Run Your Life Show With Andy Vasily #295- The Story Behind the You Are Beautiful Campaign with Matthew Hoffman
My guest today is Matthew Hoffman, the artist and creative force behind the global “You Are Beautiful” campaign. If you’ve ever seen those three simple words on a sticker, a mural, or an installation somewhere in the world and felt even a small lift in your day, there’s a good chance Matthew’s work has already touched your life.
Matthew started this project in a very humble way: with 100 paper stickers he printed as a kind of “public intervention” in Chicago. He didn’t set out to build a brand or become known. In fact, he stayed anonymous for almost a decade, because he wanted the focus to be on the message rather than the person behind it. Over time, though, this quiet act of kindness grew into a global movement.
Today, more than 10 million “You Are Beautiful” stickers have been shared around the world, translated into over 100 languages, and expanded into public installations, murals, and sculptures across the United States and beyond. His work has been featured by Oprah, mentioned by Seth Godin, and sustained by a worldwide community of people who take these words and pass them forward.
What I love about this discussion is that we don’t just talk about the project—we talk about the person and the philosophy behind it.
In this conversation, Matthew and I explore:
- Purpose and calling – Using an Oprah quote as our starting point, we talk about how Matthew found his way from a high school graphic arts class to a life devoted to spreading a simple but profound message.
- Perspective and empathy – How constantly moving as a kid, feeling like a chameleon and an outsider, gave him deep empathy and shaped his desire to create work that is open and accessible to everyone.
- Creative courage – The importance of getting ideas out of your head and into the world quickly, even when they’re imperfect, and how to move through the fear of other people’s opinions.
- Anonymity, humility, and identity – Why he called himself a “custodian” rather than the creator, what it was like to be “outed” by Seth Godin and later invited by Oprah to reveal himself publicly, and how that became a kind of returning home to his true self.
- Mental health and impact – Including a powerful story about a sticker placed on a bridge where someone had died by suicide, and how that moment shifted Matthew’s understanding of the weight and responsibility of his work.
- Sustaining motivation – How he navigates the highs and lows of creativity, deals with self-doubt, and anchors himself in his values so he can keep doing work that matters—while also being a dad and modeling purpose for his son.
This is a conversation about art, yes—but more than that, it’s about belonging, worthiness, and essence. It’s about the quiet, consistent ways we can remind ourselves and others that there is nothing we need to do and no one we need to become to be “enough.”
If you’ve ever struggled with perfectionism, fear of judgment, creative blocks, or just feeling like you’re not quite enough, this episode is for you.
Connect With Matthew:
You Are Beautiful Campaign Website
Matthew's Personal Website (last part of this show features Matthew's work)