Nick Rhoades - HIV Criminalization

On Sunday June 24th at 9pm, POZ I AM Radio will be speaking with Nick Rhoades. Nick Rhoades was convicted of “Criminal Transmission of HIV” in Iowa in 2008, even though his viral load was undetectable, he wore a condom and his accuser did not contract HIV. He was sentenced to 25years in prison and lifetime sex offender registration. After a year of total incarceration, the judge reconsidered Nick’s sentence and released him on five years probation, as well as the sex offender registration requirement. His case for post-conviction relief is still ongoing.

Nick's story was recently featured in Sean Strub's upcoming documentary HIV is Not a Crime.

Today he works as an Outreach and Event Specialist with The Center for HIV Law and Policy’s Positive Justice Project, which combats HIV criminalization. He spoke in Geneva, Switzerland, about HIV criminalization at the UNAIDS Programme Coordinating Board’s meeting in December, 2011, and as part of a panel discussion organized by the UN Human Rights Council meeting in March, 2012. Rhoades has also volunteered with the Community HIV/Hepatitis Advocates of Iowa Network(CHAIN), Iowa Community Planning Group, Positive Iowans Taking Charge (PITCH)and as a board member with Community AIDS Assistance Project, in Waterloo, Iowa.

Listen to the interview

Michael Kearns - The Truth is Bad Enough

On Father's Day Sunday June 17th POZ I AM radio will be speaking with Michael Kearns a HIV+ Father. Michael Kearns is an American actor, Author, director, teacher, producer, and activist. Long before coming out of the closet was considered a career move in the entertainment industry, Kearns was the first Hollywood actor on record to come out in the mid-seventies, amidst a shocking amount of homophobia. He subsequently made television history 1991 announcing on Entertainment Tonight that he was HIV positive.

In 1992, as an openly HIV+ actor, Kearns starred in a segment of ABC's  Life Goes On in which he played a character who had the HIV virus. He also played Cleve Jones in the HBO adaptation of Randy Shilts' And the Band Played On, appeared in A Mother's Prayer, It's My Party and had a recurring role on Beverly Hills, 90210. Other television and film credits include Cheers, Murder, She Wrote, The Waltons, L.A. Tool & Die, Knots Landing, General Hospital, Days of our Lives, and Brian De Palma's Body Double.

In 1995, Kearns began proceedings that resulted in his adoption in 1997 of a child. He presently lives in Los Angeles with his daughter who turned seventeen in August 2011. Kearns will be sharing about his new book  “The Truth is Bad Enough: What Became of the Happy Hustler” (now available on Amazon) and what it is like to be an HIV+ Father. Visit Micheal's website for more information

Listen to the interview - Click here 

Kevin Maloney - Rise Up to HIV

This Sunday June 3rd ay 9pm EST - Robert Breining & Jeromy Dunn will be speaking with Kevin Maloney the founder of Rise up to HIV on POZ I AM Radio. In March 2010, Kevin learned he had contracted HIV, and one month later with follow up labs was told he has also contracted Hepatitis C. Kevin was not an intravenous drug user. The hepatitis C piggy backed onto the HIV virus. Kevin was seroconverting at the time he found out of his HIV diagnosis, and fortunately caught his hepatitis C early too. That diagnosis was his rock bottom.

He had been dealing with an addiction, and these diagnoses gave him reason to pause and reflect on his life. He set in motion a series of action plans to combat his HIV, his addiction, and his Hepatitis C. With treatment, Kevin cured hepatitis C. During the past 2 years he was laid off from his job in NYC, and his mother is currently connected to a respirator, it’s been 7 months now. He’s taken a job in Washington, DC where he has been the past 4 months working for a non-profit that advocates for people living with HIV/AIDS. It’s been a whirlwind of 2 years, but in hindsight he wouldn’t have wanted it any other way.

Kevin will also be talking about the @HashTagHIV Campaign. Seven HIV/AIDS Activists have come together to assemble a team of faces and voices who will encourage the global community to Tweet heavily  using the hash tags, #HIV and #AIDS during the International AIDS Conference (IAC) You can learn more about the campaign here.

