The Leon and Mary Fields Foundation ~ Live the Dream to Be the Change
Twenty Five at 25 - HIV Plus Magazine
In the November/December Issue of HIVPLUS Magazine Jack and I are mentioned as 2 of the 25 of today’s LGBT leaders working to ensure the HIV fight rages on. Read the full article here
Robert Breining
It's hard to imagine that Philadelphian Robert Breining, founder of the "POZIAM" Internet radio show and related website, was once apprehensive about disclosing his serostatus-or even acknowledging his HIV infection to himself. "Since I wasn't on meds, it just didn't sink in," says the 30-year-old, who was diagnosed in 2001. "It took me five years to accept it and to be able to talk about it."
Today, Breining is unabashedly candid about having HIV and all the other intimate details of his life, as are the guests on his radio show. "I want to show everyone that there's so much more to living with HIV than just sickness and death," he says of the weekly broadcasts, which are cohosted by fellow HIVers Jack Mackenroth and Jeromy Dunn.
"POZIAM" airs Sundays at 9 p.m. Eastern on BlogTalkRadio.com/POZIAM. The social-networking website is found online at POZIAM.com. --B.A.
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Jack Mackenroth
Jack Mackenroth could've kept quiet. He could've told the Project Runway producers that his living with HIV was not to become another morsel of gossip for reality TV-obsessed couch potatoes to munch on. Once his season hit the air, two years ago, and he was thrust into the spotlight, he could've turned down the requests that he become a poster boy for HIV advocacy work. He could've ignored the avalanche of heartfelt e-mails from fans thrilled to see a robustly healthy role model fulfilling his own dreams.
With his superhero build and square-jawed good looks, Mackenroth, 40, never really saw any other option than to stay true to his own personal philosophy: to be out and proud about his HIV status, the red cape waving behind his neck. (Or perhaps he'd sport a simple pair of Speedos, since he has a side gig as a competitive swimmer.)
HIV-positive for nearly 20 years, the University of California, Berkeley, grad and former model-turned-Parsons alum and fashion slave has parlayed his appearance on the popular reality show into not just a television and design career but an opportunity to become a very public face of HIV-including gracing the cover of HIV Plus in January/February 2008 ... naked!
Merck & Co., a major antiretroviral pharmaceutical company, hired him to work both as a public speaker and as a liaison to AIDS service organizations around the country. And on Sundays at 9 p.m. Eastern, he cohosts the HIV-focused Internet radio show "POZIAM."
"I think-in the grand scheme of life-what do I want to be remembered for?" Mackenroth says. "Making pretty clothes is nice, and being on TV or whatever, but if you really make a difference in someone's life, that's a lot more important."
Called Living Positive by Design, his speaking tour aims to reduce stigma for HIVers, encourage them to take good care of their health, and provide them a sense of hope that they too can live out their ambitions. He has also started posting newsmagazine-style webisodes on the program's website, LivingPositivebyDesign.com.
"There's still a huge stigma wrapped around being HIV-positive," he says. "The more you talk about it and the more people see me, and see me doing good, and living a "normal life," then it normalizes HIV. I think anyone who's HIV-positive can do their part just by being open."
Robert Breining
It's hard to imagine that Philadelphian Robert Breining, founder of the "POZIAM" Internet radio show and related website, was once apprehensive about disclosing his serostatus-or even acknowledging his HIV infection to himself. "Since I wasn't on meds, it just didn't sink in," says the 30-year-old, who was diagnosed in 2001. "It took me five years to accept it and to be able to talk about it."
Today, Breining is unabashedly candid about having HIV and all the other intimate details of his life, as are the guests on his radio show. "I want to show everyone that there's so much more to living with HIV than just sickness and death," he says of the weekly broadcasts, which are cohosted by fellow HIVers Jack Mackenroth and Jeromy Dunn.
"POZIAM" airs Sundays at 9 p.m. Eastern on BlogTalkRadio.com/POZIAM. The social-networking website is found online at POZIAM.com. --B.A.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Jack Mackenroth
Jack Mackenroth could've kept quiet. He could've told the Project Runway producers that his living with HIV was not to become another morsel of gossip for reality TV-obsessed couch potatoes to munch on. Once his season hit the air, two years ago, and he was thrust into the spotlight, he could've turned down the requests that he become a poster boy for HIV advocacy work. He could've ignored the avalanche of heartfelt e-mails from fans thrilled to see a robustly healthy role model fulfilling his own dreams.
With his superhero build and square-jawed good looks, Mackenroth, 40, never really saw any other option than to stay true to his own personal philosophy: to be out and proud about his HIV status, the red cape waving behind his neck. (Or perhaps he'd sport a simple pair of Speedos, since he has a side gig as a competitive swimmer.)
HIV-positive for nearly 20 years, the University of California, Berkeley, grad and former model-turned-Parsons alum and fashion slave has parlayed his appearance on the popular reality show into not just a television and design career but an opportunity to become a very public face of HIV-including gracing the cover of HIV Plus in January/February 2008 ... naked!
Merck & Co., a major antiretroviral pharmaceutical company, hired him to work both as a public speaker and as a liaison to AIDS service organizations around the country. And on Sundays at 9 p.m. Eastern, he cohosts the HIV-focused Internet radio show "POZIAM."
"I think-in the grand scheme of life-what do I want to be remembered for?" Mackenroth says. "Making pretty clothes is nice, and being on TV or whatever, but if you really make a difference in someone's life, that's a lot more important."
Called Living Positive by Design, his speaking tour aims to reduce stigma for HIVers, encourage them to take good care of their health, and provide them a sense of hope that they too can live out their ambitions. He has also started posting newsmagazine-style webisodes on the program's website, LivingPositivebyDesign.com.
"There's still a huge stigma wrapped around being HIV-positive," he says. "The more you talk about it and the more people see me, and see me doing good, and living a "normal life," then it normalizes HIV. I think anyone who's HIV-positive can do their part just by being open."
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