24-Year-Old Former Porn Star With AIDS Films Sobering Video From His Hospital Bed

[seaguy]

Came across this on Qweerty and of course the condom nazi's are using it to blame porn. I find it rather one sided there is no mention of whether or not he had been taking HIV medications which might have prevented him from progressing to full flown AIDS. We don't know if he was living life in the fast lane all that background is conveniently left out. Take a look for yourself at http://www.queerty.com/24-year-old-former-porn-star-with-aids-films-sobering-video-from-his-hospital-bed-20140326/

[TigerMilner]

I feel bad for this guy, but there was something very creepy about the whole video. "Young upcoming homosexuals..." who talks like that?

[schvenn]

I know that this guy is feeling very bad...but am I the only one who finds this totally hot?

[Rayne]

It sounds like he went into porn for the wrong reasons, and ignored the risks he was taking. I'm willing to bet he wasn't on any preventative medications, based on his sentence structure and body language. He seems to have been stripped of his party lifestyle, being reminded in a brutal way that he is mortal. This doesn't seem to be a person who was willing to take the risks, but instead thought "it couldn't happen to me" while doing porn. I could very well be wrong, but I don't see anything else in his face and eyes; his tone of voice sounds like a man who's let himself down.

It's sad to witness, but it's hard not to think to myself, "You put yourself at risk, and you just happened to be unlucky. Now you just have to live with your choices, even though you may hate yourself. Suck it up and be a man, and quit beating yourself up like a child. You're a good example of why I can't stand the current sex education we have today." It sounds pretty cold, but he brought this on himself. Take a risk, and you have live with the consequences that occur.

[blkoraltm]

My thought surrounding this was the fact that he was immature and most likely already barebacking before he entered into porn or considering it. And the face that even though he knew he was at risk for any number of things, by the sounds of it he never got tested, and ignore all the signs until he was full-blown.

[Guest GoodExercise]

@schvenn - I agree it is all very sexy. He did condom and bareback porn. Stupid for using condoms. He was very vocal in his pornos. I predict he will be back getting his AIDS ass fucked raw on cam after he gets out of the hospital.

[rawTOP]

by the sounds of it he never got tested, and ignored all the signs until he was full-blown.

That's my guess too. Though I'm a little surprised Flavaworks didn't test him or talk to him about his HIV status. Then again, just the other day I found out that one of the big studios that shoots a lot in Eastern Europe didn't test regularly and quite a few of their "gay for pay" models were winding up poz. Personally, I don't blame the studios. We're talking about a basic lack of knowledge about HIV - which is a bit shocking.

Bottom line, videos like that are why I think this site is important. At least the guys here understand the risks they're taking and how to take care of themselves (via PrEP and watching their viral load and taking meds once poz).

He's really cute though. I just wanna fuck him and breed him right there in his hospital bed.

[Guest faggot hole]

I know that this guy is feeling very bad...but am I the only one who finds this totally hot?

Schvenn is not the only one here who finds this totally HOT, but he is one of the few honest ones willing to own up.

[seaguy]

There's an old saying "Young, dumb, and full of cum" I think that fits this guy perfectly.

[Poz1956]

FlavaWorks posted this on the Queerity comments for this storey

Justin aka Snow Bunni last worked with FlavaWorks and CocoDorm nearly five years ago in 2009 and was HIV Negative. He NEVER did any bareback porn with our FlavaWorks or CocoDorm.

We are very supportive in his battle.

What screams at me about this storey it's a perfect fit with another stereotype or trend. Bet you isn't not anything you thought of right now.

I forget if this number is from the CDC or a Canadian survey I was reading. 40% of gay guys under 25 have never been tested. Well from the FlavaWorks comment, he doesn't fit that one.

This stat I know is from the CDC - 60% of Poz guys under 25 do not know they are Poz. He seems to fit that one to a T.

