ABOUT FREE HUGS

A History of Free Hugs

Juan Mann first offered Free Hugs on the 30th of June, 2004 in Sydney's Pitt Street Mall. It began as a simple way for this very sad man to find a reason to smile once again. It just so happened to put a smile on the faces of everyone who passed him by and those who stopped to share a Free Hug.

In January 2005, offering Free Hugs was banned. What had started as one man with a sign had quickly grown to a dozen other people regularly meeting up in the city to share Free Hugs with strangers. With the support of these kind souls, Juan put together a petition lobbying the City of Sydney to have the ban on Free Hugs lifted, allowing everyone in the city to share in this simple, yet inspirational movement.

After collecting 10,000 signatures and presenting them to the Council, Juan Mann and his friends were once again allowed to share their Free Hugs with the city of Sydney.

In September 2006, a video was uploaded to YouTube sharing this simple story.

Now you can write the next chapter in the Free Hugs story but starting your very own Free Hugs Campaign.

The following is some friendly advice on starting your own Free Hugs Campaign. These steps will guarantee you get hugged by at least one random stranger you've never met before and may well never meet again!

Step 1 - Make a Free Hugs Sign or Shirt

As long as it says "Free Hugs" somewhere on it - the message will be clear. 

Step 2 - Find a busy, public location

If you're one of only six or seven people standing on the street, chances are that most of those people will give you a strange look and walk away from you as quickly as possible.

In choosing a place to offer Free Hugs it's a good idea to find a busy public place - parks, public squares or busy pedestrian areas. There are more prospective huggers walking around. Other great places to offer Free Hugs are festivals, major events and anywhere there are lots of people.

Shopping malls, stores and schools may not be such great places to offer Free Hugs. If you do want to offer Free Hugs in these places, it's a good idea to get permission from the people in charge. Let them know you're interested in making people smile, let them know you're doing a human, charitable thing and it won't cost anybody a cent. Maybe they'll let you hug away.

Step 3 - Hold up your Free Hugs Sign and get some attention!

Once you've got your sign or shirt and found a place to offer your Free Hugs, all it takes is you and maybe some friends to get out there and put a smile on a stranger's face!

There are a couple of different ways to get people's attention - beyond the fact that you're probably one of a very few people holding up a sign that says "Free Hugs"

You can call out to people and shout "Free Hugs!" at the top of your lungs. 

You can stand there silently, smiling at people as they pass you by, pointing at your Free Hugs sign or shirt and then at them. 

You could walk up to a random person with your sign and say something like "Hey - Care for a Free Hug today?"

You can pretty much do anything - whatever approach makes you feel most comfortable and gets the best results is the right way to offer Free Hugs for you.

Step 4 - Hug and Be Hugged

The only thing easier than hugging someone is sitting on the couch doing nothing at all and even then - you can be hugging someone. Go with what feels most comfortable.

Simple as that. 

Have fun Free Hugging and remember - the world is what you make of it!