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

Mondays With Matt: Why You Should Vote

"Don't boo, vote." — President Obama, but also Matt Joseph Diaz. Rock the vote this year and set some changes in motion!

Read...

Can We Let Fat People Own Their Sexuality Already?

Instead of being allowed to exist as fully complex and sexual human beings, they’re relegated to being a tag in pornography. They’re seen as a guilty pleasure among those with “abnormal” sexual appetites, something to be viewed sexually in spite of their comparison to what we consider "the norm."

Read...
"Look, I know it sucks to be rejected — but is social acceptance worth sacrificing the things that separate you from everyone else?" Image: Thinkstock

Your Need To Be Liked May Be Holding You Back

We really want people to like us. It’s just human nature. You may say you don’t care if people like you, and on the surface, that may be true. However, there’s a part of you that understands that openly not caring about being liked immediately makes you more likable — self-assurance is an attractive quality to have.

Read...
We’re adults. If I haven’t responded within half an hour, it’s probably because I’ve got something going on. Image: Thinkstock.

I Love You, Stop Texting Me

There’s a big difference between talking and communicating. One exists to relay messages, ideas, and feelings: the building blocks of being a person. The other exists to fill time. I’m by no means here to tell people how to approach their relationships — I just don’t want people to feel pressured to fill silences with noise out of the fear their partners won’t think they care.

Read...
I'm sorry that I've allowed you to become an example.

An Apology To Myself At 500 Pounds

Dear 16-Year-Old, 500 Pound Matt,

Read...
I went by the umbrella term “queer” for the first year and a half because I was convinced I didn’t qualify as bisexual. Image: Imani Clovs/Unsplash.

My Bisexuality Is Real — No Matter Who I Date

If I get into a heterosexual relationship and spend the rest of my life with that person, I will still be bisexual. I will still feel that attraction to the man on the other side of the bar, even if I’m in love with my partner who happens to be a woman.

Read...
HELP. MY PHONE BROKE.

Mondays With Matt: Anti-Social Media (MY PHONE BROKE, HELP)

What happens when a Millennial smashes his phone? Watch to find out. And also to laugh your ass off. 

Read...
New places give us opportunities to grow.

#MondaysWithMatt: Be Your Best Self, Everywhere You Go

You are not where you're from, and you are not your environment.

Read...
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.

Read...
She explained that she had been caught off-guard and had been projecting her own deeply-rooted body image issues onto me. Image: Thinkstock.

Why I Defend The Person Who Rejected Me

Once I became a body positive writer and speaker, I told the story of that night on podcasts and in interviews as an example of the sort of reaction I was afraid of prior to my video about my excess skin going viral. Every time, the interviewer made a comment about how Dana was “the ugly one,” not me. And every time, I told them I didn’t want her to be vilified or insulted.

Read...