There are few details here. But it smells like he was diagnosed with an opportunistic infection, and tested Poz at the same time. I wonder if he ever got himself tested after he left FlavaWorks? It's very rare for someone to progress from Poz to AIDS in a short amount of time. Seroconvert shortly after he left Flava and progress over five years - that's reasonable. But it implies either he didn't get tested for five years, or got tested and ignored the results.

The US medical system is totally foreign to me. (I didn't mean it as a pun, but it turned out that way. I'm Canadian.) But my dim understanding of how things work down there, is that if he couldn't afford the meds, and didn't have insurance, there is usually some way to get him the ARVs. State level programs, or Medicade, or Medicare, or grants from the drug companies. Is that correct? Or is he likely to have fallen through a donut hole / gap in the treatment cascade?

Rayne: If by the comment about "preventative medications" you mean a triple drug antiretroviral regime, we're saying the same thing. If you're meaning PrEP, it wasn't approved yet. It could have been in early trial stages, but he would need to have been in the right place, at the right time to get in on a study.

Listening to the piece I heard a guy pussyfooting, and not saying much. It was almost as bad as the news conference of a politician caught cheating on his wife. Big deal. Sick guy in a bed talking to a camera. Been there. Done that. Saw it in the 80's with guys who were in much worse shape then him. Unless he has a big fan base, I don't think it makes any impact. Maybe a tiny, very dim light bulb might light the occasional young mind with "Oh! - You mean that still happens?"

Reading the comments, it was all bitch and blame, and finger pointing. Nothing constructive until about the 87th comment.

The lack of anything looking to the future, or messaging to guys his age about how to prevent this kind of tragedy inspired me to write.

I put together the six point plan, down at the bottom. Way too many sub-points, I know. Formatting went to hell when it was posted

After the "Plan" I wrote an into - a few posts down. It plays down the old toolkit of just condoms, in favour of the newer technologies. It has a footnote on oral sex. I used "bad words" like Ass, Pozzie Cock, and Suck Dick, so it's auto flagged for moderator review. Hopefully it will show up tomorrow. (Elsewhere I frequently get the question "Is it safe to suck on a Poz guy's dick?" Hence he footnote.)

I'm playing with this idea. Nobody pays attention to the old 1980's "Condoms, Condoms, Condoms" message. (especially around here).

Creating a new safe sex mantra: Test, Treat, TasP, PrEP, PEP, Talk, Stigma & condoms

For the younger guys who wouldn't know what a mantra is - Give it a Hashtag #TTTPPTS&c

The condoms are still there. It appeases the "powers that be." The Condom Nazis can't say they're not promoted. But they're in lower case, at the end, -- an afterthought. Still there for guys who are ok with rubbers.

Somebody's going to quibble that Test & Treat = TasP. I'm playing TasP as when the VL gets low, or undetectable

A few more slight variations:

Test, Treat, TasP, PrEP, PEP, and Talk that's how we'll end the Stigma and wipe out HIV. Oh yea, and condoms will help a bit too. #TTTPPTS&c

Test, Treat, TasP, PrEP, PEP, and Talk Without Stigma. If they're right for you, use condoms too #TTTPPTWS&c

Test, Treat, TasP, PrEP, PEP, Talk, End Stigma & Oh yea, condoms will help a bit too. #TTTPPTES&c (I think I like this last one best)

Any thoughts? Wasted effort? Or a starting point of something useful?

[seaguy]

F

The US medical system is totally foreign to me. (I didn't mean it as a pun, but it turned out that way. I'm Canadian.) But my dim understanding of how things work down there, is that if he couldn't afford the meds, and didn't have insurance, there is usually some way to get him the ARVs. State level programs, or Medicade, or Medicare, or grants from the drug companies. Is that correct? Or is he likely to have fallen through a donut hole / gap in the treatment cascade?

Correct there is usually some way a person can get on ARV's if they are poor somemtimes it requires a little bit of work contacting various agencies and applying for assistance, and some states are more generous than others.