Listen to the interview - Click Here

Healthy Living Summit Recap with Robert & Jeromy

This Thursday April 19th at 9pm EST Robert Breining and Jeromy Dunn will be hosting the Healthy Living Summit Recap Show on POZ I AM Radio.The past week from April 10th -13th Robert and Jeromy presented at NAPWA's National Healthy Living Summit in Dallas Texas. The Summit promotes healthy living for people living with HIV. The new National Healthy Living Expo continued the work of NAPWA’s popular Staying Alive national conferences in a new environment of not just surviving with HIV but living productive and fulfilling lives. The conference consisted of a Mens,Womens and Youth Institute and tons of break out sessions on relationships, Hep C co-infections,HIV Criminalization, HIV in the rural south and social media. If you attended  or presented at the Healthy Living Summit, we want you to share your experience please call 347-215-9442 during the live show. 

If you are on twitter we ask that you use the hashtags for the show and conference 

 #PIARadio - #HealthyLivingSummit

 Listen to the Healthy Living Recap show live or archived

Amanda Brown - HIV Positively Positive

This Sunday April 1st at 9pm EST -  Robert and Jeromy will be speaking with Blogger Amanda Brown. Amanda was born in Hyannis, Massachusetts. In 1998 at the age of 18, she joined The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints against her parents wishes, packed up and moved to Utah to attend Brigham Young University. Not long after graduation in 2002 she left the Church , accepted the fact that she was gay and came out of the closet to her friends and family.

A few months later she joined the U.S. Army with hopes of attending Medical School on their dime. She was raped nearing the end of Basic Training, tested HIV positive shortly after and was discharged. After being on the patient side of the fence, she decided a career in the medical field would not be in her future. She attended the University of Utah where she earned a Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering. In 2005 she succumbed to religious peer pressure that the rape happened because she wasn't living the "right" way.She decided to leave her gayness in the closet and go back to Church where she married a young Mormon man, only to come to her senses a year later and leave both the man and the Church for good.

 She decided that HIV would not prevent her from doing the things she loves and never has allowed it to get in the way of her ambitious dreams. In 2010 and 2011 she played for the Utah Jynx (a Women's full contact Semi-Pro Football team). If you ask her what her greatest accomplishment in life is... she will proudly say, "I ran a marathon in 2008, it took me six hours... but I did it." She is currently writing a children's book called "The Monster Under My Bed." A story about an 11-year old boy with HIV/AIDS. Aside from maintaining her own website with a personal blog and a free text message service for individuals with questions related to HIV/AIDS, she volunteers for her local AIDS Foundation.

Listen to the interview - Click Here 

Dab Garner - 31 Years of Hope

Join Robert Breining and Jeromy Dunn this Sunday March 25 at 9pm EST when they will be speaking with 31 year survivor Dab Garner. Dab Garner will be sharing about the 31 year message of DAB The AIDS Bear.  Join us for this special episode of POZ I AM RADIO when we celebrate 31 years of Dab the AIDS Bear. This is an episode you don't want to miss. Call in with comments for Dab Garner at 347-215-9442

The Story of Dab The AIDS Bear

Back in 1981 when Dab 1st had friends starting to die from AIDS, the hospitals wouldn't allow visitors into the patient's room unless you wore protective garments (gowns, masks etc.) because they were afraid of this new disease and were not sure how the virus was passed. Because of this, people were usually close to death and had at least one opportunistic infection when they were diagnosed and hospitalized. You could see even seasoned health care professional recoil in fear and not wanting to touch the patients. Even close friends were hesitant or scared to visit their friends in the hospital. Dab started buying Gund teddy bears and giving them to friends so they wouldn't have to feel so alone, abandoned and afraid. That is how Dab the AIDS Bear Project began.

Learn more at www.dabtheaidsbearproject.com

Listen to the interview live or archived - click here

Logan Voxx - Positive Young People Foundation

Sunday February 26th at 9pm EST we will be speaking with Logan Voxx on POZ I AM Radio. Logan Voxx is the president and CEO of the PYP foundation based in Los Angeles, CA. He is an award winning songwriter and aspiring music mogul. He is a small retail business owner also.

Logan Voxx has been distinguished as a 2011 OUT100 honoree. He has been involved in philanthropy since he was 21 using his success to give back to communities that need it most. He founded PYP Foundation at only 21.

