20,654 hugs
780 days
51 countries
Let's improve your mental well-being
with inspiring hug & life stories
Founded in 2022, HUG4LOVE is THE well-being movement.
Our mission is to build a community of people that want to improve their mental well-being!
In the last 780 days, more than 66 people joined me on a FREE HUGS adventure to give 20,654 hugs in 51 countries to improve people’s well-being.
Vision
Become the worldwide symbol of well-being by creating 1 billion hug stories in every country
Progress
Hug Stories: 20,654 / 1,000,000,000
Countries hugged: 51 / 195
“We need 4 hugs a day to survive, 8 hugs to maintain ourselves and 12 hugs to grow.”
world-renowned family therapist - Virginia Satir
Contact : HUG4LOVE1@GMAIL.COM
50% of the profit from the sales of HUG4LOVE BADGE will go to charities in the field of mental health and mental well-being.
I’m still looking for which charity will be receiving donation! Please email me if you have any proposition: hug4love1@gmail.com
My magic formula to improve your MENTAL WELL-BEING
There are multiple ways to take care and improve our mental well-being. Here are 3 steps that works for me, therefore, I’m inviting you to give it a try.
Step 1: Hug
Giving long hugs have incredible benefits like: reducing stress and fear and boosting happiness.
It create a good, peaceful, relax state of mind to think about how to change in your life and improving your mental well-being. Virginia Satir, a world-renowned therapist in USA recommend at least 4 per day.
You can get a visual reminder to remember to give those daily 4 hugs by purchasing the OFFICIAL HUG BADGE!
Step 2: Think
While being in a good state after you gave a 90 seconds hug, you can sit down without distraction and think about the important areas of your life. Think about your physical health, your relationships health, your financial health etc.
Ask yourself, what are the stories of your past that prevent your from taking action toward having a better life and a better mental well-being.
To get inspired, you can take a look at people’s stories on my website and Youtube channel.
Step 3: Act
The strategies to get the life we want are now available all over the internet.
If people can’t seem to follow those strategies, we don’t have to think that we are broken, we can simply go back to step 1 & 2 until we are able to just do it.
I wrote a guide about strategies that I used to turn my life around and the way this project transformed my whole life. You can see if this formula can help you here!
Free hugs adventure with me
How it works:
1. Send me a message on Instagram about when and where you want to go on a free hug adventure!
2. We meet, walk together, visit the place, do an activity, give hugs to strangers and I shoot videos about our awesome journey
3. I do an interview of your experience & you earn the EXCLUSIVE ”HUG4LOVE WELL-BEING STATUS”
Charity
HUG4LOVE is fundraising money for charity in the field of mental health & mental well-being.
50% of the profit from the sales of HUG4LOVE BADGE will go to charities in the field of mental health and mental well-being.
I’m still looking for which charity will be receiving donation! Please email me if you have any proposition: hug4love1@gmail.com
Interview on TV in Kosovo
ABOUT the founder
My name is Jean-Philippe Marier, I’m from Quebec, Canada.
After seeing the negative impact of the pandemic and the social distancing measures on people’s mental well-being, I started to think about ways to help.
Since lots of people were missing physical touch and that a hug has so many benefits including improving mental well-being, I thought: ”I will give free hugs everyday, everywhere around the world to everyone who wants”. That’s how HUG4LOVE is born.
Than I decided to mix my project with my biggest passion: self-development.
In order for me to reach my dream life of travelling the world and giving hugs to thousands of people, I had to transform. I had to change my mindset, grow my self-love (self-esteem) and learn how to discipline every area of my life (Physical health, Mindset health, Relationship health, emotional health, Financial health)
I’m currently giving free hugs daily, inviting people to join me on a free hug adventure and I’m interviewing them to know their inspiring life/hug stories.
I’m doing it to encourage people to invest time in their well-being to ultimately transform their lives.
I started the Movement in February 2022 by giving the first hug in Montreal, Canada and I never stopped. Watch my adventures around the world on Youtube
HUG4LOVE1@GMAIL.COM
How to improve people's mental well-being?
1. By offering them hugs worldwide daily
2. By inviting them on free hugs adventure
3. By encouraging them to offer more hugs (Ideally 4) on a daily basis and to invest time thinking and finding solution to improve their mental well-being.
4. By creating daily videos publish on social media where we encourage people to give hugs and share with you people’s touching hug stories to realize that YOU are not alone and you can change your life.
