I discovered cuddling through an agency called Nordic Cuddle. Sadly it no longer exists, having been lost to the pandemic. It was founded by an amazing person called Rebekka Mikkola. Sadly she has now moved on to other things, and is no longer involved in the cuddling world. This is both a great loss to the profession and to me personally. She was the first person I cuddled and I miss her a lot. (She is very strict about boundaries.)
It was her dream to bring cuddling to the world and to this end, in cooperation with her business partner Ryan Mizzen who I believe did a lot of the writing, she hit the media hard. She still has a personal webpage up, and below is the list of her media appearances. Go to her page for live links. I've highlighted some of the more interesting or important ones in bold, but I'm sure some of the others are gems - I haven't heard or seen them all. Those in italics are significant UK national media i.e. broadly the equivalent of CNN or the New York Times or something like that.
https://www.rebekkamikkola.com/press
She also created an excellent training programme with both academic and practical elements, accredited by two reputable external training organisations. Cuddlers she trained and who are on Cuddle Comfort, and who I recommend very highly indeed, are @Anirose, @Laflaka and @touchunwind. (There may also be others that I haven't met.)
Additionally, she made a whole bunch of videos, some of which I found really useful. Sadly those have been taken down.
The point is, if she can do it, so can you. And even if you can't do all of it, you can definitely do some of it.
(What's that you ask? Oh, no, she wasn't a media personality type at all. Not a natural in front of the camera. English? No, that's not her native language.)
TV
Sky News - Need a pick-me-up? Try cuddle therapy
ARTE - Re: Being Alone Together - Britain’s Struggle with Loneliness
ARD - Die Sendung vom 2. Februar 2018
bTV (interview starts at 8.12) - Финландка прегръща хората срещу 65 паунда на час
The Russell Howard Hour – Live Forever: Cuddle Therapy with Jon Richardson
(Russell Howard and Jon Richardson are well-known comedians in the UK, both with their own TV shows.)
Radio
BBC Radio 4 - Niche Work If You Can Get It: Cuddle Therapists
BBC Radio Cumbria - National Hugging Day
BBC Hereford and Worcester - Why do we crave hugs post lockdown?
BBC Radio Leicester - Coronavirus, hugs and touch
BBC Radio Scotland - What’s in a hug?
Heart FM - National Hugging Day and Blue Monday Interview
UK Health Radio - The Way Forward: Nordic Cuddling
YLE Vega (interview around 35 minutes in) - Vega Eftermiddag
Talks
TEDx Talk - Cuddling can make us better human beings
Geek Girl Team x Snapchat – The Science of Touch
Health Optimisation Summit - Human Contact, Touch & Hugs: The free & natural health hack for improving your wellbeing
Samsung KX & Time Out London – The Power of Touch
Warwick University - WarwickTECH Startup Day 2019 - How Technology Affects Human Society in the Context of Entrepreneurship and Human Interconnection
Sunderland University in London - Events and Wellbeing Conference - Wellbeing and Touch: Lessons Learned as the CEO of a Cuddle Therapy Company
Articles
Age UK London - The Power of Touch in Tackling Loneliness
Authority Magazine - Big Ideas: “Use Cuddle Therapy to address many health issues” With Rebekka Mikkola CEO of Nordic Cuddle
Balance Magazine - Nordic Hugging
Bluewin - Wider die Isolation: «Ministerium für Einsamkeit» und Kuschel-Profi sollen helfen
Brit + Co - Why Cuddling Is So Good for Your Health
Business Insider UK - 18 people share the one thing they do every day to make their lives better
Business Insider UK - Doing these 24 uncomfortable things will pay off forever
Business Insider NL - Deze 21 gewoontes zijn best lastig aan te leren….maar je hebt er de rest van je leven profijt van
Business Insider IN - 18 people share the one thing they do every day to make their lives better
Business Insider SG - Doing these 24 uncomfortable things will pay off forever
Business Insider AU - 18 people share the one thing they do every day to make their lives better
Business Insider MY - Doing these 24 uncomfortable things will pay off forever
Bustle - 16 Women On The First Time They Truly Felt Successful At Work
Buzzfeed - 54 Innovative Ideas By Modern Day Entrepreneurs That You May Not Know
The Canberra Times - A dire case of 'skin hunger' hits hard in self-isolation
Complementary Medical Association – Introducing Cuddle Therapy
Dagens Naeringsliv - Klemming er sunt, året rundt. Men er helsegevinsten like stor når noen profitterer på det?
Elite Daily - What Your Cuddle Position Reveals About Your Personality & The Way You Communicate
Fupping - How To Combat The Fear Of Loneliness/Autophobia (Fear of Being Alone)
GQ - Don't knock cuddle therapy until you've tried it
The Guardian - Nordic Cuddle therapy - would you pay £65 to hug a stranger?
Holistic Health Magazine - A Matter of Touch
Holistic Therapist Magazine - Losing Touch
IdeaMensch – Rebekka Mikkola: Founder of Nordic Cuddle
Idnes - Lidem chybí doteky, rozmáhá se tak nový wellness: placené mazlení
IFLScience - Doing These 24 Uncomfortable Things Will Pay Off Forever
Ilta-Sanomat - Suomalainen Rebekka tarjoaa Nordic Cuddle -halausterapiaa Lontoossa – tunnettu lehti halusi selvittää, mistä oikein on kyse
Insider - 18 people share the one thing they do every day to make their lives better
Leading Healthcare - Feature: How healthcare providers have responded to Covid19
Ma Vie Magazine - Kuscheln Wie Ein Richtiger Profi
Madame Figaro - Face à l’hégémonie des écrans, le besoin de contacts humains revient au premier pla
Marie Claire - Dit is waarom fysiek contact belangrijk is
Mladina - Bi plačali 75 evrov za seanso objemanja?
MSN - Nordic Cuddle therapy – would you pay £65 to hug a stranger?
O Popular - Contatos humanos
Psychologies Magazine - Hungry for your Touch
Reader’s Digest - Physical touch is key to well-being: here's why
Scandinavian Traveler Magazine - Cuddles For Health
Snap Italy - Biancolatte Hugs: a Milano il primo bar ispirato alla terapia degli abbracci
Stowe Family Law - How cuddle therapy can help when going through a divorce
Süddeutsche Zeitung - Was uns berührt
The Sunday Times – Meet the New Squeeze
Thrive Global - Big Ideas: “Use Cuddle Therapy to address many health issues” With Rebekka Mikkola CEO of Nordic Cuddle
Thrive Global - Doing These 24 Uncomfortable Things Will Pay Off Forever
Time Out - What’s the deal with... cuddle therapy?
TVXS - Θεραπευτική αγκαλιά: Εσείς θα πληρώνατε 73 ευρώ για να κάνετε αγκαλιά έναν άγνωστο;
Wellness.com - Mental Health Awareness: 23 Experts on the Importance, Signs and Tips of Mental Illness
Woman Alive - Coping with a loss of connection
Yahoo! Lifestyle - Why Cuddling Is So Good for Your Health
YLE - Finländska Rebekka är legitimerad proffsmysare - hennes jobb är att kramas och mysa med okända: "Folk törstar efter platonisk beröring"
Letters
The Guardian - Loneliness is a touchy and complicated subject
Video
Diply – Nordic Cuddle
UNILAD – Unique: Professional Cuddler