How it started 

Serving God is an honor and a privilege for junior Armand Silva. He does so though him and his friends clothing brand — YHWH Athlete.  

“This isn’t about us. And we want to properly reflect God through this” says Silva.  

YHWH Athlete is a Christian clothing brand that had their first clothing apparel drop on Friday, Feb. 28. They sell sweatshirts and t-shirts with the words “YHWH Athlete” on the front, and bible verses and graphics on the back.  

Members of the men’s soccer team, freshman Miguel Abarca and junior Alex Ocampo came up with the original idea for a clothing brand but weren’t exactly sure what they wanted to sell. “I’ve always wanted to something with athletic wear,” says Ocampo. “I’ve been in the faith for two years… Miguel started to get into his faith, so was like we should create a Christian clothing brand, I think that’d be cool.” 

The two then bought the website domain in October of 2024, locking themselves in and they knew there was no going back.  

Then, in December, Ocampo was chatting with Silva. Silva, a religion major and friend with many soccer players, grew up in the faith and is on the pre-seminary track at Ashland. “Alex was just asking me questions one day about [YHWH] because they had the name,” says Silva. “[Ocampo] asked for like four days we would sit at the cafe, and he would ask me questions. And then I just said, ‘Why don’t I just come on board?’” 

Ocampo then took this offer to Abarca. “[Ocampo] brought it up to me… let’s get [Silva] into this. He really convinced me of what [Silva] could bring to the team,” said Abarca. After an official interview, the two brought Silva onto the team.  

Ocampo and Abarca had done all the groundwork prior to adding Silva to the team. They had bought the copyright, the website and found manufacturing. They then created the product when Silva came aboard.  

Drop Week 

However, these parts weren’t the hardest part for the crew. “Leading up to our first drop, which was right before spring break, I would say that was the most difficult,” said Silva. “We had a lot of setbacks between commissioning of our art and manufacturing problems and shipping problems those two weeks leading up to it. Especially getting all of the athletes on campus involved with the photo shoots and the interviews and content creation.” 

Another hard part was the long days and nights leading up to the drop. “I commute and there were multiple nights I just had to crash on [Ocampo]’s couch. We would work until one or two a.m. and then be up early the next morning,” says Silva.  

Despite all the setbacks and long nights, they weren’t the hardest part. “So, the reason why it was so hard was because we knew we needed to do it. If we don’t do it, we’re never going to,” said Silva.  

But the hard work paid off in the end. “Honestly [the support] has been really good.” said Abarca.  

“People are really excited. People want to get involved and we’re getting tons of messages. Honestly, we get [messages] every day or every other day of how we can get involved?” said Silva.  

The support around Ashland’s campus has been apparent, as you can see many students walking around campus in the YHWH Athlete apparel.  

Although selling clothes is a goal of theirs, the main goal isn’t about the apparel itself. “Our mission is to help athletes, and people, understand the power and the authority God has over [their lives] and in their breath. And if we can share that, then we did our job.” says Silva.  

“I think YHWH is a perfect fishing hook for new believers,” says Ocampo. “People who don’t know what YHWH means… they can ask questions… they usually pronounce it wrong at first, but we’ve had good conversations with people who are just curious about what we’re making.” 

Where they’re at now 

After their first drop, YHWH Athlete had a change of ownership. “Right now, [Ocampo] and [Abarca] needed to focus more on their professional career development opportunities and internship opportunities,” says Silva. “So, they, for the time being, have left the company and are focusing on that.” 

The three remain best friends with no hard feelings. Despite being on his own, Silva has not lost the mission or the vision of the company.  

“[YHWH Athlete] have a lot of people who have been helping out who want to get engaged,” says Silva. “[They] have been buying into what we stand for and what the message is about.” 

One of the main focuses for Silva at the moment is growing the social media. His goal is to establish a community and connect with people across many platforms.  

“It’s been really cool to witness the effect that it’s had on some people and how it’s continuing to grow,” says Silva.  

The goal however isn’t how many followers he gains or how popular the brand becomes. “We’re really trying to make sure that our identity and our why and our vision is the centerpiece of it all,” says Silva. “That we don’t get caught up int he clothes, but we make sure that it stays for Christ.”  

Looking to the future 

When looking into the future of YHWH Athlete, Silva talked about his future goals. “Looking into the future, I want to be careful not to make oaths as Jesus tells us not to in the Sermon on the Mount,” says Silva. “A lot of these things [coming up] are long term things you will be able to see soon.” 

Silva has plans to continue growing the company in big ways, but one of the most impactful is by giving back to the community. “We have things in the works for… getting out into the community and fundraising for organizations and charities that stand for the mission as well,” says Silva.  

Silva also wants the message to be apparent throughout their company and something that people and athletes can talk about. “We want to be an avenue for that and connect these people and give athletes and people the opportunity to express their faith through their breath and their toil.” 

To keep up to date with all things YHWH Athlete, follow them on Instagram at yhwh.athlete, or visit their website at www.yhwhathlete.com.