5. By inviting people to send their hug story and hug video on my website to inspire others and contribute to humanity.
6. By finding ways to fundraise for charities in the field of mental well-being and mental health.
HUG4LOVE WELL-BEING STATUS
The HUG4LOVE WELL-BEING STATUS (HWS) is THE exclusive worldwide symbol that shows that someone is helping others to improve their well-being.
The only way an individual can get it is by participating in a free hug adventure with me!
EMAIL for details: hug4love1@gmail.com
Free HUG BUDDIES
More than 60 person worldwide decided to join me on a FREE HUGS adventure to improve the well-being of others. The ”HUG BUDDIES” have shown that they care enough about people to distribute free hugs as act of kindness and love. Here’s a list (see below) of the people who came with me and some of videos of FREE HUGS ADVENTURE!
All those people received the HUG4LOVE WELL-BEING STATUS that shows the world that they care about other human being.
Now it’s your turn to join me on a free hug adventure! You can simply write to me on Instagram, click the button below to have access!
Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan – Day 481 – Nanita Shoniya
Koh Samui, Thailand – Day 623 – Sasitorn Thaksin
Koh Samui, Thailand – Day 625 – Buse
Koh Samui, Thailand – Day 629 – Nattaya Marakbut
Krabi, Thailand – Day 640 – Anna & Loui
Kuala Lumpur, Indonesia – Day 646 – Joe
Kuala Lumpur, Indonesia – Day 647 – Kim
Montreal, Canada – Day 698 – Jessica
Montreal, Canada – Day 696 – Catherine
Montreal, Canada – Day 719 – Annalena
# | Free hug buddy | Day | Date | City | Country | # of hug stories |
1 | Florence | 186 | 26/08/2022 | Montreal | Canada | 105 |
2 | Nathalie | 220 | 29/09/2022 | Montreal | Canada | 70 |
3 | Clémence | 221 | 30/09/2022 | Montreal | Canada | 45 |
4 | Daniel Marier | 242 | 21/10/2022 | Montreal | Canada | 49 |
5 | Léa | 270 | 18/11/2022 | Montreal | Canada | 60 |
6 | Justine | 340 | 27/01/2023 | Essaouira | Morocco | 27 |
7 | Bob | 343 | 30/01/2023 | Marrakesh | Morocco | 45 |
8 | Lukas | 365 | 21/02/2023 | Barcelona | Spain | 59 |
9 | Saida | 375 | 03/03/2023 | Sidi bou Said | Tunisia | 52 |
10 | Francis | 375 | 03/03/2023 | Sidi bou Said | Tunisia | 52 |
11 | Amal | 379 | 07/03/2023 | Tunis | Tunisia | 73 |
12 | Maren | 390 | 18/03/2023 | Cairo | Egypt | 18 |
13 | Ismail | 400 | 28/03/2023 | Amman | Jordan | 17 |
14 | Alone | 401 | 29/03/2023 | Amman | Jordan | 27 |
15 | Santiago | 420 | 17/04/2023 | Antalya | Turkey | 21 |
16 | Deniz | 423 | 20/04/2023 | Antalya | Turkey | 39 |
17 | Lili | 425 | 22/04/2023 | Fethiye | Turkey | 46 |
18 | Dilchad | 426 | 23/04/2023 | Fethiye | Turkey | 16 |
19 | Janna Butulyan | 441 | 08/05/2023 | Erevan | Armenia | 65 |
20 | Lusine Arushanian | 442 | 09/05/2023 | Erevan | Armenia | 27 |
21 | Pantea Yoosefi | 443 | 10/05/2023 | Erevan | Armenia | 27 |
22 | Karine | 443 | 10/05/2023 | Erevan | Armenia | 27 |
23 | Zara Sahakyan | 444 | 11/05/2023 | Erevan | Armenia | 43 |
24 | Talant Sagynbaev | 448 | 15/05/2023 | Osh | Kyrgyzstan | 43 |
25 | Kural Chokoev | 451 | 18/05/2023 | Bishkek | Kyrgyzstan | 78 |
26 | Saadi Kozhobekov | 452 | 19/05/2023 | Bishkek | Kyrgyzstan | 40 |
27 | Suli Phonechik | 455 | 22/05/2023 | Bishkek | Kyrgyzstan | 32 |
28 | Ria | 456 | 23/05/2023 | Bishkek | Kyrgyzstan | 63 |
29 | Aglan Akpan | 464 | 31/05/2023 | Almaty | Kazakhstan | 64 |
30 | Sholpan | 473 | 09/06/2023 | Almaty | Kazakhstan | 55 |
31 | Angelina | 474 | 10/06/2023 | Almaty | Kazakhstan | 59 |
