To mark my teddy bear Fluffy’s sixth birthday, I wanted to write something about plushies, so I reached out to one of our favorite influencers to set up an interview.
Hugo, a two-year-old bear based in Alberta, Canada, is one of the plushies we follow on Instagram. Since Fluffy prefers staying in, she just lives vicariously through Hugo, enjoying the snapshots of his activities. Each one of his posts is pure cuteness overload, we can never seem to hit the like button hard enough!
Hugo is constantly out and about – shopping at the market, attending festivals, watching movies, riding a ferris wheel, braving a zipline. He leads a very dynamic life! When he’s home, he’s busy with all sorts of arts and crafts or can be spotted in the kitchen, whipping up delicious plant-based treats. What we love most is seeing him involved in the community, supporting worthwhile causes, and putting smiles on the faces of those around him.
We caught up with him at a coffee shop, where he happily hopped on Zoom for a chat with Fluffy. I got to meet his manager, Lauren Ruttle-Soon, who oversees all things Hugo.
I was giddy with delight when Hugo posted this! Can you see Fluffy? Adorbz!
Hugs from Hugo Bear, the website and Instagram account, were launched in January 2022, two months after Lauren received Hugo. The 53-inch, 10-lb plushie was a surprise from her parents. “I walked into their guest room and there was Hugo sitting on the bed, I freaked out! I was just over the moon excited! My mom cried seeing how happy I was,” the 31-year-old recalled. During a family conversation, she casually mentioned that as a child, she had always wanted a giant teddy bear. Her parents must have thought, “Better late than never!”
Hugo the Bear with his manager, Lauren Ruttle-Soon.
Within 24 hours of bringing Hugo home, the wheels in her head started turning. “He makes me so happy, I need a way to spread this joy beyond just me,” she reflected. So for the first time in her life, she opened a social media account.
“As I’ve been working with Hugo, I’ve realized the universal appeal of a teddy bear. Everyone loves them – children, adults, the elderly, everyone loves teddy bears and there’s so much that can be done with this love of teddy bears,” she shared.
She has taken Hugo to some daycares and a couple of schools, just to hang out and read books to kids between 18 months and four and a half years old. During Pink Shirt Day (an anti-bullying initiative), Hugo went to an elementary school sporting a pink shirt and they spoke to the students about the importance of being a good friend and what that means. “I work as a nanny so I take him to work sometimes,” she added.
Being an active volunteer and donor at the child-oriented Ronald McDonald House Charities, Lauren envisioned Hugo to be involved in it from the start. But everything else he’s done beyond that has happened naturally. “I’ve been intentional in that I want him to spread joy as widely as possible, but in terms of how exactly to do that, I didn’t set out with an agenda. It’s just been, we go where we’re invited.”
The Ronald McDonald House Charities provide financial assistance for the care of sick children. They operate more than a thousand programs in 62 countries. It’s Hugo’s favorite charity.
Their post that caught my attention featured Hugo staying at the hospital, keeping a four-year-old boy battling leukemia company. It was an IG story, I believe. It moved me so much that I remember sending a private message, nothing major, I just wanted to let them know that I understood the value of what they’re doing. “The mom of the boy was saying that normally he’s terrified when new people come to his room and he starts screaming and crying, but because Hugo was there, he was excited to meet new people so that he can introduce them to Hugo. It made my heart so happy to have Hugo be part of that,” Lauren beamed.
The plushie community has been encouraging of their mission. “Within a day of posting our first picture on Instagram, I started getting follow requests from these plushies from all over the world. I didn’t know that such a thing existed.”
It’s not a formally organized group, they just usually find each other and get connected through hashtags.
“The plushie community is such a pure and lovely space, I had never seen any negativity, there has never been any hate ever. There’s been so much support and we check on each other.” When Hugo needs advice, he usually turns to Theo (@theo_bear-uk), Arthur (@abearcalled_arthur), and Little Bear & Sancho (@littlebear_big_adventures).
The goodness of the plushie community has trickled down to me. Fluffy is in desperate need of a thorough cleaning, but I’m not quite sure how to go about it. That’s when Lauren connected me with plushie doctor Bob (@bobdeberendokter), who went out of his way to provide detailed, step-by-step instructions. I really appreciated the effort.
It’s amusing to hear Lauren casually toss around the phrase “our bear friends” as if it were the most natural thing in the world. And the way she speaks about Hugo, saying his name as if he were a person, gave me permission to talk about Fluffy in the same way, too. The little girl in me was absolutely thrilled!
“Tapping into that child-like side of myself and getting to do things just for fun and not worrying about what other people think. I’m just having that unself-conscious ability to just be joyful with him, it has been such a gift,” Lauren explained, when I asked how Hugo has impacted her life. “I think he has allowed me to connect with parts of myself that I had not touched in a long time.” Having Hugo rekindles her creativity because she is always thinking of new ways to spread joy, take pictures, and share them. That has pushed her to get back into things she loved as a child, like crafting, scrapbooking, and sewing.
Hugo helping Lauren knit mittens.
“He is an extension of myself and certain parts of my personality that get to shine through him. For whatever reason, sending a message to a stranger through a teddy bear is less weird than just reaching out myself and being like ‘hey I heard about this, I’m praying for you.’ I don’t know why that is, but it’s true,” she observed. “The privilege of being involved in other people’s lives, the privilege of praying for other people who I otherwise never would’ve met, it’s such a gift.”
While Hugo is openly Christian, he steers clear of most controversial topics, like politics. He strives to make everyone feel included, regardless of their beliefs or who they support. “Hugo’s love is for everyone, kind of in the same way as God loves everyone, it’s an extension of that love,” Lauren described.
Right now, the majority of Hugo’s audience consists of plushie accounts. The goal is to reach more human followers, create more opportunities to connect with people, and bring Hugo out into the community more often. One big aspiration is to regularly host birthday parties—they’ve done it once and can’t wait to do it again! A bear-themed celebration with bear-inspired party favors and decorations? I’d love to attend that with Fluffy!
Hugo recently hit 1,500 followers on Instagram. “To know that these are 1,500 people from around the world whose lives I’m getting to touch through a teddy bear and also how they’re touching mine…” Lauren’s voice overflows with heartfelt gratitude.
Though Hugo spends much of his time trying to influence the world in a positive way, he never forgets his primary role of providing comfort. “When my grandma passed away last year, Hugo slept in my bed for a few nights,” Lauren revealed.
Hugo believes that it is important for plushies to be well-equipped to provide support to their humans so he created a Plushie Training Guide. This was initially meant for plush bears they purchase and collect to give away to charities for Christmas. But any plushie can benefit from the training. The manual can be accessed on his website.
To keep up with Hugo’s adventures, follow @hugsfromhugobear on Instagram.
Lauren and Hugo with Fluffy and me on a Zoom call.
Images (except for the last one) sourced from Instagram: @hugsfromhugobear, @theo_bear-uk, @abearcalled_arthur, @littlebear_big_adventures, and @bobdeberendokter.
