CORVALLIS, Ore. – Dam Nation Collective and OBS Lifestyle Brand announced a multilayered partnership aimed at providing opportunities for Oregon State University student-athletes, Tuesday. OSU football standout Damien Martinez will spearhead the partnership as OBS’ first collegiate student-athlete brand ambassador.

OBS co-founder Steven Jackson is one of the most accomplished athletes in OSU history and is an ambassador for Dam Nation, the preferred Name, Image and Likeness collective of Oregon State Athletics. As part of the collaboration, OBS will design and manufacture Dam Nation merchandise exclusively for Dam Nation members.

“OBS strives to inspire those who see challenges as opportunities and personal triumphs as loudspeakers to encourage others to never give up,” Jackson said. “A collaboration with Dam Nation allows for our message to be transformed into apparel and fashion, helping to project inspiring stories to be shared by OSU student-athletes.”

Martinez is coming off a historic freshman season at OSU where he helped lead the Beavers to their third 10-win season in school history. Martinez was named Pac-12 First Team and was also named the conference’s Offensive Freshman of the Year.

“I am very blessed and thankful to have the opportunity to work with OSU legend Steven Jackson and I am honored to be named brand ambassador for OBS,” Martinez said. “I have an affinity for the brand’s mission and believe student-athletes understand that overcoming tough times is part of the journey to becoming great. I also want to thank Dam Nation for partnering with Steven to provide this thoughtful opportunity for not just me, but for other OSU student-athletes.”

While Martinez is the first Beaver student-athlete to sign on to the OBS collaboration, Dam Nation is planning rapid expansion, including sports beyond football.

“From the very first conversations around creating Dam Nation, inclusivity of all OSU student-athletes has been a top priority,” said Dam Nation co-founder Dick Oldfield. “We are working on expanding this innovative partnership to more OSU student-athletes as we speak.”

Dam Nation focuses on optimizing relationships with OSU’s student-athletes and teams by listening and learning from the student-athletes directly about their passions and interests. Dam Nation then works to identify authentic partnership opportunities for student-athlete engagement. Dam Nation believes that defining the future begins by respecting the past and serving the present and that the collaboration with OBS and Jackson checks all of those boxes for Martinez and many other OSU student-athletes.

“From the outset, we have stated that Dam Nation’s mission and vision is to find truly meaningful opportunities that provide partnerships that align with the passions of OSU’s student-athletes. Our collaboration with OBS is a perfect example and we couldn’t be more excited about the endless possibilities that this partnership will bring for all parties,” said Dam Nation co-founder Kyle Bjornstad. “We are excited to get to work and turn these possibilities into realities and share the stories with Beaver Nation and beyond.”

Shop the OBS Lifestyle Brand store at www.OBSBrand.com