By Julian Higuera | Reporter<\/p>\n
Fun Fact: Texas is so big you can fit the entirety of Earth inside its borders.<\/p>\n
A statement like this is one of many introductions that helped social media influencer Oli Pettigrew gain a platform of over 100,000 followers on Instagram alone. Many Texans never knew there was a city named Earth located in Texas.<\/p>\n
His brand, @ThatEnglishmaninTexas, has been built on sharing shocking facts about the Lone Star State like the one above.<\/p>\n
Even though Pettigrew has an immense amount of knowledge about Texas, he lived in England during his childhood. <\/p>\n
After graduating from Southampton Solent University, Pettigrew got a job in the entertainment industry in Singapore. That\u2019s where he met his wife, Linda Pettigrew, a Wacoan abroad. After two kids and multiple years in the industry, they moved to Waco to start a new chapter in Texas.<\/p>\n
Pettigrew started his brand almost four years ago, after spending 17 years as a national television host. Pettigrew looked at the changing industry and decided he needed a shift; this is when his social media brand was born.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m just me, I think it makes me accessible,\u201d Pettigrew said. \u201cI walked into the local coffee shop in Lorena, and there were five ladies \u2026 It was a church group. One of them immediately clocked me, and she knew everything about me; she watches every video of mine.\u201d<\/p>\n
After learning from his wife, Linda Pettigrew \u2014 a native Texan \u2014 and observing Texan pride after the move, he began to acquire extensive knowledge of the state.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve been together for over 20 years now, and I realized, I speak fluent Texan, and it\u2019s a massively misunderstood state,\u201d Oli said. <\/p>\n