Beach Riot founder and designer Nicole Hanriot Tinkess has always had a love for beachwear and travel. Spending time at the beach has inspired Nicoleβs style, whether itβs home in Orange County, or in the turquoise blue waters of Bora Bora. Studying fashion design in college, Nicole had no idea that she would be so drawn to designing swimwear, it happened one day when she was assigned swimwear for a school project. From there, Nicole fell in love with designing colorful and bright swimwear for a girl that was kind of like her.