August Travers was born to privilege. His father, Andrew, was a partner at Sullivan & Cromwell. His mother, Edith, was a mainstay of New York high society. Born on August 30th, 1966, August came into a changing world. The Establishment which his father served was weakened or, at least, irrevocably altered during the tumultuous decade of the 1960s. Nonetheless, August was raised with an older set of values.

From a young age, August was raised with an idea of his place in society. Some of his earliest clear memories were of his father reading to him from his law books, even though he had no idea what the old man was saying. His father intended for August to follow in his footsteps. August attended Trinity School and then went on to get a Bachelors in Philosophy from Oxford. He loved walking the prestigious halls and streets of Oxford. It gave him a greater still sense of place. While there, he became a great admirer of Edmund Burke.

August went on to get a JD from Yale. He studied hard to take his place in society at his father's firm. August did well there. He knew the law and he moved easily in society. He was comfortable with the partners, the other associates, and the clients.

August first met Ursula Alcala after he had worked several years at Sullivan & Cromwell. He had no clue whatsoever who or what she was. She was simply a beautiful young woman with a knowing smile whom he ran into repeatedly as clubs popular with men in his circles. There was always an air of power and mystery about her. He was never quite able to pin her down. Nonetheless, they soon became lovers.

August knew that Ursula was never his. She came in and out of his life as she pleased, and she always seemed in control of the situation. However, at one point, he went months without seeing her at all. This frustrated him but he was completely unable to reach her. When he did see her again, she took his life. It was a special act, exciting yet terrifying. She did not leave him unattended, but only when the act was done did she explain.

Ursula told him the basics of his Kindred nature. She explained the Traditions as well as the customs of Clan Ventrue. She also told him something of her own history. She had been a small businesswoman seeking to open a bar of her own when she caught the eye of Thomas Bostrom. Bostrom was a ruthless Ventrue soldier, a Wall Street security man who had been embraced by Michaela in one of her many mass embraces. Bostrom had survived and fought well enough to earn enough favor to embrace a childe of his own. They always needed more soldiers. When Bostrom himself fell in battle, Ursula had gone into deep morning, expressed in battle. However, when she returned, she had asked to make a Childe of her own. Her thoughts turned to August.

August was able to draw initially on what he'd earned as a lawyer. It was simple enough for him to set up a few financial instruments to disguise the true owner of his accounts. After that, he set about establishing himself. He bought a townhouse in Tribeca neighboring those owned by a few members of his Herd. While he always plays the host at his own nominal address and even maintains a decoy lair there, there is a more carefully hidden tunnel leading to the townhouse of his favorite vessel Natalie Sherman, under which he has his true sleeping chambers.

August then set himself up as an investor in the Electric Crown Studio in the Village. His role was purely a business one. August had never been a connoisseur of music, just of musicians. While he was not the lone or even majority investor in Electric Crown, August set the tone. The studio maintained its artistic facade but the local artists and radical experiments endorsed by the collective that had owned it previously was out. Instead, the studio would seek both major mainstream artists and high status, prestige artists. He made sure Natalie, the pride of his Herd, played there, and he used his role as the money to prey on other recording artists.