Meet the Creators Making Optimism Go Viral and Their National Bestselling Book We Love You

With millions of followers across Instagram and TikTok, Andy Min and Thomas Sullivan, the creative duo behind the wildly popular “We Love You” social channels, have emerged as a refreshing cultural force, offering a positive, emotionally intelligent alternative to today’s toxic online spaces. Their nature-driven, cinematic videos and uplifting narration have cultivated a global community longing for hope, reflection, and belonging, and now the pair is expanding their impact with their National Best-Selling debut book, WE LOVE YOU: AN OPTIMISTIC GUIDE TO LIFE ON A ROCK FLOATING THROUGH SPACE (Penguin Random House). Blending artistry, philosophy, and heartfelt encouragement, Andy and Thomas are redefining modern masculinity and digital connection, making them standout voices for meaningful storytelling, especially as audiences seek grounding, wellness, and joy heading into the holiday and New Year season.

Bello. Your work has become a gentle antidote to the noise of the internet. What first inspired you to create content centered on softness, optimism, and emotional intelligence?

We grew up in the cloud of pessimistic noise that is the internet. When we were teenagers, like everyone else our age, we were watching YouTube, scrolling Reddit, and taking in an ocean of information and opinions, unknowingly shaping the way we saw the world (and ourselves within it). The problem is that the general attitude of the internet was/is incredibly pessimistic and nihilistic, not just because of the overwhelming amount of content, but because of the kind of content that gets the most clicks. Of course, there were positive voices too. John and Hank Green, Rhett and Link, and more, who inspired us to keep looking for the positive side. 

Regardless, the resulting message the internet gave to us as young people is best described as follows: 1. You should be scared. 2. You should be angry. 3. Nothing matters. 4. It is cool to be angry and think that nothing matters.

It was no surprise that we were anxious, depressed, and struggled with mental health. Of course, it wasn’t the only cause, but the way we saw the world (and what content was being fed) wasn’t helping. We each found our ways through. We went out into nature, we asked a lot of questions, and had a lot of long conversations. These struggles are still with us, but we have found a hopeful way to see the world. As we got a little older, we started to understand the impact the internet had made on our lives, and could see the world at large being shaped in a similar way. Angrier. More afraid. We were both back at our respective colleges after COVID and had gotten into a five-hour-long deep conversation about the state of the world on Zoom. We were trying to think of a way to make some kind of difference in how terrible the internet was making us all feel. We wanted to create something that could communicate the hopeful way we learned to see things to the people who might need it. We wanted to say the things we wish we had heard when we were younger. Eventually, we came to the idea of meeting people where they are: short-form video. And that’s what we did.

On that same call, we came up with the name, the same thing we were trying to say to everyone who might watch our videos and to our younger selves: we love you.

Bello.  Gen Z is often portrayed as chronically online, yet your videos push them back toward nature, stillness, and deeper reflection. Why do you think young people are gravitating to this kind of mindful, nature-driven content?

One of our favorite interactions we have with fans in the real world is when they come up to tell us that they loved our videos but haven’t seen them in a while because we inspired them to delete Instagram from their phone. Maybe we should be sad about losing an audience member, but we are just glad that they are getting out there.

We’re Gen Z too, and we think that so many of us are just tired of consuming content that is explicitly engineered to grab attention, generate watch time, and drain you of your time and energy. The internet tends to breed pessimism and anger simply because that attracts the most interactions, but we hope our videos are doing something different. We think that’s why people connect with it; it is feeding the optimistic, thoughtful, and beautiful side of being that is so often left out of the online world. We try to speak to people on a deeper level and get people reflecting on the big questions of life and the world. People are hungry for that meaning. Because life is meaningful, and there are big questions, and we all have a world to build together. Gen Z is the first generation to really grow up on the internet, and with that, we have the chance to decide what the tone of this big conversation we call the internet will be going forward. More and more people want it to be mindful and hopeful.  

More than anything, in a world that has been so dragged down by pessimism, where the norm is to be chronically online, it is the cool countercultural thing to reject the brainrot and the darkness and to embrace optimism. Simply put: Hope is the new Punk Rock. Of course, there is no shortage of problems in the world. But maybe the best way to start solving those problems isn’t by getting stuck in anger or hate, but to keep believing in the goodness of the world despite it all and going that way.

