A member of Manogue’s attentive security crew, Mr. McFall, who most students know as Trevor, has been with Manogue for six and a half years. Students may recognize Trevor as the friendly face often sitting at his desk near the main entrance of the school, or the one welcoming them to sporting events and school activities. But you may be surprised to find that Trevor also has experience in the professions of entrepreneurship, personal training, and self-defense.
Born in Las Vegas, Trevor McFall moved to Reno after 5th grade. While attending Wooster High School, he was very active in activities including football, baseball, and weight lifting, as well as off-campus extracurriculars like boxing and karate stemming from his passion for self-defense, which Trevor has “always been into.”
Following high school, Trevor became a business owner and founded his own gym: Trainer’s Edge. When asked about what got him into starting his own business, Trevor said that he’s always had an “entrepreneurial motivation.” Even as a child, he had a business-like mind searching for ways to profit:
“Even when I was in middle school I was buying packs of bubble gum from 7 Eleven, and then taking them to school and sell for 25 cents apiece, and the whole thing only [cost] me 15 cents. And there were five pieces, so… $1.25 off of my 25 cents or whatever.”
Trevor ran his gym successfully for 20 years, personally training thousands of clients of all ages. A longstanding and influential member of the Reno community himself, Trevor notes that his clients include Manogue alumni and their families, “some of the people whose names you see on these walls.” Although he didn’t come to work at Manogue until later, Trainer’s Edge allowed him to build relationships with well-known members of the Manogue and Reno community.
About 10 years into running his business, Trevor got really into jiu-jitsu. Following his own training, he became a jiu-jitsu instructor. After his experience in multiple combative strategies, including from his karate, boxing, and his security training, Trevor describes jiu-jitsu as “the best self-defense mechanism by far.” Trevor has a black belt and all bars on his belt, signifying a high level of mastery. He still teaches jiu-jitsu today, at the Gary Grate Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Academy with locations in Reno, Tahoe, and Carson City, and he recently received his first degree, marking him as a professor of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. As far as self-defense and personal safety goes, he believes that jiu-jitsu is “a mandatory must-know for everybody.” Years of practicing and instructing jiu-jitsu can assure students that they have a well-trained security team at their service!
Following 20 years of running Trainer’s Edge, Trevor decided to sell his business, equipment, and clients. By then, his background in jiu-jitsu made him a competent candidate for a job in security, and he made a transition in his career. He began his position in security working at clubs and restaurants around Reno and used his previous skills and experience to ready him for the job, particularly his involvement in self-defense. “Nothing good happens after midnight,” Trevor says of his previous jobs in security working primarily nights. Depending on where you are working and who you are watching, security can be a tedious and difficult job: “Security itself is like working a seven hour shift for five minutes of action. You don’t do anything for a long period of time, and then if something happens, then you gotta go to work,” said Trevor. He also notes that security is one of those professions that takes commitment outside of the workplace as well as in, expressing that “Being ready means going to jiu-jitsu. That’s what being ready means, it means the pre-preparation that you put into your job while you’re not at your job.”
Though he is still giving his all here at Manogue, he’s been able to relax a bit after a life of competition. “It’s their time now,” he says of his daughter and his grandkids. When he is not at Manogue or instructing jiu-jitsu, he enjoys boating and wakeboarding up at Lake Tahoe with friends or hanging out with his family here in Reno.
Trevor is not just an esteemed member of the Manogue community, but an appreciated member of the Reno community. He values all the experiences of his past and the lessons they have taught him along the way, including his job here at Manogue. When asked about the environment at Manogue, Trevor acclaims the opportunities that present themselves to the students, saying that Manogue “gives you plenty of opportunities to be on time, pay attention, and watch your language, and all of these other things that you can use to better yourself.”
Trevor enjoys the family-like community that comes with working at Manogue. And he is evidently a part of what makes Manogue feel like home. Whether you find him walking in the hallway, driving around campus, or as the last face you see before you leave Manogue for the day, you will be sure to find Trevor smiling and saying “Hi.” On his time at Manogue, Trevor especially notes that this job has given him the opportunity to act on an important thing he’s learned in his life, “duty.”
“You know, duty to God, duty to family and duty to others. And so, it’s [Manogue] a good environment to be able to practice that and express that.”
The Manogue community is blessed to have a staff member like Trevor, who takes pride in his job and cares about the students. His strive to cover multiple passions inspires others to strive to compete and better themselves too. So, next time you pass Trevor in the hallway or at his desk, take the time to say hello and thank him for all he does. Trevor and our security staff do more than we know to make sure Manogue remains a protected and welcoming community.
