Photo of Goth College volleyball player goes viral

Nora Hayd, a beach volleyball player from Boise State, went viral with her player photo on the team's website and sparked much discussion on social media.

The 6-foot-10 beach volleyball player from Bothell, Washington, previously played for the DaKine Volleyball Club and was named to the 2020 and 2021 AVCA Phenom List, but it's her photo on the team's website that has the internet abuzz thanks to what's was described as her “gothic” look.

Completed with bright red-dyed hair, smokey eye makeup and a striking nose ring, Hayd's look stands out among her blonde and brunette teammates.

One fan, Dave Southorn, commented on the X platform: “Boise State has a goth beach volleyball player, that's the best.”

His first tweet has garnered over 100 reposts and nearly 4,000 likes so far. One of those who picked up on the tweet was the College Sports X account, which tweeted Southorn's post with the humorous caption, “Which one is she?” Here, four members of the team were displayed side by side on Boise State's roster page. This tweet has more than 3,300 reposts, 6.3 million views and over 95,000 likes.

What people are saying about Boise State's 'Goth' volleyball player

In short, it's not every day you see athletes fully committed to a gothic look, which is why the photo caught the attention of the masses.

“You don't see many gothletes,” one person on the X platform remarked about Nora's photo. Other fans not only seemed to enjoy the comments, but also praised Nora's dedication to her look.

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“Hot Topic better make history with the NIL deal,” one person noted. “It’s not just a phase mom,” another added. “The extraordinarily rare goth jock girl only appears once in 300 million,” a third person noted.

“She went all out for her!!,” said one fan. “Hell yeah, she’s pretty damn cool,” another added. A third offered: “Be a Nora in a world full of Kayleighs.”

Nora's look sparks debate

While one of the first posters that piqued people's interest in Nora's gamer photo mentioned her as “goth,” there seemed to be significant pushback from some online comments that she was more in line with the Juggalo look that many Insane Clown have Posse fans prefer.

“Since when is clown color considered goth,” someone mused. “She's more Juggalo,” another added. “That's a lot of color for a goth,” another commenter noted.

The “Gothic” look for women often involves wearing clothing or applying makeup that symbolizes death, decay, or gloom. These days, “Juggalos” are more inclined to sport face paint as a form of expression.

The thread even included a comment, supposedly from one of Hayd's family members, who noted, “She's my cousin – she's amazing, talented, kind and we're all proud of her!” She's totally crazy and doesn't let anything stop her from just being herself and we love it.”