Also, people just think that bugs, waterfalls, and flowers are cool to look at. So that helps.

Bello. You’ve built one of the most uplifting corners of the internet at a time when the “manosphere” dominates male-oriented spaces. How do you approach redefining masculinity through vulnerability rather than bravado?

We actually started We Love You partly with the intention to combat the troubling sides of the so-called “manosphere.” Some of our first videos were parodies of classic Bro-Podcast tropes that would then take a turn towards mindfulness and kindness. And we liked making those, but the videos that actually made an impact at the start weren’t these satirical bits, but the genuinely hopeful videos we made without thinking that anyone would see them. 

Being vulnerable and heartfelt on the platform was what people responded to the most. Maybe because what you see from men online is so often the polar opposite. We went into things trying to speak to disillusioned young men and found the best way through wasn’t to dissect the manosphere but to give a positive (hopefully cool) alternative. Along the way, we reached people of every kind who resonated with the hopeful message.

There have always been different definitions of what “masculinity” is throughout all of human history, and so often it’s completely arbitrary. We can define, not just us, but everyone, what it means to be a man in today’s world. Why shouldn’t it be the standard to be empathetic, curious, in touch with emotions, and hopeful? Why shouldn’t we be cooperative rather than competitive? We think it should.

Bello. Your debut national best-selling book, WE LOVE YOU, invites readers to reconsider how they move through the world. What big questions or ideas sparked the book, and which message do you hope sticks with readers the most?

The book is definitely a continuation of our work and has a lot of the same messages and silliness we have in our videos, but we were able to go a lot deeper into our ideas here than ever before. The central idea of this book is to try to look at the world through the lens of taking absolutely nothing for granted. A way we describe the book to people is that it is like we are trying to explain life and the universe to someone who has never seen anything, known anything, or felt anything before; it is asking all the questions you might have if you just popped into existence without any context. It tries to reawaken people to what it is like to see the world for the first time, because it actually is all our first time seeing the world. One way or another, we all just popped into existence. If you can reconnect with the beauty and the wonder of just being alive, you can cut through a lot of the numbness and pessimism that builds up in day-to-day life. You can find a way to be hopeful.

The book is also full of comedic scenes and all sorts of funny business. For example, one of our favorite pieces is a diary entry from the perspective of a seven-day-old and “read in the voice of Werner Herzog,” one of our favorite film directors. There’s also a section towards the back of the book called “Exercises For Happier Humans,” where we go through silly pieces of advice from the thoughtful “Take Nothing For Granted. Be amazed by everything on purpose” to the absurd, like “Close your eyes and pretend you’re a banana slug.”

So yeah, a little bit of something for everybody in this book. 

Bello. Your videos feel cinematic and intentional. How do your artistic backgrounds, Thomas in filmmaking and Andy in music, shape the tone, pacing, and emotional impact of your storytelling?

Our goal is to make our videos jump out of your phone a little bit. While you are scrolling on Instagram, the sheer quantity of content can be overwhelming, so we do our best to create these little moments that stand out from the rest of what you might see online. This means making something that feels comfortable and fun (like other videos online), but with the cinematic quality you might get from a short film. All of our videos are different, and some are definitely more cinematic than others, but we try to infuse each one with its own magic. The arts of filmmaking and music have always been important to us. We’ve been making art and silly videos together since we were in sixth grade, and some of our biggest projects we made together before We Love You were music videos we made when stuck at home during COVID. The practice of creating a video that cuts along with music, where the visuals and melodies are tightly intertwined, has been an integral part of the craft of our videos. We often say that every single one of our videos is like a tiny music video. They work when the visuals, the music, and the writing all combine to make one point. 

The goal has always been to make movies. Right now, the movie we are making just happens to be cut up into hundreds of tiny moments. (our shorts). 

Bello. Community seems to be a major part of your success. What has surprised you most about the way audiences from around the world have connected to your message?

