“Everyone got interested, all my friends and fraternity brothers, and they all chipped in one way or another.”
Adam Musa
Adam Musa ’21 grew up in the gas station business. His father and grandfather have been in the industry for over 30 years.
“My family has been in the industry since the early 80s. So when a location, and, more still, an opportunity presented itself in Miami Beach, I went for it. I didn’t let my college studies slow me down.” Adam Musa, Miami’s Community News
The [Sigma Alpha Epsilon] University of Miami brother now owns a car wash, FastPass Car Wash & Gas, a 24/7 service for residents in Miami Beach. His team he compiled remodeled the location, formerly a convenience store with organic food and a juice bar. He credits the help from the brothers of his chapter.
“I learned a lot from them,” Musa said. “It breathes an entrepreneurial spirit. When I used to go to the fraternity house, people talked about business and stuff like that. There is a lot of business talk.”
Musa got the opportunity to lease the location for his first business at just 19 years old.
It all started when Musa joined the fraternity in 2018. Musa was a Double Major in Real Estate & Legal Studies. The culture and environment created within the chapter helped propel Adam to take this chance and opportunity. The chapter at Miami has been one of the top IFC organizations in grade point average over the last decade, and that’s what Musa liked about the chapter.
“Everyone got interested, all my friends and fraternity brothers, and they all chipped in one way or another. We started to think outside the box,” Musa said.
Adam joined his second semester during his freshman year. Before joining, he had no business experience. He says many brothers within his chapter were very business-oriented, and it played an influence on him.
“I have brothers that started a very successful women’s fitness apparel business, a cleaning service in Miami, and many more. The point is there’s an entrepreneurial spirit that the fraternity had that led me into the business,” Musa said. “Once I got into the business, I started as a Car Wash Manager. I got the opportunity to lease the place and rebuild the whole system and found that many customers are SAE alumni. They support the business just on that premise. They take the liking that I’m young, in college and a fraternity, and running a business, so that’s helped me tremendously in terms of customer relations.”
Musa was the engine that helped the chapter raise over $60,000 for the chapter’s week-long Paddy Murphy philanthropy event his sophomore year, with $7,000 coming from the business. It was a 10-day fundraiser at the car wash where all the funds from the memberships sold and $4 car washes went directly to the fundraiser.
His roommate Ben Vinarski ’21 was the Paddy Murphy chairman, and the first year of the event, they raised money for Nicklaus Children’s Hospital. Anywhere from six to nine, brothers from the chapter helped raise funds.
Two years after the event, Musa’s business is still intact, and he’s now the owner of two convenience stores called Foodsmart.
“The success we had then gave me a lot of faith and inspiration towards working with other college students past the fundraiser,” Musa told VoyageMIA.
“Since then, I’ve hired and worked with several more students, including a photographer, public relations manager, and media director,” Musa says. “I take pride in my team, as it can be tough for students to get jobs in Miami that pay well and teach important skills at a young age. I think it’s great we can give students these opportunities and help them pay for their educational experience.”
Musa, now a senior at Miami, hopes the event returns next spring. The event was canceled after a year off due to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.
“The University of Miami has allowed me to meet so many knowledgeable and diverse people whose different perspectives help me grow. I hope and envision that I’m able to hire multiple students for full-time work out of college as we start expanding into multiple South Florida locations.”