The PYP Foundation is dedicated to decreasing the spread of HIV infections by encouraging the nation’s youth to make positive choices. PYP encourages HIV education and prevention to address some of the most intimate aspects of a young persons life during a critical stage of development. PYP believes that HIV prevention is fundamentally about communication, healthy choices, and self-awareness.

 Listen to the interview LIVE or archived

Paul Stalbaum - HIV Cruises

This Sunday Robert & Jeromy will be speaking with  HIVCruises.com  founder Paul Stalbaum. Paul was born and raised in suburban Philadelphia and attended Penn State with a BS in psychology. He went to Villanova law school and discovered after 1 year he hated Torts so he left school to join the family business, a travel agency. Through his and his bother's efforts his Agency grew to be the 11th largest in the country with 7 offices and 175 employees.

Paul has been HIV+  for 30 years and remains healthy and asymptomatic. He uses both a western medical approach combined along with alternative methods and maintains a positive attitude towards HIV. In fact while in Philly he became and HIV counsellor and founded what became the most well attended peer led support which he called Positive Attitudes.

After selling his business he moved to sunny Ft Lauderdale and was surprised to find that no support group existed in a community with such a large HIV population. So he volunteered to start up a new Positive Attitudes support group at the Gay and Lesbian Community Center. As word spread once again it was overwhelmingly successful with as many as 60 - 70 showing up on any given night.

 In 2005 he decide to combine his two passions, travel and supporting the HIV community by founding what has become an annual GLBT Poz Cruise. The cruise grows larger each year with many who have attend virtually every year. The cruise offers an opportunity to participate in a relaxing and affordable vacation while having the chance to attend workshops led by HIV experts such as Nelson Vergel, Dr. Michael Wohlfieler, Dr Charles Steinberg, and Mark King.

 Listen to the interview live or archived

This vlog by Mark King show a glimpse into what the HIV Cruises are all about.

Jamar Rogers - The Story Behind the Voice

This past Monday my partner and I were excited to watch the premiere of The Voice. We love this show in particular because the auditions are blind. Which makes the judges focus on the voice of the contestant  instead of their image. This is truly a way to find talented singers. I am happy to announce this Sunday February 12th at 9pm EST, I will be speaking with Jamar Rogers, an HIV positive contestant on the second season of The Voice  If you watched The Voice this week. Then you were probably moved by Jamar Rogers story and his talent. I was completely blown away by his honesty. I immediately jumped on Facebook after his audition and tried to contact him about being interviewed on POZ I AM Radio. I was super excited to get a email response the next morning from him agreeing to be on the show. It was surreal.

I admire Jamar for being who he is. Sometimes it takes us, people living with HIV, a long time to find self acceptance again. You see the reason I felt so connected to Jamar isn't only because he is HIV+. He is also a recovering addict, like myself. He is a true inspiration. Although Jamar hit rock bottom at one point, He has been sober for six years and has turned his life around. Through his soulful tunes, this charmer from the Bronx, NY is determined to show everyone his life is back on track, and to prove to the world that you can accomplish anything you put your mind to. You don't want to miss this interview

Watch Jamar Rogers audition on The Voice

Watch Jamar Rogers - Behind the Voice

Listen to the interview LIVE or archived 

If you have questions or comments for Jamar we will be taking your calls during the live broadcast on Sunday Feb. 12 @ 9pm EST at 347-215-9442 

Show your support !!!
Like Jamar Rogers on Facebook
Follow Jamar Rogers on Twitter
Watch Jamar Rogers on Youtube.

Robert Tells All on The Monique Live Show

The Monday after Christmas (12/26) at 8pm EST, I will be sharing my personal story of living with HIV/AIDS on The Monique LIVE Show. The Monique LIVE Show can be found on the Fish Bowl Radio Network every Monday 8-10pm EST.  The show is hosted by the fabulous Activist and Author Monique Howell.  If you want to tune in and listen to my story you can by going to The FishBowlRadioNetwork.com and clicking the blue fish bowl at the bottom of the page ..it will automatically pop up a player to listen live. There is also a LIVE chat room to connect with others who are tuning in to the show. Call in with comments and questions at (214)-431-5062.

To listen to my interview live, click the banner below

Yes I am sure you are reading this blog and thinking Monique Howell ?? That name sounds familiar. That is because Monique previously shared her story on POZ I AM Radio. Listen to the archive of Monique Howell's story on POZ I AM Radio - click here