Since the book has been released, we’ve had the chance to have a few readings/signings and have been able to meet some of our audience in person, which has been so surreal and wonderful. Everyone we’ve met has been so kind and brought such a positive attitude and insightful questions. What has surprised us is just how wide-ranging our audiences are. We’ve talked to people of every age, from middle schoolers to octogenarians, all kinds of people, from nurses to surfer dudes. I guess we shouldn’t be surprised, since we know from our comments that we are reaching people all over the world.

When we started making our videos, we thought we might only be able to really speak to the experience of young men (because that’s what we are), but over time,we’ve found that anyone can find something to connect with because we’re talking about universal experiences. It’s been such a wonderful surprise to meet everyone and to have the kindest, most wholesome comment section on the internet. 

Bello. In a season when so many people are seeking grounding or a “reset,” how do you personally recenter yourselves creatively and emotionally?

Winters can be hard. They can be hard for a lot of reasons, not the least of which is the fact that there is literally less light in your life (for those of us in the northern hemisphere), but what keeps us centered and grounded year-round is getting outside. Even getting out in the rain can turn a gloomy day around. The summer is beautiful, but our favorite time to get out into the forest to shoot some videos is during the misty, rainy magic of winter. It’s a time when you have no choice but to take in the day with all of your senses. The smell of precipitation, the damp feeling in your socks, the mundane beauty of a tree without leaves. There’s a lot to appreciate. 

The new year is a great time to think about starting fresh and getting a full reset on your life, but something we try to remind ourselves of is that it’s not just when the year changes that you get to start again. It’s every day. Every day we wake up with the chance to live the day for the first time. You’ve lived other days, but not this one. Try something new, learn to knit, draw a picture, think of a dumb joke, and tell it to a friend. It’s surprising how little it takes to make life feel completely new.

Bello. You’ve become known for content that feels like a deep breath. How do you balance your own digital well-being while working so closely online?

That’s a really tough question, and the truth is, we don’t always have the best relationships with our phones, just like anyone else. But we are incredibly conscious of how we use our phones and really hold each other accountable. It’s great to have a friend to push you to go on a hike together instead of sitting in your room on your phone, but it’s also important that you have some kind of self-driven practice in your life to keep the phone from taking over. Because that’s what they’re designed to do. 

We both have periods of time when we feel totally locked into the online world (obsessing over the performance of our posts, online FOMO, and good old-fashioned doom scrolling), and what we’ve noticed is that these scroll-iest times of our lives are also the most anxious times. Is this because the online world just makes you more anxious? Or is it because we use scrolling to try to avoid our anxieties? It’s probably both. But either way, the answer isn’t to keep scrolling. It’s to take a moment and unpack the feelings and the life you’re really living.

If we have any advice for people, it’s this:

1. Don’t scroll first thing when you wake up.
2. Notice how what you consume online makes you feel.
3. Instead of scrolling, go into a field and look at a flower. Hell, go into the world and look at anything. Yes, you have an infinity at your fingertips, but the real infinity is out there. 

Bello. What makes WE LOVE YOU such a meaningful holiday or New Year gift, especially for people looking for hope or a more mindful approach to the year ahead?

It’s a gift you can get for anyone. Like the title says, it is an optimistic guide to life on a rock floating through space. So it speaks to the universal human experience and finds hope wherever it can. In the introduction of the book, we explain that we probably aren’t going to tell you what you already know, just remind you of the important stuff you might’ve forgotten. So often, especially during the holidays, we get caught up in the busyness and materialistic side of life, but with our book, we remind you to take nothing for granted. If you want to get your friends or loved ones something for the holidays that isn’t just a thing, we think our book is a good way to give them a moment of thoughtfulness or presence in our crazy world. We think that is a gift worth giving.

Bello. Looking into 2026, what themes or creative directions are you most excited to explore next, either in your content, your book expansions, or new projects?

We are so proud of the work we’ve done on the book for the past two years, but we are really excited to now have the time to move forward into new projects. We have been working on a long-form video for YouTube (that’s really more of a short film) about our “selves”, not just who we are, but who you are, and who anyone is. We are pushing ourselves more into the realm of filmmaking, which is an awesome progression from our minute-long shorts. Also, in the new year, we plan on creating the We Love You podcast and creating slice-of-life documentaries about our adventures in nature. We want to do everything and plan on trying!