Charlie Kirk’s protege Brilyn Hollyhand, 19, vows to get 'louder and bolder' despite growing threats

NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK: Brilyn Hollyhand isn’t your average 19-year-old college freshman. The Alabama native, once just a fourth grader with a scrappy little podcast, has been hailed as Charlie Kirk’s heir. Now, he’s promising to get even “louder” and “bolder” in the shadow of his mentor’s shooting death.

Hollyhand, who has been called “the internet’s youngest voice of reason,” rose to prominence after scoring an interview with Kirk in 2018. Back then, he was just an 11-year-old with big dreams. Today, the teen boasts nearly half a million social media followers, draws sizeable crowds, and has been widely described as Kirk's conservative successor.

But Hollyhand insists he’s not trying to be Charlie.

“Charlie has very huge shoes to fill. Not just because he was a man with a large shoe size but because, like, legitimately, nobody can replace him,” he told the New York Post on September 21. “My goal is not to be Charlie, it’s to be Brilyn and to do what the Lord has given me the opportunity to do. If I can do half of the work that Charlie Kirk did in his time on this earth, then I’ll count that as a success.” 

How Charlie Kirk shaped Brilyn Hollyhand’s rise in conservative politics

Hollyhand’s rise began when he launched his conservative website, The Truth Gazette, and started his podcast. As a kid, landing guests wasn’t easy. That all changed when Kirk agreed to appear.

“He didn’t need to go on the Brilyn Hollyhand show with a fourth grader, but he did and he gave me that opportunity,” Hollyhand recalled. “There are so many people that you interview that you never talk to again, but he genuinely stayed a mentor and a friend through the past eight years of my political career.”

Their bond only grew stronger. Hollyhand revealed he had been texting with Kirk just hours before the Turning Point USA founder was gunned down on stage at Utah Valley University during his “American Comeback Tour” on September 10.

“We were speaking that morning because he had just seen me on Fox and he texted to turn around and be like, ‘Hey, man, you did such a great job this morning, so proud of you,’” Hollyhand said. The two also chatted about Kirk’s excitement for the first stop of the tour. 

Brilyn Hollyhand launches college tour under tight security 

In 2023, Hollyhand was named co-chair of the Republican National Committee’s Youth Advisory Council. Now, in the wake of Kirk’s death, he is preparing to launch his own 10-stop “One Conversation at a Time” college tour sponsored by Turning Point. The first stop kicks off Thursday at the University of Arkansas.

But the tour comes with serious risks. Hollyhand admitted that threats against him have skyrocketed. “I feel like I’m living a completely different life than I woke up in, you know, a few Wednesdays ago before he passed,” he said. “My threat level has tripled. I’ve got a security team now.” He added that campus security now escorts him to classes at Auburn University in Alabama.

Despite loved ones urging him to slow down, Hollyhand says he won’t be silenced. “That’s what they want. The coward who assassinated my friend wanted to shut my generation up and instead he woke us up,” he declared.

“I feel like this is a time where we have to get louder, we have to get bolder, we have to get more courageous, because that’s the life that Charlie loves. And so we can’t cower, we can’t be silent, we have to go to these campuses now, more than ever before,” he continued. “He lived and died for that and that’s why I kind of feel this calling to keep doing that.” 

Brilyn Hollyhand recalls Charlie Kirk’s mantra

Since their first sit-down eight years ago, Kirk’s inspiring words have never left Hollyhand’s mind.

“When I asked him for inspiration, of, you know, ‘what should I do… just to keep fighting this movement at such a young age?’ He looked at me, and I’ll never forget it. He said, ‘Brilyn, the left will always out-fundraise us, but they’re never going to outwork us.’”

Hollyhand was in the crowd as President Donald Trump referenced that very advice during Kirk’s memorial service in Arizona on September 21. He said his mentor lived by that motto. “They never outworked Charlie. He always took the time to continue fighting for this country. They could not outwork him, so they had to kill him,” Hollyhand concluded.  

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