Southern art teacher turned viral sensation because he talks…a lot!

The first time I heard Landon Bryant speak, I thought: I love this guy. When I finally met him, I really did love him. In fact, we’re both convinced we must be long-lost cousins from way back—there’s just no other explanation.

Landon Bryant is as genuine as they come. Sitting down for this interview in Laurel, Mississippi felt exactly like watching one of his videos—except better, because it was like catching up with an old friend who wouldn’t know how to be “stuffy” if he tried.

Whether settling the great pecan pronunciation debate, schooling non-southerners on funeral procession etiquette, or bravely moderating the age-old cornbread-and-sugar controversy, Landon has a way of making you laugh, think, and maybe even learn a thing or two. Like just how naked (or nekkid) a person can get—because, yes, there are levels!

Landon is one of my absolute favorite people because he’s the real deal—a real Southerner, a real family man, and just a genuinely kind soul. I’ll admit, I’m still a little bitter that his hair is better than mine, but I suppose I’ll survive.

How in the world did this all start?
I talk too much. I always have. My papa was a talker. I see so much of myself in him, and I’ve always enjoyed conversation.

My wife and I grew up together since second grade. So, basically, she’s been there for all the stories. One day, I was talking about something, and it was probably the 90th time she had heard it. She said, “What if you told your stories to the internet?” So, I did!  I started talking to the internet. She got a break. And I just got to talking.

Like about your experience with Walmart High School?

We really did go to Walmart High School. Our school got blown away by a tornado. Nobody was hurt. It was on spring break, so nobody was there. So the best and brightest minds of this town got together. We had just gotten the new super Walmart, and their brilliant solution was to put us in that old empty Walmart for the last nine weeks of school. The 7th through 12th grade all in one Walmart. In cubicles, literally, plywood cubicles. It was a maze. It was a mess. The class under the Baby Department sign didn’t think it was very funny.

And I can talk about it all day long. So, I talked about that on the internet. And that went nuts, viral. In the comments, people were saying things like, “What do you mean you were ‘fixin’ to’?” And I was like, “How do you not know what that means?” And they said the same thing about “might could.” And so, the next video I did was “Let’s Discuss Fixin’ To.” And “Let’s Discuss Might Could.”

“Let’s Discuss” was born from there. So, it was like a total accident, but it quickly turned into a celebration of things I love.  Each of us live in a culture, but you often don’t realize it. It’s hard to turn a lens inward and see it from the outside. This whole thing has helped me see Laurel, Mississippi from a different perspective. And now I celebrate it.

How long have you been married?

Kate and I have been married for 13 years. And we’ve been together for 15, but we were best friends growing up.  I just wasn’t eligible. I hadn’t grown into my ears yet. We were driving back from Orlando, and her grandmother said, “Wouldn’t it be nice if you could marry your best friend?” And I thought, “Hold on. I didn’t know I was in the running.” And then like two weeks later, we were dating.

So, what were you doing before? What was your real job?

I was an art teacher. I was even teacher of the year for the state of Mississippi. And I really loved it. I never expected to do anything else.

I really struggled in college, but I got enough hours to finally graduate and teach. There’s a school in our town that is really special, Laurel Magnet School of the Arts. It uses art to teach academics.

So me, the dance teacher, the music teacher, and the PE teacher–every Friday, we would teach whatever grade we would get assigned. Whatever students learned that week, we would have to teach it with art, with music, with dance, with exercise…and we would. It was a creative way of thinking, and I’m really glad to have done that. I did that for 10 years.

I started teaching my son Charlie when he was in 4-year-old kindergarten there. I got to kind of grow up with him. Now he’s in 6th grade there. It was a great time.

This blew up in February of 2023. And it just was so nuts, so fast. We had to think about whether to continue teaching the next year or not. It was very scary because I wasn’t sure I could support our family without that. But I signed a book deal in May right before the school year was over so, it was like okay, I can take the time to do it.

Do you still do art?

I think you never “not” do art. I feel like probably you always do art. But I don’t have to teach. I really like collage. I like multimedia stuff. I like to throw everything at the canvas and see what sticks, and my wife is a portrait artist.

She was featured on an HGTV episode two weeks before I went viral. We were shifting our thinking to how we support her art career in this new world where she’s getting all this attention, and then I just blew up. And so now we’ve got both of them going…and it’s really wonderful!

How has Charlie adapted to all of this?

He’s mostly mad that I’m not at school with him anymore. They’re a different generation, though. Me being an influencer is not cool to them. He recognizes that he’s getting more opportunities to go do things and go to different places, but what I do is cringy and embarrassing.

Do you find your audience is primarily women?

I looked at that, and it’s like 89% women, 11% men. But you know what surprised me with analytics? My largest city, where I have the most percentage of my followers, are from New York City! I’m just so thrilled by that. That’s fascinating. What are y’all doing in New York?

