Trevor Romain
WHO is Trevor Romain and why is he here on my blog? Well, I’ll let him tell his own story because what he has achieved is quite extraordinary. I know Trevor because his parents became wonderful friends of mine when I was about 19, and living in Jo’burg, S.A. Trevor was about six years old then, and was usually in bed when I would drop in to Jac and Carmel’s house in the evening, joining a motley crowd of other young friends to drink coffee, smoke cigarettes (nothing more!) and opine about music, drugs, life, art, and the universe. We were mostly students, and so had a lot to say about nothing much. The fact that Jac and Carmel had this very unusual open-house policy towards us never ceases to amaze me even now when I think about it.Imagine, almost every night, from about 8.00 pm right into the early hours, there might be three, four, maybe half a dozen young guys and girls, in their early twenties, just lounging about, talking, laughing and drinking nothing stronger than Kenco coffee or Five Roses tea, whilst Carmel smiled and indulged us, and never, ever made anybody feel unwelcome.It was always very civilised and calm, it wasn’t like we partied every night, nothing like that. The fact was that we all still lived with our parents, and to meet with friends in that easy, casual, welcoming home was just so needed! Sometimes one of the crowd would bring along a new friend to the group, and that was also fine. (I myself met at least two future girlfriends during those smoky, lazy evenings.) Jac, who was an architect, had work the next day, so he usually excused himself about 10.00 pm to go off to bed. Remember that this was South Africa in the mid-sixties, and there was not the young person’s drinking and pub culture that is so prevalent now, at least in the UK or USA. And Trevor, like I say, was just a small okie, and was asleep whilst we caroused (quietly) into the night. So as a result, I hardly saw him, let alone got to know him, all those years that I visited the Romain home. (And the same went for his younger siblings, even more so.)
Fast forward many years: Trevor moved to Austin, Texas, and I moved to London. I was of course many years older than him, and we lost even the small contact that we (never) really had. But then I got word of him, the work that he was doing, and the talents that he was applying, and I was totally awestruck… It’s so strange: his mom and dad, who were such great people, and such great friends, have passed the baton to Trevor for me. Hard to explain, this complex mix of time and emotion. Looking at his Facebook photographs, those faded old Maxie Street images, of him, and brother Stephen, and sister Elise, all those years past, just took me away and blew me down (what?) and I was wordless. The kid is a man, and the man is amazing. (Sorry to sound so effusive, Trev, but it’ll pass…) Click on the link under Blogroll to see his blog.
The following is from his website, www.trevorromain.com, which says it all:
As an award-winning author and illustrator of a series of self-help books for children, Trevor is a much sought-after motivational speaker. He hosts the Trevor Romain animated DVD series with a cast of animated friends using humorous adventures based on his books to teach real life lessons for kids. Trevor’s series of self-help books has sold more than a million copies worldwide and have been published in 16 different languages.
Experiences from Trevor’s own childhood form the basis for his unique approach to difficult subjects. Born in South Africa, Trevor was challenged by dyslexia as a child and attended special education classes until he reached the fourth grade. At age 18, he was called for two years’ mandatory service in the South African Army. Early in his military service, an emotional experience with a severely injured child cemented Romain’s desire to work with children and help them deal with difficult life situations.
Before writing and illustrating books, Trevor spent a number of years as a creative director at various prominent advertising agencies, including Saatchi & Saatchi, BBD&O and Ogilvy Mather. Eventually, he came to the United States to broaden his publishing options and pursue a career working with children.
For years, Trevor has traveled to schools and hospitals nationwide, delivering stand-up comedy with self-help messages to tens of thousands of school children. In 2003, he teamed up with a filmmaker and a small group of investors to form the Company to distill his children’s books and speeches into a series of animated adventures with underlying real life lessons for children supplemented by curriculum that would be relevant and essential to educator’s.
Trevor is well known for his work in the local and national community as a board member of the National Candlelighters Childhood Cancer Foundation, and Any Baby Can. He has taken his mission overseas, as well, performing for children at military bases around the globe on multiple USO tours. The United Nations also has enlisted Trevor’s help in developing educational materials for children living in armed conflict areas.
Trevor Romain sees himself as Monty Python meets Dr. Seuss at Jerry Seinfeld’s house in Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood. That self-description may be difficult to imagine, but one thing is crystal clear – Trevor’s rapport with kids is stunning to watch. He has an almost mystical connection with children that he uses to make them laugh uproariously, while teaching them to face life’s most difficult trials with courage and optimism.
