The creative mind behind @Landontalks, Landon Bryant, wife Kate, and son Charlie enjoy the close-knit lifestyle in small town Laurel, Mississippi.
Story by Cara Clark
Photos by Jessica Phillips, Blackbird Creative
For anyone fixin’ to go online, there’s a Southern personality on social media who’s not piddlin’ around when it comes to sharing his thoughts. Landon Bryant, the man behind @landontalks on Instagram, is among the most engaging celebrants of the South due to discussions peppered with terms like fixin’ and explanations about the difference between piddlin’ and gallivantin’. His vernacular, candor, and Dr. Seuss-like perspective of life has attracted more than 450,000 followers and growing. Even the most casual social media scrollers have found themselves ensnared by Landon’s calm tones, delivered with a certifiable Southern accent, a heapin’ helpin’ of humor, and on-target insights into the culture in the region.
Born and raised in Laurel, Mississippi, a picture-perfect small town, Landon’s the type of fella who helps his cousin harvest bamboo to build a rabbit fence around her vegetable garden. After they pile the green stalks on a golf cart, he throws himself on top of the rattling bundle to keep the pieces from clattering off before they arrive at her home for construction. That’s just an anecdote he shares across a cup of coffee that illustrates an ordinary day in the life of Landon.
BLESS YOUR HEART
With each short chat, Landon encourages his audience to “Let’s discuss” and admonishes them to do so nicely. When he says, “Bless your heart,” there’s no snark in tone or intention. His objective in asking fellow followers to be nice in their comments comes from the ingrained habits of a schoolteacher, who wants his students to play nice and learn to keep that niceness in their hearts throughout life.
Whether it’s secrets to the tastiest grilled cheese, thoughts on “Mr. No Shoulders,” the best place to find boiled peanuts, the hierarchy of contributions to a covered dish, or the dilemma of door-holding etiquette, Landon’s elementary educator background is evident in the way he converses with his viewers — openly and with a mix of dignity and hilarity. When he talks about the “side of the road man” and finding the tastiest boiled peanuts where you see a sign spelled P-nuts, other Southerners connect, and those outside the region are intrigued by how things are done down South.
The Insta star, whose career started in January 2023 and has taken off with sponsorships, an agent, and special appearances, seems even younger in person with a smattering of light freckles across his nose, a shoot-straight posture, and a luxurious head of hair that has become iconic in his Instagram feed. In retrospect, taking to social media was a natural for someone who loves to talk, questions most things in the world, and enjoys connecting with others.
“I’ve always been an entertainer since I was able to make any noises,” Landon says. “I’ve always been a performer. There’s never been a time when I had to be convinced to get up on stage in front of an audience.”
Whether framed by the curtains in his grandmother’s house or on stage at church, Landon’s performances have been inspired by his love of being seen and passion for art. For more than a decade, he taught visual art in the area school districts. While his wife, Kate, directed musicals, Landon would help to create sets “out of absolutely nothing — literally making it out of junk or trash.”
Landon was also tasked with using art in lessons, teaching multiplication or grammar with some form of art involved.
“I had to be really creative and come up with those lessons because they’re not online. Anywhere,” Landon says. “I feel like that practice of creativity has a lot to do with being able to put out content like I do now.”
In his early online career, Landon posted the occasional video, and he even had a few that went viral. It’s his penchant for talking that sparked his career with a push from his wife.
“I talk a lot, and my wife is the recipient of that a lot of the time,” he says. “One day, I was telling her about something, and she said, “You should tell the internet your stories.’ So, I started talking to the internet.”
Landon told the story of Walmart High School — his class actually took a field trip to Walmart when he was in eighth grade. People responded not only to the story, but also to the regional accent.
“I don’t even think I really have that big of a Southern accent,” Landon says. “There’s worse ones. But in those videos, I would say things like, ‘I’m fixin’ to,’ and people would ask me what I meant by that. I couldn’t understand it. So, I was like, ‘Well, let’s discuss.’”
The origin was organic, but it was met with an eruption — a lot like when a big ol’ filet of catfish hits a simmering oil bath. One of his early jobs was working at a small seafood spot, Carl’s Catfish, in his beloved hometown.
“I really couldn’t believe I had to explain ‘fixin’ to,” Landon says. “For the longest time, I couldn’t figure it out, then there was a click in my brain, like, ‘Whoa, we are speaking a different language here.’
“Even still, every video I would make, I would say something that was not intentionally extremely Southern, but people would comment and had never heard anybody say that. They just kept discussing, and it’s really nuts to me how it’s taken off so well and how people relate to it. It’s really strange to be celebrating our regular daily life. I’m so glad to be able to do that.”
The young comedian says a severe case of Attention- Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) has impacted much of his life — something he feels comfortable discussing rather than romanticizing a perfect life. Time management can be tough, and he prefers to choose from a long list of working topics when he decides what to do for a new post.
“Sometimes I’ll dilly dally and lollygag all over the place, having the best time as I usually do, or I’m panicked that I’m not gonna get this or that done,” he says. “Everything isn’t always lollipops and rainbows. I think authenticity is the key. I think people like it that I don’t act. I don’t want to be not genuine, which is fortunate for me because I don’t know how to do that.”
And Landon is living his dream with a marriage to his childhood true love, dream girl, and best friend. The two have a 10-year-old son, Charlie, rounding out their family, which is deeply entrenched in their beloved community. He continues to create his segments as he has done from the outset. He’s spontaneous and likes to speak off-the-cuff.
“This is not high-tech. I literally set my phone up and start talking about whatever the topic is,” he explains. “I just talk and talk, then cut it down to a minute and a half. That’s it. It’s not like I type it out. It wouldn’t be as authentic.”
Landon’s Laurel neighbor, Erin Napier of HGTV’s Hometown, has shared advice at times when he’s pondering the next steps or looking for the right agent or publisher, and his book, Bless Your Heart: A Field Guide to All Things Southern, published by Hachette Book Group will be on shelves in the spring.
The connection with Erin is a friendship and voice of reason he values and needed last May when four top publishers came to him to negotiate a deal. The Napiers’ and their agent have also given him tips on negotiating deals, learning the real value of his talent and time as his popularity grows.
Landon has celebrity followers ranging from Justin Timberlake to Jennifer Garner, and many would say his charm is his unapologetic appreciation for all things Southern — including his accent, slang words, and old sayings.
“I think a lot of people are embarrassed by the Southern accent, but I think it’s beautiful and something we should be proud of,” Landon says. “It’s something we’ve inherited, and we have these sayings and customs we’ve passed down. I love sharing that with people.”
Landon’s book is available for pre-order where books are sold and will be out April 1. He is currently on a stand-up comedy tour with dates available on Linktree.
You can find Landon on Instagram, TikTok, and Linktree.
