Trevone Martin (12) grew up playing football. The sport appealed to him more than any other; he played it every weekend with his brothers and friends on various fields across Memphis. He joined the team at White Station Middle School, going on to star at defensive end for the 9-2 Spartans. Basketball never crossed his mind once – football was his true love.

Halfway through eighth grade, Martin’s life changed. His parents separated.

“It was a rough time for all of us,” Martin said.

He and his brothers moved in with a cousin in Lithonia, Georgia, a tiny town forty-five minutes outside of Atlanta, where Martin began attending Miller Grove High School in the fall. There, it first occurred to him that he couldn’t play football forever. His 6”3’, wiry frame wasn’t suited for the continuous beatings of the fall season. He knew he needed sports in his life – they meant the world to him – but he didn’t know where to turn next.

This is where his brother entered the picture.

Martin had always looked up to his brother Darrell. He was fast and athletic, much like Martin. When he took a liking to pickup basketball in Lithonia, Trevone followed suit. Darrell tried out for the team during Martin’s sophomore year. Martin followed, and after an impressive showing, made Miller Grove’s junior varsity team for the 2013-14 season, a shocking development for a character who had never before played organized basketball.

Everything began to fall into place for Martin. He donned Miller Grove’s purple and silver his sophomore year. His parents reunited and moved back to Memphis. Martin began attending White Station High, where he immediately joined the basketball team, making varsity for his senior season. However, his schedule still felt light.

It’s not hard to picture Martin as an actor, with his outgoing personality, infectious smile and good humor; in fact, he has found a niche at WSHS with a talent in roast comedy. Still, like he had been with basketball, Martin had never acted before. Before his senior year began, however, theatre teacher David Boone urged him to audition. Martin obliged, and upon making the cut, filled the void in his schedule with a basic theatre class.

Despite his lack of experience, Martin has become a strong actor in his time in theatre, and has even joined Dominique Malone’s (12) one-act while maintaining his role on the basketball team.

“Trevone is a vital part to the mood of our one-act. He also is very focused whenever we are rehearsing, even when we are simply doing improvisation,” Malone said.

Of course, despite all the extracurriculars piling up around him, Martin still hasn’t lost track of arguably his top talent. As we finish up our interview, I ask him one last question. “You are known as one of White Station’s best roasters. You have mastered the art of checking folks. How did you gain this reputation?” He flashes an ear-to-ear smile, looks at the ground, and shuffles in his shoes.

“Roasting is not an art. It’s a talent. Either you have it or you don’t, and I have it,” Martin says, laughing.