My Facebook wall on July 13th was filled with sorrow.

Early afternoon I heard that my friend Trevor Osz passed away.

As the word spread, I saw friends-of-my-friend posting memories and others sharing condolences.

Trevor was a rare find in this world. Trevor was intelligent, witty, and genuinely liked by everyone. He had an incredible ability to humbly offer an opinion and be heard by both sides of the aisle. Trevor stood for what was right and was respected for his ability to work with everyone.

Trevor was an advocate for his friends and a valued member of any team.

Silent Gateway Into Web Design

Summer 2014: I had the urge to get back into professional wrestling.

It might have been the launch of the WWE Network in February or just my cyclical behavior – but I had the bright idea to volunteer my newfound web design skills to a local promotion. It just so happened that I knew someone involved – Trevor.

I’m not sure how Trevor and I became friends. It seemed like he ran with the same crowd as some of my retail buddies. Next thing you know, Trevor was at my house every few months for the big “WWE Pay Per Views”. Trevor was quiet but once he felt comfortable, he joined in with funny one-liners and commentary about the matches.

After initial contact and the go-ahead from the promotion, I was ready to launch a website for the promotion. Trevor would be my main contact for anything and everything. He would help me get the pictures, content, and make introductions to others involved in the promotion.

Trevor and I would find ourselves messaging back and forth about anything and everything wrestling. He was actively working as the lead announcer and he had an idea to film a web show.

This would be a perfect addition to the website and a reason to get fans to come back to the site each week.

The Edge, The Dish, and The Voice

Trevor volunteered to travel to my house each week. We set up a makeshift studio in my basement (green screen and lighting). We trialed and errored our way into having a weekly YouTube show.

Trevor was fantastic – in every way. He sat next to the character Bobby Casserole – a dim-witted, oblivious news personality. Trevor played the straight man as good as anyone could ask. One would think he went to school for broadcasting.

Neither Trevor nor I were wrestlers. We weren’t in charge of making the matches or creating the storylines. But we were very much part of the story. For those watching our show and then attending the live event, Trevor helped every match mean more. He put in hours of extra work (each week) to format and film a web show – just so he could help put over his wrestling friends.

Trevor was a true team player.

The End of the Show

Trevor and I worked together on the web show and website for nearly a year. In addition to the show, we would also do voiceover commentary for many of the recorded shows. Trevor and I would spend an entire day working on wrestling production.

Some of the best memories were after recording. Trevor and I would hover around my kitchen table and fix all of the world’s problems (just the wrestling world). We would share our ideas if we ever ran a company and what stories we would create. Trevor had a great mind for storytelling.

After a while, I burnt out. I started committing more time to freelance work and family commitments made it difficult to continue recording. I cut ties with the promotion and Trevor would follow in time.

My First Freelancer

I never forgot Trevor’s work ethic.

Trevor did so much for the wrestling promotion without any promise of payment. He would often write articles for the website and design graphics. I remembered Trevor’s ability and skills when I was starting my business.

“Trevor, you want to do some web work?”

I was getting busier and busier with websites and I need someone to help out. I had clients giving me money and I gave them my word that I would produce a quality product. I needed someone I could trust and that could do a good job. I didn’t have time to interview freelancers. I thought of Trevor.

Trevor was up for the job. He would help me write content for several of my early websites. I’m proud to say some of Trevor’s writing is currently used for many successful Ohio Valley businesses.

I’m not sure Trevor loved the work – but he was there to help me out. I had a developer flake on me with a project. Trevor was there to help take over some of my projects so I could meet my deadline.

Although I don’t have employees, Trevor would have been my first hire.

Trevor wouldn’t do too much work for me in the last few years. I wasn’t offended – he was working with a company and a project that he loved. Trevor was working with a skilled team, developing a video game.

Saying Goodbye

Trevor and I were not lifelong friends. We didn’t text each other daily or hang out. Like most friends, I would text Trevor when a shared interest came to mind. This usually involved wrestling.

I always enjoyed catching up and hearing about the progress of his game. He was the Voice of Winterborn Games. They successfully Kickstarted their first release and it will be released in the future. Trevor enjoyed talking about wrestling, but you could hear an extra spark in his voice when he talked about his game.

I decided to scroll through my text messages to see what our last conversation was.

Three messages stood out:

• Trevor and I exchanged happy birthdays.
• Trevor randomly sent me a promo code for a graphic design software – I thanked him for thinking of me.
• The last message was about a local wrestler, that we used to cover, showing up on national television.

My fondest memories with Trevor were sitting at a table and asking his opinion about wrestling.

He was a brilliant partner.

I like to think that the last message wasn’t from Eric, but was from Bobby.

Your Voice will not be forgotten.

Your friend, Bobby Casserole.