An Army Airborne Ranger veteran and former Pasadena police officer has traded his tactical gear for the specialty coffee industry.
Trévon Sailor’s path to founding Sailor’s Brew Coffee reads like a manual for discipline and purpose.
Sailor said he had no intention of joining the military and never spoke to recruiters when they came to his high school. Instead, he planned to attend Cal State Northridge. However, his financial aid was revoked when it was determined that his mother made too much money on paper for him to qualify for the assistance.
That decision left Sailor in a quandary about what to do. Returning home from a family camping trip in June of 2009, following his high school graduation, Sailor discovered that a Marine Corps recruiter had left him a voicemail. He went to the recruiter's office and heard the pitch about getting his college paid for by the military.
He brought the information home to his mom and stepfather, who served in the Army.
“When I presented this Marine Corps opportunity, he says, go to the Army office,” said Sailor.
Taking his stepfather’s advice, Sailor ultimately enlisted in the Army and served for a little over four years. Following basic training and Airborne school, Sailor was tapped for Ranger school.
“I didn't have any trouble with any of the qualifications, you know, the physical stuff, the mental stress, nothing of that nature, but got caught up partaking in some contraband, which was like Gatorade, of all things, and got reprimanded for that,” he said. “They basically dropped me from the course, along with, like, a bunch of other people.”
Sailor was then sent to the 82nd Airborne and shipped out to Iraq, where he spent several months in Ramadi before returning stateside and earning his Ranger tab. He also went through Reconnaissance and Leadership Surveillance School before deploying to Afghanistan in 2012, while nearing the end of his military contract.
That’s when Sailor said a mentor of his in Pasadena, who was in law enforcement, urged him to apply at the police department there. He was soon hired, with his first assignment being the Rose Bowl and Rose Bowl Parade.
“They had me probing the security at the Rose Bowl. So, my job was, prior to the games and everything starting, was to see if I could make entry into the Rose Bowl, and then, if I gain entry, work my way into the actual stadium, and then take a picture of myself, send it to the stadium, and send it to headquarters. So, I did that,” he said.
While serving with the police department, Sailor responded to several mass shootings and was tapped for the SWAT team and a DEA Task Force. However, a trip with a coworker to Colombia in 2018 changed the trajectory of Sailor’s life, sparking his interest in coffee and leading him to establish Sailor’s Brew.
“I decided to focus on high-quality, what you call specialty coffees,” he explained.
Sailor said his goal is to give people a good experience of what coffee is supposed to taste like.
“You know, a lot of us grew up drinking, like, the Folgers or Maxwell,” he said. “Yes, that's coffee, but that's commercial grade; that's not a true coffee experience.”
Over time, Sailor said he has developed a philosophy that is the esprit de corps, the ethos of his brand - Boldly Set Sail.
“Set a goal, and stay on course until you reach that goal, with the understanding that it's not going to be a smooth transition,” he said.
Sailor has also authored a new book called "Boldly Set Sail," where he teaches others how to apply military-grade follow-through to their personal and professional goals.
Reach Julia LeDoux at Julia@connectingvets.com.
