{"id":301378,"date":"2026-06-09T15:07:09","date_gmt":"2026-06-09T15:07:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/301378\/"},"modified":"2026-06-09T15:07:09","modified_gmt":"2026-06-09T15:07:09","slug":"she-just-debuted-her-brand-at-miami-swim-week-thanks-to-a-powerful-hospitality-class-fiu-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/301378\/","title":{"rendered":"She just debuted her brand at Miami Swim Week thanks to a powerful hospitality class | FIU News"},"content":{"rendered":"

There\u2019s\u00a0a\u00a0lot that made it down\u00a0the runway at Miami Swim Week 2026. Bikinis, celebrities, influencers. But the most interesting thing\u00a0to take\u00a0the stage was\u00a0a\u00a0story\u00a0that began in an\u00a0FIU Hospitality\u00a0class four years earlier.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Bailey\u00a0Grossenbacher\u00a0’23, MS\u00a0’25 recently\u00a0made her\u00a0Miami Swim Week\u00a0debut with her very own brand, Dubs Swim<\/a>. A concept\u00a0born from a class taught by\u00a0FIU\u00a0Chaplin School of\u00a0Hospitality\u00a0& Tourism<\/a>\u00a0professor and\u00a0entrepreneur\u00a0David Grutman, where lessons of passion and authenticity resonated so deeply with this student,\u00a0she\u00a0took the plunge and became an\u00a0entrepreneur\u00a0herself.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was\u00a0really cool\u00a0to see all the successful people he brought and how they started their journeys, and I thought \u2018why not do my own,\u2019\u201d\u00a0the Dubs Swim owner said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The David Grutman Experience\u00a0launched in 2022\u00a0at the Chaplin\u00a0School, and it was far from traditional. What other class\u00a0can\u00a0say it\u00a0featured celebrity guests from Bad Bunny to Drake and Serena Williams?\u00a0It\u2019s\u00a0the perfect format for hospitality students wanting a direct \u201cin\u201d to the industry, learning\u00a0from some of the greatest success stories.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Grutman (left), and guest speaker Bad Bunny at FIU.<\/p>\n

For\u00a0Grossenbacher\u00a0it\u00a0didn\u2019t\u00a0just inspire\u00a0her;\u00a0it catapulted her into a new business venture.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cAll of them had their own stories of how they became successful, each of their stories were very unique but the one common thing about all of them is that they were very themselves, and passionate about what they do and authentic\u00a0in\u00a0what they do, and\u00a0he\u00a0[David Grutman] would preach that in all his classes,\u201d\u00a0she said.<\/p>\n

Originally from\u00a0Englewood, Florida, Grossenbacher\u00a0was always drawn to\u00a0the beach, artwork and larger-than-life events.\u00a0\u201cI realized that I loved all the cool events that Miami has and I asked myself, \u2018how\u00a0can\u00a0I\u00a0be\u00a0a part\u00a0of this?\u2019\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

That\u00a0question and\u00a0a spot on the softball team led her\u00a0to FIU.\u00a0Juggling her hospitality management degree and being a student-athlete was a challenge.\u00a0Grossenbacher\u00a0recounts\u00a0the\u00a0time where\u00a0she was\u00a0working at\u00a0the South Beach Wine & Food Festival\u00ae\u00a0and\u00a0had a\u00a0softball\u00a0game the\u00a0very\u00a0next day. But as the young entrepreneur\u00a0puts it, \u201cbusy people get things done.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"Bailey Grossenbacher<\/p>\n

When she\u00a0graduated\u00a0from FIU,\u00a0her dream was to work\u00a0for a well-known surf and lifestyle apparel brand,\u00a0but\u00a0when she never heard back,\u00a0she stopped switched gears.\u00a0<\/p>\n

From the\u00a0alumna\u2019s\u00a0own hands, Dubs Swim was born, a team of one doing all the clothing design, marketing, brand orders and website\u00a0design.\u00a0<\/p>\n

But one constant was the\u00a0role\u00a0her classes\u00a0played\u00a0along the way.\u00a0\u201cI did my\u00a0master’s in marketing\u00a0at\u00a0FIU,\u00a0and every single assignment went towards building my brand,\u201d she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

That\u00a0hard work\u00a0seemed to pay off because a year after graduating with her\u00a0master\u2019s,\u00a0her\u00a0swimsuits\u00a0walked\u00a0a global stage at Miami Swim Week, which welcomed more than 50,000 guests throughout the week.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"Bailey Grossenbacher (left), and one of the models featured at her show<\/p>\n

\u201cIt felt like I was putting on a\u00a0Broadway\u00a0show.\u00a0I\u2019ve\u00a0been working on it since last November, so finally seeing it be successful and seeing all the models having fun,\u00a0it was\u00a0really awesome\u00a0to be a part of that,\u201d she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

To make\u00a0the moment even more full circle,\u00a0a video posted by\u00a0@fiuhospitality<\/a>\u00a0on Instagram, which got over 40k views,\u00a0received the attention of Grossenbacher\u2019s\u00a0former\u00a0professor, David Grutman.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Grutman saw the video and reached out to the\u00a0alumna\u00a0requesting\u00a0Dubs Swim gear. \u201cThat was so\u00a0cool for me because he was always preaching in his classes about going the extra mile and remembering to do the little things and he did that with me,\u201d she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

This is just the beginning for Bailey Grossenbacher and Dubs Swim. She plans to make next year\u2019s Swim Week splash even bigger. And who knows,\u00a0perhaps\u00a0a\u00a0potential collaboration with her inspiration\u00a0could be looming near…\u00a0<\/p>\n