[seaguy]

So he is now out of the hospital and doing better but he seems to have found god http://theluckeystar.com/snos-beginning/

[wood]

I feel bad for this guy, but there was something very creepy about the whole video. "Young upcoming homosexuals..." who talks like that?

I saw it the other day too, and yes it was a bit creepy. I would chock that up to either, a) opportunistic infections of the brain, and judging my his breathing Pneumocystis pneumonia, which is common even amount healthy HIV+ people. Or the medication he is on. Or c) acting.

The long and short is I dont feel bad for him. You dont progress to AIDS overnight. This kid has probably been HIV+ and highly viral for years now while exposing other people. While I don't know for this for certain, statistics show that it takes time for a person to progress to AIDS, not just a recent dumb encounter. Now he makes a video preaching education, and safety? Okay... I guess if it hits home for some people thats good but I still dont feel bad for him. He should have been getting regular HIV/STD tests to look after his health. That would have caught any infection early, and he could have started treatment.

Honestly he kind of pisses me off.. Obviously I dont know his life, but I do know you dont progress to AIDS from initial HIV overnight, and unless he was not sexually active in the past 5 years after he stopped doing porn, whats his excuse for not getting tested earlier???

I forget if this number is from the CDC or a Canadian survey I was reading. 40% of gay guys under 25 have never been tested. Well from the FlavaWorks comment, he doesn't fit that one.

This stat I know is from the CDC - 60% of Poz guys under 25 do not know they are Poz. He seems to fit that one to a T.

There are few details here. But it smells like he was diagnosed with an opportunistic infection, and tested Poz at the same time. I wonder if he ever got himself tested after he left FlavaWorks? It's very rare for someone to progress from Poz to AIDS in a short amount of time. Seroconvert shortly after he left Flava and progress over five years - that's reasonable. But it implies either he didn't get tested for five years, or got tested and ignored the results.

ding ding. When 50% of gay men have condomless sex anyway, the tale of this kids former porn career only serves to sensationalize the story. In reality it has little relevance on the situation. Also most porn companies in the US will try and comply with regulations because one story about an HIV infection can shut them down, and or get sued. I am not saying they all do, but flavaworks is fairly large, so i would imagine they serosort and test.

Back the the kid, yeah people may think I am really insensitive, but I dont feel bad. I would feel bad about an initial unexpected HIV infection, but I dont feel bad not about someone actively choosing to not get tested and ignore their sexual health. I had a friend die last summer at 28 from a "brain tumor" In reality, his brain tumor, and all kinds of other infections were allowed to spread because he was HIV+, never got tested, and never got treatment. I didnt feel bad for him either, despite being a friend. He choose a path that lead to his death. Im glad the kid in this video is wising up, but he should have done it years ago.

Sorry, end rant.

[wood]

Correct there is usually some way a person can get on ARV's if they are poor sometimes it requires a little bit of work contacting various agencies and applying for assistance, and some states are more generous than others.

The ryan white program is federal, and most states get their fund from there.

http://hab.hrsa.gov/abouthab/aboutprogram.html

People making under 50k in the US rarely have much to pay for medication because federal programs or drug assistance programs pick up the tab.

He was likely apathetic to the situation, didn't get tested and didn't seek treatment.

Its * KILLS * me when he says in the video "I never thought this would happen to me" Really!?!?!

From his most recent blog post

Manipulated into signing and exclusive contract, for which I did not even glance over

then

This is NOT what I signed up for...no one forced my hand or signature on that fraudulent piece of paper.

Sorry. Again I dont feel bad. I even doubt that his porn had anything to do with his status, but when you sign a VALID contract, just cause you dont like it later, dont blame the person who offered it to you.

Edited March 28, 2014 by wood

[Bttm2go]

Not regularly testing for HIV when you are barebacking is just stupid. I test myself every three months. He has only himself to blame for not being personally responsible. It is not up to your sex partner or the studio monitor your status. It's your job.