Trevor

The world lost a truly beautiful person last week. My friend Trevor passed away and I am heartbroken. Trevor taught me so much about friendship. His love for others was genuine, and he had an almost incredible ability to read and connect with people. I attended his funeral on Friday. Five hundred people showed up, and hundreds more expressed their desire to be there in person. If you knew Trevor, you'd easily understand why so many people came to celebrate his life.

Trevor actually named In Shape Out of Mind. My original name for the blog was something stupid (I think Hungry People Are Mean, Happy People Are Fat?), and Trevor just casually commented In Shape Out of Mind and I knew it was perfect and asked if I could use it. He was brilliant and such quips came easily to him. He graciously allowed me to borrow his genius title and said that I could trademark it, which I have. If I ever made any money off of this thing, I was to pay him 10%. Well bud, if this thing ever becomes profitable, 10% of everything I make will be going to rescue pit bulls. Trevor loved all animals. He championed pit bulls, which is a cause very near to my heart.

Trevor made this and posted it to my wall before he became Instagram famous.

Trevor was fucking funny. He made me laugh so hard that I would actually start to hyperventilate, and sometimes even peed myself. Trevor brought so much joy to the world. You have to check out his social media accounts (trevso_electric) and just enjoy his brilliance.

This was the night we renamed ourselves the Harts after we bonded over our ridiculously long last names.

Trevor made the best Facebook wall posts. It's been really interesting to go back and watch his progression from inside joke photos to an IG account with thousands of followers. 

Ever wonder how I came up with my Instagram handle? @ech_e_sketch

I found this one this evening. That's me in the turquoise tank.

I posted the letter below on my Facebook page a few days ago. I miss him so much. Trevor helped me believe in myself. He encouraged me to blog, and made me feel that my words were important and funny enough to be heard. Sometimes it's hard to put yourself out on the internet, and Trevor did it every day. I'm just now learning the extent of his impact on social media. He apparently answered all of his direct messages, inspired other comedians, and even connected with the mother of a boy who has a stutter who took comfort and gained confidence from one of Trevor's memes. I owe so much to him. After I was mugged, I was in a terrible dark place, having some really crazy thoughts and suffering from insomnia and panic attacks. Trevor reached out to me and knew exactly what to say so that I didn't feel pressured or defensive, and encouraged me to seek the help that I needed. I'm happy and alive today because of his love. I am so grateful for him and for the time I had with him. I take comfort knowing that the last thing I said to him was I love you.

Dear Trevor,

I can't believe you're gone. I prayed so hard that this was some kind of terrible internet hoax like when that bootleg online version of Tiger Beat reported that the oldest son from Home Improvement had died. I would do anything to wake up tomorrow and find out that you're actually in LA, hiking and making fun of juice bars, and your phone is broken and that's why you're not answering.

You are one of the very best people that I know and I feel so lucky to be your friend. You've made me feel special and loved all of these years. You've made me think about things differently and forced me to take myself less seriously. You have made me a better person through our friendship. I hope I've been half as good a friend to you.

How are you so funny? You capture everything so perfectly. From poking fun at CrossFit cult crazies to twenty-something drunk girls who literally love vodka, you have a knack for doing it in just a way that's not malicious but hits the nail right on the head. Every single day I see something and I think, oh Trevor would love this or oh man, Trevor would think this is so funny. I wish I had shared those thoughts with you more.

I love how much you love animals, especially pit bulls. As much as I love your Rick Ross reading posts, my favorite posts will always be the ones of you blissed out with joy with a beautiful pit. You championed a breed that is often misunderstood and maligned. Your ability to recognize those of us who need love and special attention spanned across all of us animals.

Thank you for letting me be in this Twilight video. We had so much fun that night and I am so sad that we never got around to making Breaking Dawn.

You were truly one of a kind, in the very best way possible. You touched so many lives. You were such a great friend. I will miss you every day for the rest of my life. I love you.