year, too,” Nichols said.

cioffism@miamioh.edu