When Tyler Hoffman went to his monthly community night in early 2025, he didn’t anticipate the journey that would start because of it. “I was going to a community night (that happens) once a month and every time, we’d do a different activity… and one of the times we did painting rocks, I thought it was a weird thing to do, and I thought I wouldn’t enjoy it,” he said. “But I sat down and painted some rocks, and it was very Zen like, and it just took my mind out of the busy life… next thing you know, I had ten rocks painted, so it was pretty fun.” What could’ve been limited to a fun night then blossomed into a passion project, made possible by leftover paint Hoffman had at his family’s body shop business in Guelph and rocks he continues to collect across his community. Each rock is uniquely painted by Hoffman, inspired by those who might come across the silly stones. “When I’m painting the rocks, I get to think about each one and who might get this rock,” he explained. “A lot of the time I think about some of my friend’s kids, I’ve seen them play with them for hours… and it just brings me such joy that their kids (are) playing with the rocks and they’re just getting that happiness that the world needs more of.” Hoffman was spurred on further by his Nonna, who at the end of her life, found joy in the rocks even while struggling elsewhere. “She loved these… the last year of her life, she was going to get blood work once a week, and she hated it. She was always grumpy on those days, and I knew she was grumpy, so when I started doing these rocks, I would just get her to smile a little bit,” he said. “For my Nonna’s Celebration of Life, I painted 200 rocks either with love and some hearts, be kind with little bees and flowers and peace with little piece signs. And I had them there for people to take and kind of just remember my Nonna for how she was.” Rocks that started in Guelph have travelled the globe, reaching places like Japan, France, and Belize. According to Hoffman, the phenomenon only reaches those who buy into the mindset. “Being a rock person, you either get it or you don’t,” he told CTV News. “Some people can look at a rock and go, oh, that looks like this, or it looks like that, and you can make them change so much by the color or the or the face or what they’re doing… picturing that little kids face or that grown-ups face that’s having a down day. And you know, if they see it and they chuckle and it makes them want to pick it up, pick it up. If it doesn’t and they just walk by and get a little smile, that’s all. That’s all I want. Just a little bit of a happiness.” Painting is not the only medium on the horizon, with scavenger hunts, bigger rocks for intersections, and even a children’s book being on Hoffman’s bucket list. Hoffman, who now has the moniker of “The Rock Guy,” has thousands of rocks painted, over 4,000 to his own calculation, with no end in sight. Ultimately, the goal for the Guelph native is a lot more simplistic than people may think. “I hope one day, a kid (will say), ‘I don’t want to play with that $100 toy. I’d rather play with this little rock,’ you know, I kind of like that,” Hoffman said.
