6 minute read
Trevor
Trevor
Advertisement
@trevorbell
“Staying humble and being honest helps me escape the noise of the city and understand who I am. I’m an influencer, but I’m a lot more nerdy than most people think. I think the people who follow me see me as this douchey person flexing his muscles. I remind myself to just own what I do, own what I love. And then the rest will work out.”
“Growing up, there weren’t that many black kids at my school. I felt like an outcast, rebel-kid. After a while I started owning that I was different. My biggest dream was to play for the NFL, so that became my focus. I got good grades, became president of my class, star football player at my school, and had a cheerleader girlfriend. I had become the ‘popular kid’. I got a couple of scholarship offers, and decided on Columbia because I was sold on New York.”
“When I first got here, I thought ‘New Yorkers are mean and everybody's selfish.’ But now I understand them. So many of the people living in New York aren't from New York. They’re just like me, people who have their dreams and come here to pursue something and make something of themselves. That takes resilience and focus.”
“After I graduated from Columbia, a lot of my friends were like, ‘Don't take the risk trying to pursue the NFL. It's not going to happen.’ But I decided to do it. I turned down job offers and started training with the New York Jets and Houston Texans. But football players are really big, and I didn’t have the height to keep going. It was tough. The part that hurt me the most was that it was such a big deal for me to prove everybody wrong.”
“I got a job but I just couldn’t settle with sitting at a desk all day after training for 16 years to become a football player. That’s why I started using Instagram as an outlet to show my athletic side.”
“I had seen a picture of a black guy in a Spiderman costume on Buzzfeed. The picture stuck in my mind. I was like ‘What if I did that, but did it for real, did it better?’ I contemplated other heroes too, but I’m in New York, Spiderman is in New York. It’s legit. The location sold me. Spiderman’s not physically big. He’s fit, but he’s not gigantic, so my body type fit the character.”
“I obviously love it when people approach me when I’m in my superhero costume and they’re like ‘Whoa! Can I touch you? Is this fake muscle?’ But the real joy is when the kids see me, their eyes light up, thinking I might be the real deal. The amount of people I’ve seen smile from that Spiderman suit is crazy. It’s an addictive feeling.”
“There are more cows than people in the small Texas town I’m from. I’m not saying the people there all think in the same way, but they’re not as different, you know? Coming to a place like New York, I was amazed by the people. Then realizing that you don’t have to do a nine-to-five thing was intriguing. Getting married, having kids, and buying a house was never the vibe for me.”
Q&A
What neighborhood do you live in? Harlem.
Best thing about living there? The people. Once people get to know you, it’s like everyone is family.
Favorite neighborhood? Upper West Side. I lived there for eight years: four during college and four after graduating. The sunsets by the water are some of the best I’ve ever seen.
Favorite street to stroll? Broadway in Soho.
Why? Shopping and the people.
Favorite restaurant? Ellen’s Stardust Diner. Their staff is full of trained musicians. It’s like walking into a Broadway show.
Favorite bar? The Press Lounge or The Standard rooftop.
Your New York soundtrack? My Way by Frank Sinatra.
5 THINGS THAT TELL A STORY ABOUT TREVOR
SPIDERMAN MASK “My friends said I was crazy when I decided to get the mask and the suit and take my personal brand to the next level. They were like, ‘You’re going to spend $800 on a costume?’ To think about how much has happened since then is crazy. It’s changed my life.”
SASH “Columbia was such a hard experience for me. I tried to fit into a group of people that were so different from me. It took me a while to accept that I was going to pursue something else.”
BOOK “This book encouraged me to pursue my passion. It’s the first book I found that was like, ‘It’s going to be hard as hell, but if you really know what you want to do, you have to take a risk.’ It opened my eyes.”
COWBOY HAT “I’m from a rural area in Texas. I went to a high school where they had an agricultural department. I was raised riding horses and I spent every summer at my uncle’s farm. I try to stay true to what that upbringing gave me.
SWORD “I wanted to show people that I’m multidimensional and play other characters as well. I did a ninja character with this sword, and it was something that I just invented.”
