| Profile
Charlie “Hillbilly”
Bryant started playing pool when he
was 5 years old, and for the last 30
years, he hasn’t put down his cue.
In fact, he’s bringing out his own line
of break cues in January.
The cue will be called “The Hillbilly”
and will reflect what Bryant likes in
break cues. He has one of the
hardest breaks in the world, having
been clocked at 34.7 miles per hour
in Las Vegas in 1996. While he
still enjoys busting up the break, Bryant
says he plays more for control.
“Breaking that hard always came natural
to me, but I don’t break much like that
now.”
The new break cue will be taking his
nickname, but the story of how he got
it isn’t all that elaborate. “About
six years ago, someone said, ‘You sure
talk like a hillbilly,’
so it just stuck from there.”
He doesn’t seem to mind the name, mainly
because of his upbringing in Icard,
NC, a little town outside of Hickory.
Now living in Houston, TX, and
playing full time, he is the certified
APA teaching pro for the area.
“I really love to teach and see people
learn the fundamentals of the game.”
Bryant’s most recent big event was the
Atlanta Open on October 14-17, where
he tied for ninth. He also signed
with Rob Loveless of pooltourneys.com
as his new touring sponsor.
As busy as Bryant is, his priorities
are in pretty good shape. He has
shied away from the gambling aspect
of the game and recognized that his
talents were God given. “The good
Lord’s given me a great talent and a
great ability … and the way I’m gonna
give back to the game from what he’s
given me is teaching people.”
2007
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