Kevin Travers was born to Bill and Linda Travers on June 2, 1972. The young family lived in Pontotoc, Mississippi where Bill taught history and Linda taught art at the local high school. From an early age, Kevin showed interest in many different types of art. He excelled at painting and drawing in art classes in elementary school and junior high.

In high school, Kevin began working on the school newspaper. While on the newspaper staff, he began taking pictures and working in the school's darkroom. Although he often had to share the darkroom with the janitor's mop bucket, Kevin was fascinated by the process with which he could bring images to life. He loved to take photographs and watch the exposures show up in his buckets of chemicals.

In the fall of 1991, Kevin enrolled at the University of Mississippi in Oxford. Majoring in art, Kevin was often seen around campus with his camera, snapping pictures of the trees in the Grove, students on their way to class, and the architecture of the Barnard Observatory. His four years at Ole Miss were quiet for Kevin. Somewhat shy and reserved, Kevin rarely ventured into the large fraternity parties or the bars on the Square. He often asked girls out on dates, but they rarely accepted, thinking he was too quiet and shy. Too nice. He dated a little and had a few tepid relationships with girls, but for the most part, he filled his days with his camera.

When he graduated, Kevin decided to remain in Oxford. He liked the artsy community and felt at home there, or at least as much at home as he would anywhere. Over the years, he had developed friends with the painters, poets, and writers that made Oxford home and Kevin felt he could become part of that art community. Plus, staying in Oxford allowed him to work on his Master of Fine Arts degree when he had the money to pay for classes.

Although his parents had always encouraged Kevin's artistic ambitions, they were dismayed when he told them he was not going to get a "real" job. However, to their surprise, Kevin managed to survive by taking family portraits and occasionally selling a piece in some of the local art galleries.

Kevin was briefly in the news in Oxford because he was a friend and neighbor to Missy Hammond, who was found murdered in January 2001. Roger Hammond, Missy�s estranged husband, was arrested for the crime, although for a while many in the town felt Kevin was a viable suspect.

He has continued taking pictures and getting by, but he began to notice a young waitress, Arlene Melton, who served him in Two Stick cyber-restaurant more and more. He wanted her to model for him, but was dismayed to find out she was living with JP Wallace, Missy Hammond's former boyfriend who Kevin hated. When Arlene and JP split up in 2002, Kevin offered Arlene a deal whereby, in return for modeling, she could live rent free at his home. He saw something in Arlene he wanted to protect, but she quickly made it clear she was happy to take her clothes off for modeling but not for any other reason. He found Arlene�s decision difficult to come to terms with at times, but just recently things have been looking up and he has been dating a girl named Vicky Pett.

Kevin met Wenzel Hitzig for the first time in September 2002 when Wenzel came to Oxford to visit Arlene.