But it’s people all over the world. I get comments from people from Vietnam and Uganda and all over the place that watch this stuff. <laughs> Basically, anywhere that’s hot and poor, they can relate to the things that I’m saying!

I think there are a lot of men who see your stuff watching it vicariously with their family.

Well, when people come up to me, the man in the family usually has something to say, too. And I like that a lot.

But I’ve always gotten along with all the ladies in my life. I grew up waiting around at the beauty shop. Now, people go to daycare all the time. When we were growing up, we just stayed with my great-grandma. We were always around family, and they were always at the beauty shop. Some of my earliest memories are listening to them there.

Is that how you decided you wanted to have great hair?

I never decided. Honestly when I went to college, I was lazy and didn’t get it cut. Now I get comments all the time.  Kate’s stepdad is a stylist. He just cuts it good. People ask me about my hair routine. There’s not one. I don’t do anything. I don’t even brush it. I just run my hands through it. Product? I just use whatever Kate has in the shower. Redken shampoo right now. In a month or two, it might be something different.

How did you start doing stand-up comedy?

I didn’t tell the truth one time, and I ended up doing stand-up comedy. Seriously.

This lady, Heather Land, is a comedian on the Internet.  She messaged me, “I’m having a show in Columbia, Tennessee. I heard that you do stand-up. Do you want to come?” I don’t know who told her that, but I was like, “Yeah.” And I had never done it.

I remember when I got there she asked, “What’s your process before the show?” I looked at her and said, “What’s YOUR process?” (laughing)

I just stand-up and talk. I have a list of topics, and I know how to segue between them. I get up there and story tell. At the end, it was a great show, and I loved it. She was like, “That was so good! We’ve got to do more shows together.”

It’s so different from doing it for a camera, with no reaction. But if I think about it, family lunches are stand-up comedy because everybody practices our material on each other every Sunday. You learn real quick what you can and can’t say, and what’s funny and what’s not. So, I feel like I’ve been doing stand-up my whole life. Now, I’m just actually on the stage doing it. This spring will be a mix of comedy shows and book signings.

Tell us about your new book.

It’s called Bless Your Heart, A Field Guide to All Things Southern. And it is just that.

It’s very funny what it turned into. I got it done and turned the manuscript in, and it wasn’t a field guide at that time. It was just Bless Your Heart. Then all the editors got hold of it. None are Southern. Some are not even American. My manuscript, when they sent it back to me, was just covered in red “what is” questions, and “this is wrong.” We spent two months arguing, with me saying, “No, that’s how it is; I understand it’s not grammatically correct.  This is how it has to be said.” So, it was very fascinating.

They had no concept. I was constantly going back trying to explain. It turns out we had to put in cross references and footnotes. It turned into this very scientific thing.

Was Instagram your initial social media platform?

It was and it’s still my main one. I’m most comfortable there. My audience is just the best people. Honestly, if you’ve never seen my account, go watch my videos, sure, but the comment section is the gold. It’s so good.

When I started this, I was actively teaching four-year-olds every day. I think I speak to four-year-olds the way I’m speaking on the internet. Kindness has been at the forefront of the whole thing. It’s built a kind community. So, I love Instagram.

TikTok is similar. It’s just a little more unhinged. They’re sillier over there. And Facebook can kind of get scary sometimes, people are really serious. And YouTube is the wild west!

What is it you think people relate to best?

People are looking for a place that’s not ugly, where they can say stuff and not be attacked in the comments. There’s plenty of division. People are looking for more community.

It’s turned into this table we’re all at. And I think it’s very important we’re at this table arguing about mayonnaise…or cornbread. Then maybe later we can learn to argue about even bigger things. But right now we’re here, and we’re going to argue about pear salad, and learn to be kind.

It’s very easy on the Internet to be a keyboard warrior. People wouldn’t say those things to people’s faces. The Internet has turned into this insane thing that, in real life, people wouldn’t act that way. We just have to recultivate the way we act on the Internet.

And people are looking for authenticity. The younger generation can sniff out fake so quick. If you’re acting or copying a trend, they know immediately. This is all I know how to be. So that’s what I’m going to be on the Internet. And I love to make my videos.

What’s ahead?

I’m pitching a television show that’s set in Laurel. I can’t believe they would even listen to me for that. It’s called Cousins. Basically, cousins coming back to live with their mom on Fifth Avenue. And shenanigans ensue from there. I wrote myself into the show as the narrator–just narrating from afar.

But we’re going to let the Lord lead. Whatever happens happens. I’m not going to be disappointed if things don’t pan out. I am very grateful for everything. If it stopped right now, I would be like, “Wow. What a ride.”

For more information on Landon and his videos, his book (release April 2025), or his new podcast “LandonTalks with Kate,” visit linktr.ee/landontalks