Author: Manly Bryant

Welcome to my author bio page! My name is Manly Bryant and I’m a Social Media Community Manager at Country Rebel. I’ve been working for the company since its conception in 2014 and to be the first person hired by the company and to still be here to this day full-steaming ahead, there’s only one reason for it — I love this job!

Early Life and Education

I was born in Tuscaloosa, Alabama in 1988 and grew up in a big southern family. One of my earliest memories is from when I was six years old and I entered into my elementary school talent show to sing Keith Whitley’s “When You Say Nothing At All.” I didn’t win, but I knew from that moment I loved country music. I grew up in the South listening to country songs my parents played, going to church singing with grandma, and playing outside in the countryside with my brothers and cousins. We all used to listen to Billy Ray Cyrus’s “Achy Breaky Heart” and rock back and forth so hard in the mini-van that mom would feel us moving the vehicle so hard she’d say something about it. When I was seven, I moved to Kentucky where I spent most of my childhood playing with family and friends in the woods, fishing, camping, learning how to work on a farm, and living the life of every country boy. I thought it was cool that I lived right down the street from Eddie Montgomery from the country music duo band Montgomery Gentry. I graduated from Boyle Country High School in 2008 (my school’s mascot was also a Rebel) and I went to college at Eastern Kentucky University where I decided I wanted to become an Internet Marketer. It wasn’t long after that I got the opportunity to be hired by the soon-to-be owners of Country Rebel.

Career

I was initially hired by the CEO of Country Rebel, Kevin Blue, and the CFO of Country Rebel, Darin Blue, in 2012 when I still lived in Kentucky to close sales for them over the phone and schedule appointments. However, once Country Rebel officially launched in 2014, I moved to San Diego, California to start my career with Country Rebel as a Social Media Community Manager at an office located in the downtown area (the headquarters has since moved to Ashland, Tennessee). My role at the office changed from cold-calling clients to being trained to manage article publishing on social media and becoming a utility player for the company. I wore many hats and had many other job duties as the years rolled by, from social media management to WordPress blog post writing, to assisting with filming music videos for music country stars like Cody Johnson, Russell Dickerson, LOCASH, and Rodney Atkins. I’ve even worked the Country Rebel product tent at concerts and taken care of the office dog, Bowzer.

One time while I was walking Bowzer, I randomly met Chris Stapleton and his wife walking their dog on the streets of downtown San Diego and we stopped to chat and take a picture. Over the years, I’ve gained many skills in the art of internet marketing and if you fast forward to 2025, what I’m currently focused on helping Country Rebel grow its Instagram audience. One project I’m putting time into that you can take a look at is Country Music Tunes. I’m also helping manage the main Country Rebel TikTok account. This job is a dream come true job. I get to listen to country music every day, research what artists are doing, and talk about it–and get paid for it! To say I am very, VERY grateful to do this, is an understatement.

Personal Life

Other than having a great job, while living in San Diego in 2020, I met a girl who was visiting from Paris, France, and long story short, we fell in love. I ended up visiting her in Paris and because she had an office job and I worked remotely, I decided to travel to see her every year so that we could be together. Now, we’ll be getting married soon and I’m currently spending half my time in America visiting family and friends, and the other half building memories in Paris with my soon-to-be wife and stepson. In my off time, I’m still listening to all kinds of country music, from mainstream artists like Florida Georgia Line to traditional country stars like George Strait, I’m a daily country music connoisseur. When I’m not doing those things, I go to the gym, shoot guns, invest in cryptocurrencies, and travel the world with my woman exploring new places. I drive a Mercedes AMG c300 in Paris and Crossfire in America and I’ve traveled to over 15 countries and lived on 3 different continents. For a country boy raised in the woods, I sure did learn how to get around this planet. As for gaming, when I play, I play Age of Empires 4 on X-Box or Super Smash Bros Ultimate on Switch. For entertainment, I like to watch Joe Rogan, Theo Von, and the Fresh & Fit podcast. I watch comedy and action movies over scary and drama movies and I like to keep my house looking fresh and clean. And of course, I always have country music playing in the background somewhere in the house.

Conclusion

Overall, I love what I do. I love researching into an artist or an event in the country music world and showcasing my findings in a detailed, digestible piece of content. I hope you find what I write enjoyable! Thank you so much for taking the time to learn more about me! You can scroll down now to see and read more articles I’ve written. Feel free to follow me on social media too if you’d like. Have a blessed day, y’all!