Matt Joseph Diaz

Matt Joseph Diaz

Bio

Matt Joseph Diaz is a public speaker and social media activist tackling the issues of body image and self love. Matt has been working in social media since the age of 15, and has a long history of creating online content for entertainment and educational purposes. Matts videos have accrued over 120 million views in countries all over the world as well as being featured in People, Cosmopolitan, Buzzfeed, Upworthy and numerous other news websites. He now spend a lot of his time traveling and speaking on self love at conferences, colleges and public events. Matt Joseph Diaz currently lives in Brooklyn, NY.   

Matt Joseph Diaz Articles

For me, losing weight was about learning what I needed to do and gradually forming a positive relationship with my body. Image: Matt Joseph Diaz

I Lost 270 Pounds. Here Are 3 Reasons I Don't Share My Weight-Loss “Secrets.”

Being asked about my weight-loss “secrets” make me uncomfortable. It feels very different from people wanting to know about my story. It feels like being asked to provide a shortcut.

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Take yourself on a date. Image: Thinkstock.

5 Things To Do When You Feel Bad About Being Single

You aren’t half of something waiting to be made whole — you’re a complete human being with your own important thoughts and ideas, looking for someone to add to your life. You're neither incomplete nor missing out on anything just because you’re single.

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We are all different, as we come from different backgrounds, experience different hardships, and come to have different perspectives on the world. Image: Thinkstock.

Saying “We Are All The Same” Will Not Unite Us

As much as you want to believe people are all the same, we don’t have the luxury of being seen as the “default” in the same way white, straight, cis people often are. We don’t have the luxury of dismissing our painful history and systemic issues for the sake of everyone getting along, because we’re still in the middle of them.

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Photo credit: Emma Wondra Photography "I’m starting to worry that my friends are prettier than me."

What If My Friends Are Prettier Than Me?

From a young age, people (especially women) are constantly taught that we’re in competition with one another. Whether it’s our grades, our social status, our economic status, or those creepy beauty pageants for 6 year olds, we’re immediately thrust into a world where we’re taught to view everyone as adversarial to a certain degree.

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Monday Motivation With Matt Joseph Diaz

Monday Motivation With Matt Joseph Diaz: 5 Things I Wish I'd Learned In High School

This week, Matt shares what he wishes he learned in high school.

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Mondays With Matt: On Coming Out And Expressing Your Sexuality

This week, Matt kicks off our Conversation series on coming out with his own story.

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Self-care can be raw and difficult. Image: Thinkstock.

Self-Care Isn't Always Sweet And Cozy

When I share that I’m in a bad place, I’m told to curl up in bed with a nice book, eat my favorite ice cream or to take a relaxing bath. While these are all wonderful and helpful ideas, I think it’s important to discuss aspects of self-care that aren’t all about resting and treating yourself.

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Your child's body is not a "problem" (Image Credit: Thinkstock)

On The Subject Of Childhood Dieting

Though it's worth noting that my weight was beginning to become a health concern, I’d never considered my body a “problem” until I heard how doctors talked about it. In the same way a hurt child won’t start to cry until he sees the worry in his parent’s face, I never felt bad about my body until the first time I felt like I was being looked at with disgust. So whatever route you decide to take with the health of a child, make sure it’s treated as a growing opportunity and not a solution to a problem. Your children are not problems — they are the foundation upon which the adults of tomorrow will be built.

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There were a lot of things I never could’ve been prepared for, going into the first surgery. Image: Matt Joseph Diaz.

5 Things I Wish I Had Known Before Major Cosmetic Surgery

[CN: surgery, bodily fluids] There are scars, blood drainage, swelling and bruising — it’s essentially going to look like makeup from The Walking Dead following the procedure. Not only that, but you’ll probably lack the necessary energy to groom yourself like you normally do, and you might not be allowed to shower for an extended period of time.

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