For Trent Landreth of El Dorado, words don’t come easily. Diagnosed with severe autism, he had to find other ways to express himself — most notably with whimsical sketches of giraffes, rhinos and other animals.
Today he’s known to millions online as the man behind Drawings by Trent. In his social media videos, Trent lifts a folded piece of paper out of a bowl, opens it, and reads. Within seconds, he’s drawing a request from one of his followers.
He has 2 million followers on Facebook, 1.3 million on Instagram and 3 million on TikTok.
His artistic abilities have gained him worldwide attention, despite having a neurological condition that can sometimes make life challenging. Trent has limited verbal communication, and he doesn't understand some common dangers.
“He doesn't do things like look to see if cars are coming before he crosses the street,” said Andrea Landreth, Trent's mother. “And if the house were on fire, he would probably shut himself in his room.”
Despite these challenges, Trent has used his online platform to create and build his own business.
His mother and father, Corey, help with Drawings by Trent, which sells things like coloring books, stickers, T-shirts, mugs and three published books that feature Trent’s artwork.
The hope is that the business will help provide for Trent in the future, when his parents may not be able to care for him anymore. But the overall mission is to highlight that life is better together, even with people who are different.
“When we share our lives with each other, we are not just helping those ‘poor’ special needs individuals. We actually grow and become better people,” Corey Landreth said.
Trent went viral about ten years ago, when his mom posted a video of Trent on a trampoline. With cicadas chattering overhead, he used a piece of chalk to draw animals on the trampoline’s surface: an elephant, an alligator, a gorilla.
Over the next four months, he gained his first million followers. Andrea and Corey Landreth say he is not aware of his fame, and does not draw for anyone else's enjoyment but his own – a quality they say everyone can learn from.
“The higher-need individuals, especially, they're just living their life. They're just going to do the things that they do, and they don't do it for anyone else,” Corey Landreth said. “And I often wish I had more of that.”
His parents say Trent does not use his artwork as a form of communication, but rather a way to express himself.
“We feel like we have to be his voice, but we also want to be very careful not to speak for him when we don't for sure know how he feels about something,” said Corey Landreth.
Off camera, Trent draws even more detailed art. He uses black ballpoint pens, and his preferred canvas is a phone book. His drawings focus on wild African animals like elephants, giraffes and lions.
“I think part of the appeal is the soft pages, because his pen makes a groove in it, and he can feel as he draws,” Andrea Landreth said. She thinks Trent also enjoys the “busyness” of phonebook pages that normal sketchbooks may lack.
Trent’s personal art pages sometimes also include movie scenes from Disney's The Lion King. He also draws animals walking off of pages, combinations of two animals and animal outlines, and he writes lists of animal names in alphabetical order.
His viral videos have led to collaborations with businesses like Old Chicago, where he helped design the art for the restaurant’s kids menu. He also partnered with Vineyard Vines, collaborating with Tanner Smith from Netflix’s “Love on The Spectrum.” They both helped design a line of T-shirts for Autism Acceptance Month.
Although Trent himself doesn’t talk about his life as an influencer, his parents say he gets excited traveling for meet-and-greets, where he interacts with fans from all over the country.
“He loves staying in hotels. If we get an AirBnB, he goes straight to what's his room and makes himself at home,” Andrea said. “He just loves it.”
Trent turns 29 next month. He spends most of his time with his family, and he’s frequently drawing when he seems to be in a good mood. He takes trips to his local public library often, and he’s leaning into the uncle-life with help from his niece Winry.
Early next year, Drawings by Trent will publish an activity book that will be available at Walmart stores nationwide.
You can see some of Trent's videos at Drawings By Trent on Facebook. His parents also produce the Used Up Pens podcast, where they talk about life with Trent.
