PROFILE
He insists he’s not. Yet he counts Barack Obama as a fan and has more than 1.5m Instagram followers buying into his #goodvibes mantra. Danielle de Wolfe meets the man behind the memes
Despite the vast array of labels placed upon him by wellness commentators, Vex King is certain of what he’s not: ‘I’m not a guru. I’m not a cult leader. I’m not any of those things,’ he says over Zoom. Admittedly, it’s unlikely a cult leader would overtly describe themselves as one, but there is something about King’s frankness, paired with his calm demeanour, that make me inclined to believe him.
He’s the first to acknowledge the Marmite nature of the industry, explaining how people’s first reaction is often, ‘Not another self-help guru; we don’t need any more of them.’ Still, King, 36, who is almost entirely self-taught, has persisted, earning an army of followers, including Barack Obama and Millie Bobby Brown, along the way. He has built a loyal audience of more than 1.5m Instagram followers, largely off the back of the single hashtag #goodvibes, and the positivity movement has propelled King’s succinct messages of hope, optimism and self-love across the internet.
His online success spawned a publishing deal and his debut book, Good Vibes, Good Life, a million-selling self-help manifesto. It went on to become the number one Sunday Times bestselling non-fiction book of 2021, and three further books followed, as well as his new manifestation journal, The Greatest Manifestation Book, written with his wife, beauty YouTuber Kaushal Modha, 35. He is now a much sought-after life coach and motivational speaker, and hosts the Good Vibes, Good Life podcast.
And yet, while his distinctive and meticulously curated Instagram feed features row upon row of monochromatic quotes in bold sans serif font form, we rarely get a glimpse of the person behind it all. So what is the man who made self-love go viral really all about?
HE TURNED ADVERSITY INTO INSPIRATION…
The eldest of three siblings, King was born in Northampton to a Hindu family, and his childhood was coloured by tragedy. ‘Six months after I was born, my dad passed away, my mum’s business with a toxic family member went bankrupt, and, for three years, my family and I were basically homeless,’ he explains.
It was a period littered with violent and traumatic experiences. ‘I saw a gun placed to my uncle’s head, and my mum, my aunt and my young sisters being attacked by thieves – and I was only five or six years old. So I felt completely powerless,’ says King.
It was then that he made a promise to himself: ‘One day, I’m going to change my life for myself and my family. I’m going to heal myself. I’m going to find a way to be success
