By Nanette Soto
Accomplished athlete. Entrepreneur. Philanthropist. These are all attributes that describe Khadijah Suleman, a first-generation American born to Nigerian immigrants who is only 27 years of age. She attributes her success to the deep-seated values and discipline her Nigerian background inculcated in her during her formative years.
Her career began when she was a student-athlete competing for Nigeria in the 2016 Olympic trials. There, she witnessed first-hand the disparity between athletes from rich countries like the United States and those from poorer regions, some of whom ran barefoot. As someone who experienced the luxuries of NCAA Division one college athletics and whose parents taught her to always help others, she felt a duty to correct this. To that end, she founded Gear ‘Em Up — a nonprofit organization that donates adequate sports apparel, equipment, and educational resources to underprivileged athletes worldwide.
The organization also teams up with big-name institutions like the University of Mississippi, the University of Texas Arlington, Virginia Tech, and The University of San Francisco (where she received her Masters in Sports Management), and corporations like Under Armour to donate regular mission trips to Africa to provide children there with mentorship and gear.
In 2018, Suleman had begun working for the Los Angeles Chargers in a temporary capacity and sought ways to generate extra personal income. She noticed that Black women wanted to protect their hairstyles while sleeping and yet elicit a flair for fashion while walking around the house. To empower women of color and celebrate their natural beauty, she began using ethically-sourced African ankara and satin fabrics to create unique head bonnets that evoked the aesthetics and culture of her native Nigeria.
Wanting to honor her native Nigeria in the company name, her mother suggested “aloaye”, which means “moving forward” in the Etsako language. To get Aloaye Clothing formally off the ground, Suleman sought a straightforward avenue that sidestepped the headaches she endured while setting up Gear Em’ Up. She wanted a straightforward avenue that streamlined the process and, upon the suggestion of a friend, used Incfile to create the e-commerce website. Aloaye Clothing’s last collection of luxury satin bonnets sold in two hours, and Suleman is currently working to launch her new collection sometime next month. Visit: https://www.gearemup.org/ IG: @gear_emup and https://aloayeclothing.com/ IG: @aloayeclothing.
