Downtown Augusta’s Happy robot helps folks ‘smile at each other’

AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) - You can’t go to downtown Augusta without seeing the Happy robot.

Who is the man behind the art?

We caught up with Leonard “Pork Chop” Zimmerman, who never thought it would get this big.

“When I started getting emails with photos of Happy stickers in other countries, that’s when I thought something was happening,” said Zimmerman.

In 2012, with an election on everyone’s mind, Zimmerman thought people needed a reminder of happiness. That’s when he put up posters of a robot he drew.

“A robot can be anyone. So when I draw robots, they don’t have a gender, they don’t have a race, they don’t have a religion, they don’t have a national origin, they just are,” he said.

When the posters kept disappearing, Zimmerman knew he had something. He started giving out stickers and buttons for free.

“People were wearing the buttons and knew the stickers, but they didn’t know anything about why it was,” he said.

A director heard Zimmerman give a Ted Talk and he was moved by it.

He captured the story of Happy for a documentary in 2016. Now, Augusta University is getting ready to screen a re-release.

The screening happens Friday night at 7 p.m. at the Maxwell Theatre. Admission is free.

“Happy started as a way to get people to smile at each other, and to interact more positively with each other,” said Zimmerman.

In the last dozen years, Zimmerman has helped spread a lot of happiness. You can see how much just by looking around downtown.

Zimmerman also says he’ll send you Happy stickers for free. Just send a self-addressed, stamped envelope to his P.O. Box, listed on his website.