Uncle Pappy built a following of over 1 million by standing in a Florida pond with a mustache and a good attitude. He didn’t share much about his personal life but shared everything about his personal philosophies.
The influencer’s meaningful monologues ranged in topic from wildlife and environmental conservation to daily inspiration, urging followers to live life to the fullest.
But amid his viral content, Uncle Pappy was keeping a secret.
He declined high-profile media opportunities, including interview requests, because appearing in person would reveal the truth before he was ready.
In a January 20 video that stunned his followers, Uncle Pappy revealed his true identity. The elderly internet philosopher was actually a 30-year-old Florida law student and musician named Blair Carlyle using a Snapchat filter.
“It’s like the most underwhelming secret in the world,” Carlyle tells TODAY.com. “So many people are like, ‘What crazy technology do you use?’ I’m like, this is just one of the original Snapchat filters.”
The Uncle Pappy character began when Carlyle started sending his friends short comedic videos on Snapchat using the mustachioed filter.
At first, the content was satire. Carlyle played an exaggerated elderly man who went on over-the-top, often patriotic, rants.
“It was way more of a parody,” he says. The running joke was that he was “an old man who hated England.”
A friend encouraged him to post the videos on Instagram and TikTok. The third video went viral and Uncle Pappy’s social media following grew. As he amassed a fanbase, Carlyle says he began to feel conflicted about the content he was posting.
“I just feel like the internet is, like, a very negative place already,” he says. “Even comedic negativity is still negativity.”
So he pivoted. Carlyle stopped the satirical rants and began sharing lessons and ideas pulled directly from his journals, not knowing how his followers would react.
“My first video that was me not talking about England blew up even more than before,” Carlyle says. “People were just like, ‘This was such a breath of fresh air.’”
And from there, Uncle Pappy’s page took off.
“It was like the universe was rewarding me for being truer to myself,” Carlyle shares. “Pappy is genuinely like the truest version of me. He’s the version of me I aspire to be.”
For example, in one of his viral videos, Uncle Pappy — who always films in the water — went on a rant in response to fans asking if he was afraid of alligators. Uncle Pappy said he’s actually afraid of sharks, but one idea is strong enough to overpower this fear.
“The odds of me getting attacked by a shark are about 1 in 4 million,” he said in the video, which got 20 million views. “The odds of me regretting not getting in the ocean, well, that’s 1 in 1, brother.”
“Life is about taking risks, facing your fears, being scared, man,” Uncle Pappy added, encouraging his following to take risks, because not taking risks will lead to more regret.
In another video, Uncle Pappy reflected on how the writer Anne Lamott said something along the lines of, “Every 100 years, there’s all new people.”
“We can’t pick the people we’re on Earth with, but we gotta get along, man,” Uncle Pappy preached in a video that amassed 25 million views.
As the posts went on, Uncle Pappy evolved into something more than a character. He embodied what Carlyle calls the “Pappy mindset.”
“Be kind, love nature and be conscious of what you practice,” Carlyle describes.
He says the concept of practice is foundational to this philosophy.
“Anything you do every day is something that you practice,” Carlyle says. “You can become, like, the Michael Jordan of anything you practice.”
Carlyle says he hoped love for Uncle Pappy could serve as common ground for his audience, introducing audiences to ideas about mindfulness and environmental responsibility they might not otherwise encounter on their feeds.
Behind the camera and the filter, Carlyle was left with the thought of when to reveal the truth to his followers.
“I spent so long being so scared,” he says. “Pressing post that morning, I was like, this could be it. This could all go away now.”
After uploading the big reveal video, Carlyle was surprised as support flooded in.
“The great thing about this reveal is that we get Uncle Pappy for a lot more years,” one commenter said. “Keep it up, brother.”
Uncle Pappy even gained support from actor and singer Donnie Wahlberg, who Carlyle says has become a mentor to him.
“Makes sense — your wisdom was always well beyond your years! Keep sharing your love and light, my friend! The world needs it more than ever,” Wahlberg wrote.
Now based in St. Petersburg while attending law school, Carlyle is studying environmental law, a passion rooted in a lifelong love of the outdoors.
“My whole life, my favorite thing has always been camping,” he shares.
The unmasking of Uncle Pappy was not the end of the character, but a way for him to keep talking about what he loves, more authentically.
“It really forced me to fully embody everything I talk about,” Carlyle reflects.
With or without a filter, Uncle Pappy’s next chapter is just beginning.
Carlyle says he plans to travel across the country this summer, documenting clean water issues and interviewing environmentalists and lawmakers to bring awareness to environmental protection.
Uncle Pappy’s story continues on the page as well.
“I also have a book that I am sending out to publishers right now that is kind of the amalgamation of all of the wisdom of Pappy,” he says.
“It’s kind of like ‘Uncle Pappy Guide to Life’ where it’s just everything that I talk about in all my videos condensed into a pocket-sized book you can keep in your center console of your car or something,” Carlyle adds.
As old as he looks, Uncle Pappy has many more years of wisdom to to come.
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