"One night I went over to a guy's house to have sex. He had a friend over and we all were fucking but I believe his friend didn’t know he had just contracted it. So he passed it along to me. A few months later the guy and I reconnected and we both found out we were newly diagnosed. I never told the guy I think he gave it to me.
I have Medicaid through the State of NY and take Genvoya.
Because of HIV I'm more confident. It made me grow up fast. I had to learn who I was and what I wanted to be so much faster and now I feel I have a very distinct voice. I know what I have to say and I know who I am when I say it.
I don’t think PrEP has changed how I feel sexually. But I do feel it has changed how people are sexual with me. Everyone seems to be a little more open to fucking bare now that there is PrEP than before. And they think less of me as someone with this so-called deadly virus. People are definitely more open to sex with me than before."
Richard, 23, undetectable. Brooklyn, NY. Theater Artist.