Man Crush Mondays: 16 Things to love about Brandon Stanton

1. He started his blog with the goal of photographing 10,000 New Yorkers and plotting their photos on a map

The project eventually took on a mind of its own: He started collecting quotes and stories from his subjects and changed the face of blogging in the best way possible.

2. He moved to New York after losing his job as a bond trader in Chicago and decided to follow his dreams

All he had to his name were two suitcases and his camera. Swoon.

3. He recently launched a new book, Little Humans, which is just as stunning as his NY Times bestseller, Humans of New York

Watch the above vid of little humans reading Little Humans and you'll never have a bad day again.

4. Kids say the darndest things

A young girl he photographed told him her biggest fear was getting a lobotomy.

5. His winnings from a football bet gave him the idea to buy a camera and start taking snapshots

The rest is history.

6. His HONY Facebook page is one of the most active and well-known Facebook pages of all time, even beating out the amazingness that is Upworthy

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In. Yo. Face.

7. Roughly two out of three New Yorkers allow Brandon to take their picture

He has a knack for capturing his subject's authenticity. (Case in point above.)

8. His best piece of advice?

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"Don't wait for perfect. Don't wait for something to be fully formed in your head to start on it. Just start, and then work it out as you go."

9. Even though he's talked to thousands of New Yorkers, Brandon is a self-proclaimed introvert

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But thanks to HONY he's not nervous about approaching people anymore: "You just need to start."

10. He worked on HONY every day for a year, nonstop, before the blog started to gain traction

And we're very happy he stuck it out.

11. His favorite place in New York is...

Central Park.

12. Comedian Tyler Fischer pretended to be Brandon and actually convinced random strangers he was shooting for HONY

Identity theft, anyone?

13. He once turned down a promotional deal with Canon because they wanted him to promote a camera he doesn't use

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Oh no you di'int!

14. When DKNY used his images without permission, Brandon didn't sue or settle

Instead, he had the company make a $25,000 donation to the YMCA in Brooklyn's Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood (where he works out every day).

15. Iraq was the first stop on Brandon's HONY world tour

He took a 50-day trip to raise awareness about the Millennium Development Goals, which include eradicating extreme poverty and reducing child mortality.

16. He's 30 and flirty and thriving

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OK, so I'm not sure about the flirty part, but a girl can dream.

Who do you think we should feature next? Tweet us about your latest man crush using the hashtag #ManCrushMondays.

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