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Juan Mann

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  • General

    The Original Free Hugs Video

Blurbs

About me:



.. Bulletin Board:..

* OCT 27, 2008: JUANMANN.COM
Opened JuanMann.com to keep in touch with all of you! :)

* OCT 18, 2008: NEW ZEALAND GATHERING
Hugging in Auckland, NZ - Britomart Station from 10am

* SEP 21, 2008: FREE HUGGER, GIVES GIFT OF LIFE..
Click here to read more. Thanks SMH!

* SEP 14, 2008: FREE HUGS #13 TOP NATIONAL BRAND
Click here to read more.

* AUG 4, 2008: SAVE MIGUEL
How will you help SaveMiguel.com



..Juan Mann – The Origin of Free Hugs...
I'd been living in London when my world turned upside down and I'd had to come home. By the time my plane landed back in Sydney, all I had left was a carry on bag full of clothes and a world of troubles. No one to welcome me back, no place to call home. I was a tourist in my hometown.

Standing there in the arrivals terminal, watching other passengers meeting their waiting friends and family, with open arms and smiling faces, hugging and laughing together, I wanted someone out there to be waiting for me. To be happy to see me. To smile at me. To hug me.

So I got some cardboard and a marker and made a sign. I found the busiest pedestrian intersection in the city and held that sign aloft, with the words "Free Hugs" on both sides.

And for 15 minutes, people just stared right through me. The first person who stopped, tapped me on the shoulder and told me how her dog had just died that morning. How that morning had been the one year anniversary of her only daughter dying in a car accident. How what she needed now, when she felt most alone in the world, was a hug. I got down on one knee, we put our arms around each other and when we parted, she was smiling.

Everyone has problems and for sure mine haven't compared. But to see someone who was once frowning, smile even for a moment, is worth it every time.

Who I'd like to meet:



Media and Business?
contact@juanmann.com

Letters for Juan?
juan@juanmann.com

Check out Juan's YouTube!
www.youtube.com/JuanMann

Details

  • Status: Single
  • Hometown: Sydney
  • Zodiac Sign: Pisces
  • Occupation: Humanitarian/Hugger

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