“To be honest, how I contracted the virus is a bit of a mystery. I was always rigorous about condom usage during penetrative sex. I know the 2-month window in which I was infected so here are two possibilities:
1. A man who I gave oral sex to had a scab on his penis. I had brushed my teeth recently. Highly unlikely, but still a possibility.
2. A man I had sex with in Berlin was teasing my anus with his penis. I began to bleed from my sphincter (though I'm not sure why). I bled on his couch. It's possible that there was an exchange between precum and my bloodstream. Someone also may have removed a condom somewhere along the way without telling me.
I take Truvada and Tivicay. I am healthier than ever. I have been undetectable for 2 years now. I get blood work done every 6 months and my results always reflect that I have a very strong, healthy body.
After seroconverting I fell into a spiral. I was living in Berlin at the time, and I began taking lots of drugs and partying for days straight. I also started documenting my life with a Camcorder, and made my first documentary film, POSITIVE, which premiered in New York last year and will be available online next month. In the time since then, I've gained 50 pounds of muscle, have gotten completely sober, and have moved back to New York City to be an actor and a filmmaker full-time.
PrEP has allowed for a new wave of education around HIV. Rather than approaching me as an infected or diseased untouchable, my partners that have been on PrEP have been more confident that they are taking the appropriate steps to protect themselves - and so they treat me as an individual instead. This is a beautiful shift.”
Linus, 25, undetectable. Brooklyn, NY. Actor and filmmaker running a small production company.