Former Florida gymnast signs NIL deal with Degree Deodorant
GAINESVILLE, Fla. (BVM) – Former U.S. national champion and Florida Gator gymnast Jazmyn Foberg signed her first NIL deal with Degree Deodorant and joined their Breaking Limits team. The Breaking Limits campaign focuses on 12 college athletes who move above their limits to inspire others. For Foberg, overcoming obstacles and motivating others through her journey has become second-nature.
Born and raised in New Jersey, Foberg began her gymnastics career at the age of 3. Though she dabbled in soccer for a few short years, she quickly chose to focus solely on gymnastics at 8 years old.
“I quit soccer around seven or eight so I could dedicate myself more to the gym and was homeschooled in seventh grade so I could train even more,” Foberg said. “It took a lot of sacrifice. Homeschooling was tough – missing out on prom and homecoming and different things like that. It was a big change for me. I didn’t want to make that change at first because I am a really social person, but I know I made the right decision.”
Though she was never part of a high school gymnastics team, Foberg trained at MG Elite, one of New Jersey’s top gymnastic clubs. It was with MG Elite that Foberg qualified for the 2014 P&G Championships, and after she won the junior all-around and uneven bar titles, she was named to the U.S. Junior National Team. That same year, Foberg committed to the University of Florida.
“The year before I actually didn’t qualify for the [P&G] championships, so I worked my butt off that year,” Foberg said. “I put in all the time I could and dedicated my training to making that meet. I not only ended up making the championships in 2014, but I ended up coming out on top and made the national team. I was super excited, blessed and very thankful. It wasn’t something I expected but I knew from my training through the past year I had been working really hard so it was possible. I just had to do it as the underdog.”
Foberg saw a successful career on the national team in 2015, as she won team and vault gold and the all-around bronze at the City of Jesolo Trophy, which marked her first international meet. She went on to win gold on the balance beam, silver on vault, bronze in all-around and uneven bars and placed No. 8 on floor at the U.S. Classic in July. The following month, Foberg won four silver medals on all-around, vault, bars and beam and placed No. 4 on floor at the Junior Nationals. She closed out her season with a trip to the International Junior Japan meet and brought home a silver and two bronze medals in all-around, vault and beam, respectively. To say her year was a success would be an understatement. However, that final international meet would be the start to her obstacles.
“During my meet in Japan, I injured my ankle,” Foberg said. “I came down short on vault and twisted in my landing. I was able to finish the meet but my ankle was swollen and bruised and we knew I had done something to it. I got a lot of opinions so it ended up being a long process to figure out what was really wrong with it. The Olympics were the next year so I was trying everything I could to avoid surgery, but it just wasn’t possible. That was a tough decision for me.”
Foberg underwent reconstructive ankle surgery and took the recoupment process in stride, doing what she could to heal and get back into competition shape. She competed in a single meet in 2016 at the U.S. Classic and failed to make the national roster. During her rehab, Foberg retired from MG Elite and headed to Florida a year early in the fall of 2017.
Through her time in Gainesville, Foberg saw many successes and a matched number of setbacks. Her freshman season, she competed in all but one meet and was named SEC Freshman of the Week twice. With her sights set on her sophomore season, a nagging elbow injury that had plagued her all season turned out to be much more than a sore muscle.
“My elbow was bothering me my entire freshman year,” Foberg said. “But I didn’t think much of it – it wasn’t a crazy pain or anything like that. At the end of the season I had a checkup and I found out I had a tricep tendon that was starting to tear through the middle. So that marked surgery number two.”
The recovery process from her elbow surgery proved to be tougher than expected and Foberg didn’t ease back into training until six months after her procedure. And once her elbow was healed, a third surgery on her ankle was put in the books.
“I couldn’t point my foot hard and it turns out I had an extra bone in my ankle that needed to be taken out,” Foberg said. “It was just a scope surgery, but it took a few months to heal from.”
This took Foberg into her senior season with the Gators, and with hopes of competing on the uneven bars dwindling after her multiple surgeries, she chose to only compete in vault and was able to show up when her teammates needed her.
As she hung up her leotard and grips after graduating in August 2021, Foberg’s plans were to pursue a master’s degree in entrepreneurship. But when she received a call from Degree Deodorant, she quickly made room for her new opportunity.
“I heard from Degree right when the NIL deal started,” Foberg said. “I wasn’t looking for anything at the moment because it was so new and I was trying to figure out what it all even meant. But when they reached out to me, I already had used their product so I felt it was a great opportunity for me.”
Degree asked Foberg to join their Breaking Limits team due to her unwavering ability to overcome injury through her career and persevere. Foberg said that after learning more about Degree’s culture, the people who work there and the plans that they have for the future, she has zero reservations about partnering with the company.
“I am big into volunteering and charity work,” Foberg said. “My undergrad is actually in family, youth, and community sciences. Degree is focused on empowering people around the world with any type of disability, any story, any background. As the Breaking Limits team, we really want to support everyone and I love that I get to be a part of this group.”
Through her NIL deal, Foberg will be supported by Degree as she works through different phases with the Breaking Limits team to show support in different ways to different communities. Right now, the team is working on a community outreach initiative.
With her partnership with Degree and her education continuing at Florida, Foberg plans to continue her involvement in inspiring and helping others in any way she can.
“I am really passionate about working with people, especially with kids, and inspiring them to be the best version of themselves,” Foberg said. “I have a positive spirit around me that I feel can help people who are struggling. I hope to continue my partnership with Degree for years – maybe even decades – to come. I love their mission, their purpose, and their empowerment of movement and pushing through obstacles. It aligns with who I am and what I have been doing my entire life.”