32 | Kbakhyt | 476 | 12/06/2023 | Almaty | Kazakhstan | 51 |
33 | Nanita Shoniya | 481 | 17/06/2023 | Bishkek | Kyrgyzstan | 16 |
34 | Nasiba | 501 | 07/07/2023 | Dushanbe | Tajikistan | 29 |
35 | Makenzie | 552 | 27/08/2023 | Hanoi | Vietnam | 32 |
36 | Kyand | 559 | 03/09/2023 | Ha long | Vietnam | 15 |
37 | Martina | 576 | 20/09/2023 | Phnom Penh | Cambodia | 54 |
38 | Michel | 594 | 08/10/2023 | Vang vieng | Laos | 12 |
39 | sasitorn thaksin | 623 | 06/11/2023 | Koh Samui | Thailand | 40 |
40 | Buse | 625 | 08/11/2023 | Koh Samui | Thailand | 77 |
41 | Nattaya Marakbut | 629 | 12/11/2023 | Koh Samui | Thailand | 35 |
42 | Momay | 635 | 18/11/2023 | Koh Samui | Thailand | 33 |
43 | Anna | 638 | 21/11/2023 | Phuket | Thailand | 40 |
44 | Loui | 640 | 23/11/2023 | Krabi | Thailand | 23 |
45 | Marlene | 641 | 24/11/2023 | Krabi | Thailand | 34 |
46 | Vivian | 644 | 27/11/2023 | Georgetown | Malaysia | 23 |
47 | Joe | 646 | 29/11/2023 | Kuala Lumpur | Malaysia | 36 |
48 | Kim | 647 | 30/11/2023 | Kuala Lumpur | Malaysia | 41 |
49 | Samantha | 649 | 02/12/2023 | Kuala Lumpur | Malaysia | 42 |
50 | Bhupi | 650 | 03/12/2023 | Kuala Lumpur | Malaysia | 25 |
51 | Herman | 655 | 08/12/2023 | Jakarta | Indonesia | 15 |
52 | Jing | 656 | 09/12/2023 | Jakarta | Indonesia | 29 |
53 | Kendra | 658 | 11/12/2023 | Yogyakarta | Indonesia | 50 |
54 | Aurelie | 659 | 12/12/2023 | Yogyakarta | Indonesia | 20 |
55 | Clarisse | 660 | 13/12/2023 | Yogyakarta | Indonesia | 8 |
56 | Magali | 676 | 29/12/2023 | Montreal | Canada | 36 |
57 | Syrine | 678 | 31/12/2023 | Montreal | Canada | 18 |
58 | Catherine | 695 | 17/01/2024 | Montreal | Canada | 27 |
59 | Jessica | 698 | 20/01/2024 | Montreal | Canada | 31 |
60 | Annalena | 719 | 10/02/2024 | Montreal | Canada | 62 |
61 | Jessica | 726 | 17/02/2024 | Montreal | Canada | 41 |
iTINERARY
On April 11th, after 780 days in a row, 20,654 hugs were given in 51 countries on 4 continents (North America, Europe, Africa, Asia). And more than 66 ”hug buddies” came to give free hugs to strangers with me. Below you can see the number of people I gave hugs per country. Watch all my expeditions on YOUTUBE
Hug Stories
Montreal, Quebec, Canada – Day 1 – Hug story #1
Here is the first ever hug I gave for the HUG4LOVE Movement. When this man saw my FREE HUGS T-shirt, he opened his arms and I could read a smile In his eyes! He was delighted with my act of kindness.
Athens, Greece – Day 12 – Hug story #239
When we were at the airport, I offered a hug to this lovely lady. At first she hesitated but we ended up doing it. She told me that she felt super lonely and it was her very first hug since Covid19 started ! (Meaning 23 months without hugs)
Skopje, North Macedonia – Day 40 – Hug story #895
While my morning jogging, I offered a hug to this man. He said “I love you” during our hug. Than he told me he was going through some hard time right now and this act of kindness from a stranger was exactly what he needed.
Tirana, Albania – Day 46 – Hug story #1093
In Albania, we visited the bunker named ”BUNK’ART” and we met this family coming from Spain. The Spanish man agreed for the hug but added : I’ll do it under one condition, the hug must be at least 30 seconds. It was a fun moment.
Kotor, Montenegro – Day 58 – Hug story #1553
Pavle is a waiter in the beautiful city of Kotor. I met him while he was working and the moment he saw me, he stop everything he was doing and he gave me a hug. Than he said : ”Thanks God, there is finally someone doing this here, thank you, I needed that today”.
