Here’s the first interview to open and inaugurate the “How To Make A Better World” project.
Maybe some of you know about “Free Hugs”; this nice idea that brings nice people with a placard in the streets, offering free hugs to people passing by that need some.
I found out about “Free Hugs” when I was in London, Hyde Park, on a Sunday at the Speaker’s Corner; My friends and I hugged this guy, called Stuart, the Ambassador for Hugs, and we took a picture as well. He gave me his ‘business card’ and I had the chance to contact him later on when I decided to start this project. I really liked the idea of giving free hugs away to strangers, it has a positive feeling and it’s a way of spreading love in this world.
Now, Stuart McElwaine was very nice to accept. He told me he was flattered and happy to have this chat with me, and I found out he’s an awesome person!
But let’s not waste time, here’s the interview:
Q: So Stuart, thanks for accepting to do this. To start off and break the ice, could you tell us abit about you?
A: A nice open question to start with then lol. I originally come from Glasgow but have also lived in Qatar, Daubai & of course England (Norfolk in the East of England and now London)
Q: This is very interesting. Did this help you to be an open minded person?
A: Well, I was 6 when I left the Middle East so I don't think that had much of an effect. It's probably more to do with my parents. In fact, Norfolk is not very diverse especially when compared to London. I spent most of my childhood there
Glasgow is more diverse which may have had an influence as well, but I was almost 15 when I returned to that area
I'm not an expert on pschology so anything I say will be a guess lol
Q: Hehe, that's clear of course. For sure, moving and travelling it's always good and family can help in our education.
You called yourself a Free Hugs Ambassador, why? how did it happen? Why did you decide, at first, to be a "free hugger"?
A: An old school friend of mine started Free Hugs at Speakers' Corner towards the end of 2006 after seeing the famous music video of Juan Mann doing Free Hugs in Australia. He posted this video on his blog which is where I, in turn, saw the video. I was blown away by such a simple concept. It was very moving and heartwarming
I knew this was something I wanted to do too, but I was still living near Glasgow at the time. I visited my friend in London in January 2007 for my birthday and did free Hugs with him a couple of times. Being a shy person (to many people's surprise) I found it very difficult at first but my friend is much more outgoing so it came naturally to him.
Having someone else there to take some of the attention away from me helped a bit.
I moved to London in May 2007 after this same friend generously offered to let me stay with him until I found a job and my own place to live. That's when I became a regular Free Hugger
My friend had called himself a Cuddle Consultant which is a joke based on his job as a Management Consultant
So I wanted to give myself a title, purely for fun of course. Thus the Ambassador for Hugs was born :)
Q: This is such an interesting story! And it's hard to believe you were shy, but I do believe many people are happy to have the Ambassador for Hugs at Speakers' Corner!
Do you think that Free Hugs can be good to people? Or that it can change somehow something in the world?
A: After doing it for so long I am no longer anywhere near as nervous about doing Free Hugs as I was the first time I did it. Now it's no big deal because experience has taught me not to care too much about looking stupid and the hecklers tend to say the same things all the time so I've learnt how to deal with most of them as they are very predictable
Also I do get a lot of positive feedback as well :)
If I didn't think Free Hugs was a positive thing I wouldn't do it ;) Anything that makes people smile and laugh can't be too bad, can it. There are very few downsides, in my opinion, and the ups certainly outweigh the downs. When people tell you that you are doing a good thing and make more sense than anyone else (at Speakers' Corner) it's a real motivator. I obviously get a lot for Free Hugs too
However, I have no delusions of grandeur. I make no claims that Free Hugs is the solution to all the world's problems. Many people make that assumption when they criticise the concept but I will tell you the same thing that I tell them.
Every little kind gesture helps and although we may not solve the world's problems of famine, war, the Credit Crunch, poverty, Global Warming, etc we're certainly not going to make things any worse
Q: This is a real wise answer and a wise point of view as well and of course, giving a smile can be rewarding when you do something like that.
You already said something about it, but how does it feel to stand there and hug stranger people? Do you or people ever get emotional?
You already said something about it, but how does it feel to stand there and hug stranger people? Do you or people ever get emotional?
A: I'm yet to have someone burst into tears after hugging me. Whether that's a good thing or a bad thing I'm not sure, but people tend not to get that emotional. They might be very enthusiastic about Free Hugs but not emotional like they may get about the birth of a baby, a wedding ceremoney, or a funeral.
For myself it's encouraging to know that there are so many people who understand the point of Free Hugs and are willing to hug a stranger purely for the sake of being kind to another human being
Unfortunately there is a flip side as well
Many people are very negative and critical about Free Hugs and I have to try to convince them of its worth and justify my behaviour every week
Q: of course there can be different points of view, and not everyone can understand the meaning of Free Hugs, but it's good to see you try to let them get what it is all about!
One last question: what does it take to be a Free Hugger? I'm sure many people want to be one as well, especially after hearing your words
A: Preferably a sign with "Free Hugs" on it or anything which will get the message across, somewhere with lots of people, and a smile :)
From my point of view you should be willing to hug anyone within reason
And here's a message for the men in particular: if you refuse to hug men don't expect the women to hug you either. In fact, any kind of discrimination isn't in keeping with what I consider to be the purpose of Free Hugs.
I could probably go on for hours and hours hehe
Q: Well, I think the message is clear and that people will maybe learn not to be afraid!
Just tell us where and when to find you in London and give us a link to check out Free Hugs on the Internet.
A: Unfortunately my website still isn't working but the address is http://www.freehugs.org.uk/
I can be found at Speakers' Corner, Hyde Park near Marble Arch most Sundays
I can be found at Speakers' Corner, Hyde Park near Marble Arch most Sundays
I also have a group on Facebook "Free Hugs UK"
I would prefer just "Free Hugs" but there's already so many groups with that name :(
I had to change the name to make it easier for people to find it
Q: Hehe, Free Hugs is worldwide, so of course there are so many!
I hope everyone will be able to get a hug from you when in London! Thanks for your time and for this interview. And thanks for sharing with us what you do!
A: Thanks for the interest in Free Hugs and for your time too. I hope they all come for a hug too hehe.
Thanks once again to Stuart. I hope you enjoyed the interview and are willing to share some love and hugs with others! Leave your comments HERE
Thanks once again to Stuart. I hope you enjoyed the interview and are willing to share some love and hugs with others! Leave your comments HERE
