O\'Brien was born in Portland, Oregon in 1966. He is of African American and Finnish heritage, and grew up as an adopted child in an Irish-American family in Klamath Falls. He graduated from Henley High School in 1984 and then attended the University of Idaho in Moscow, where he competed in track and field for the Vandals. After initially flunking out of the university and then incurring legal difficulties, O\'Brien attended Spokane Falls Community College, a community college in Spokane, Washington in 1988. He returned to the UI to compete for the Vandal track team, and complete his bachelor\'s degree.\n', '

O\'Brien trained for his Olympic and world championships on the Palouse under Idaho\'s track coach Mike Keller, and Rick Sloan of Washington State in neighboring Pullman for the field events.\n', '

O\'Brien competed at the U.S. Olympic Trials in 1988; after a fast time in the 100 meters, he was injured in the long jump and withdrew. He took second place at the Goodwill Games in Seattle in 1990, behind Dave Johnson.\n', '

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