Prevlaka, Croatia – Day 61 – Hug story #1663
I have given a hug to this man who turned out to be with all his special police force crew. To congratulate me for the movement I started, they offered us drinks and even a car ride to go back to Montenegro!
Petrovac, Montenegro – Day 65 – Hug story #1844
We met Mathis while hitchhiking with him and since we got along pretty well we all spent the afternoon together. He told me he already have giving free hugs to strangers before the pandemic.
Bucharest, Romania – Day 78 – Hug story #2397
Here’s Rob, the owner of the fabulous T5 SOCIAL HOSTEL. Seriously the best hostel that I’ve been in my life so far. Rob’s priority was always to contributing to his community and since we shared that same interest, we bonded pretty quickly.
Zagreb, Croatia – Day 87 – Hug stories #2780 & 2781
I met Sarah and Nikola at my hostel, they are from Slovakia and they decided to spend the day giving hugs to strangers with me. Their energy level was to the roof and it made lots of people laugh!
Vienna, Austria – Day 109 – Hug stories #3494 & #3495
I met this lovely couple who just got married and they wanted to keep that wedding very small. Therefore, I was their official photographer in front of the church. I had the luxury of celebration their union by hugging them both.
Warsaw, Poland – Day 126 – Hug story #4153
I hugged this young lady who was raising money to help all the Ukrainians people while they were facing such a hard and difficult time! I had so much empathy for her help.
I was very happy to give hugs to a lot of Ukrainians refugee in multiple European countries. It must be horrible to have to leave everything behind you. I felt a huge feeling of contribution when they thank me for my empathy.
Montreal, Quebec, Canada – Day 161 – Hug story #5959
Here’s Elizabeth! She was so happy after our hug! But her story is the most touching! She told me she didn’t hug anyone for the last 3 years! She told me how the pandemic affected her and all the challenges she had to go through. That is why I started this movement. There are lots of people waiting for their hug.
Montreal, Quebec, Canada – Day 165 – Hug story #6276
I met this man in the Old Port of Montreal and after the hug he said: ”Thanks, I really feel lonely lately and I don’t have a lot of hugs, so I’m grateful for what you’re doing”
Montreal, Quebec, Canada – Day 178 – Hug story #7524
When getting out of the Metro station, this man saw me giving hugs and ask me for one. He told me he didn’t give or receive hugs for 3 years! I was astonished and I gave him another hug straight away! He shared that after few months without physical touch from someone else, you start feeling down.
Montreal, Quebec, Canada – Day 221 – Hug story #8190
I met and gave a hug to Clémence on day 216 and she was astonished by my project. She loved the idea so much that she wanted to be part of it. So we planned to meet on day 221, I gave her a official HUG4LOVE T-shirt and we change many people lives in the old port of Montreal.
Montreal, Quebec, Canada – Day 274 – Hug story #9416
After I gave him a hug, he told me he was waiting for a sign to start seeing a psychologist to help him. He confirmed that I was that sign and he was very grateful for my act of kindness.
Montreal, Quebec, Canada – Day 318 – Hug story #9941
While their truck was stopped at the red light, one firefighter came out and gave me a hug. He also wished me a happy new year and said ”Thank you for what you’re doing”
Montreal, Quebec, Canada – Day 325 – Hug story #9996
While I passed by that lady, she said ” Don’t ever give up”. It’s as if she knew I needed to her those powerful words at that very moment. When I gave her a hug she said ”that really means a lot, thank you”!
Montreal, Quebec, Canada – Day 325 – Hug story #10,000
Here’s Hundi, we talked for 30 minutes about lots of different things like travelling, psychology, mental health and my HUG4LOVE movement. He was very happy to see my desire to help humanity.
The hug was given exactly at the same spot as the very first hug of the HUG4LOVE Movement ten months earlier.
Montreal, Canada – Day 327 – Hug story #10,020
While I was riding the Subway, a lady offered me a donut in exchange for a hug! It was a very fun interaction, she was very impressed by my mission and told me that in fact, there is a big need for hugs.
Rabat, Morocco – Day 347 – Hug story #10,483
I had one of the nicest Moroccan experience with my friend Annas here. Shortly after we met, we formed a little group and we cooked a tagine on a fire next to the beach! Super traditional experience and it was delicious.
Fes, Morocco – Day 360 – Hug story #10,916
I was going through my Tiktok comments on my videos and this guy, Abdennacer wrote to me that if ever I was visiting his city, I could live with his family! I actually did. I met his mom, his brothers and sisters and the nephew and nieces. They were all lovely people and I was so grateful for so much kindness, so much generosity! I will always remember you my friend.