Toowoomba TikToker Brendan Keal reveals secret to viral food review success

While others fight for relevance in the big smoke, this Toowoomba TikToker is finding the key to success is hidden in his own backyard.

Toowoomba food TikTok content creator Brendan Keal, Friday, July 18, 2025. Picture: Kevin Farmer

With many chasing online stardom drawn to the bright lights of the big city, a Toowoomba TikToker has found the secret to success may just be in a place often overlooked.

Toowoomba born and bred, rising social media star Brendan Keal is the new kid on the block whose videos sharing the region’s top food and cafe spots have put him, and his hometown, on the global stage.

“I feel like there is a stigma that Toowoomba is a boring place; so I was like, ‘well, let me go find out’, and I’ve just found heaps,” the 25-year-old influencer said.

“There are so many places I didn’t even know existed and so many cute little unique spots.

“I think especially cafe culture here is very good; I feel like I hear everyone saying it’s like Melbourne and, I mean, Melbourne is like one of the best cafe places in the world.”

Among his popular videos are an inside look into Toowoomba’s famed all-you-can-eat Pizza Hut buffet and his now viral Beefy’s pie taste test, posted shortly after the beloved franchise opened their first store in the region.

“I posted for probably four months to no views and then I had my Beefy’s pie video and it went absolutely crazy, since then it has just kind of boomed,” Keal said.

Keal credited his regional roots for his quick success; reaching views of more than 205,000 and receiving thousands of likes.

To him, Toowoomba was the key to breaking through to his viewers facing an endless scroll of monotonous content.

“We thought 10,000 would be the max views we’d ever get, because it’s like who is going to watch it, it’s so small, but it’s actually doing really well,” he said.

“I originally thought I was going to move to Brissy to do it but I feel if I moved there I wouldn’t have gone as well as I have.”

His videos have resonated with people across town, exposing him, somewhat, to the life of a small town celebrity.

“I can’t walk through Grand Central (Shopping Centre) without someone coming up to me,” he said.

“It’s nice, every time it happens I’m embarrassed, but I’m getting more used to it, but it’s good fun.

“I get so many messages and comments just saying ‘you’re the only creator in Toowoomba’, ‘it’s so good that Toowoomba has got one’ and all that, it’s actually a bit of pressure.

“I think it is the fact that I am one of the only ones here, so if they’re going to look to someone, they look to me, which sounds really weird because I’m nowhere near huge … I just thought I was this dude doing videos.”

Toowoomba food TikTok content creator Brendan Keal. Picture: Kevin Farmer

Keal hoped to share the love with the community he promotes, specifically choosing to highlight small and family-owned businesses around Toowoomba.

“I grew up around the corner from Stephen Street Store so I used to go all the time,” he said.

“I did a video with them and it went really well and they told me it brought so much business … so it seems to be working.

“I want to keep promoting those family-owned locals because I want to show people where they are and I want to support them, everything’s so tough at the moment.”

Not completely satisfied with his current success, Keal said he dreamt of one day expand his online presence, moving into lifestyle and vlogging content, with an ultimate goal of becoming a full-time influencer.

“I always wanted to do social media … it’s just so much fun,” he said.

“I still do it for the fun of it, I’m not posting to be famous or anything like that.

“If I can do my passion as a job, then I’m not really working – I’m just going to eat and sometimes getting paid for it.”

Find Brendon Keal at @brendankeal on Instagram, @bredan.keal on TikTok, and @BrendanKeal on YouTube.

Originally published as Toowoomba TikToker Brendan Keal reveals secret to viral food review success