Happy as I am
It’s not a revelation to say that the COVID-19 pandemic has been a great filter for the way we see ourselves in relation to the wider world. Whether it has changed the value we place on material things in comparison to the health of our friends and family, or caused us to take a deep, introspective dive into our own lives, few of us are coming out the other side unchanged.
Blogger Max Hovey can relate to this. “I’m not the same person I was a year ago,” he says, when we finally meet in real life to enjoy a coffee on a sunny day by the Thames. As he recounts how much personal growth he’s experienced over the past year or so, he states, “If you knew me back then, let me reintroduce myself: ‘I’m Max, I’m a mental health influencer who’s been on one hell of a journey, and whose only mission now is to help you fall in love with yourself, one day at a time.’”
Scroll not too far back through Max’s Instagram feed and you’ll find photos of him in laddish clothes, looking all hard AF and serving the type of sexy/moody poses that often stack up likes. Admittedly, this is how I first came across Max’s profile. Then, last summer, all that started to change as his image began to evolve. Gone were the gym-obsessed shots; instead, he dyed his hair and began stripping off to show a softer look, a body that eschewed the toned form that he was once so
