Michael Mejia, a former Skin Wars
contestant, covers the November/December cover of Plus
magazine.
In the accompanying interview, Mejia, a
26-year-old artist, reveals for the first time publicly that he's
HIV-positive.
“There are several reasons why I’m
coming out.” Mejia
told Plus.
“One is because people aren’t informed enough about HIV and are
still stuck in the trauma that has carried over from previous years.
I’m hoping that people will read this, gain perspective and lose
the stigma and fear against HIV. Another reason is because I know
there are many people out there that have been recently diagnosed and
may feel alone—thinking they are the only ones. But the truth is
you are not [alone], there are more than 36 million people living
with HIV in the world! And it’s OK, we’re all in this together
and we need to support each other in any way we can. I want people to
understand that having HIV is not a death sentence anymore, it’s a
lifestyle that requires a strict treatment regimen and healthy
living.”
Mejia, who made it to the top four on
the third season of Game Show Network's body painting reality
competition Skin Wars, added that coping with the stigma
surrounding HIV has been more difficult than accepting the diagnosis.
“Everyone is full of fear when they
think of HIV and it’s because of ignorance. This fear is holding
people back from getting tested regularly and keeping HIV-positive
people from sharing their status. We need to end HIV stigma because
stigma is the real illness we should be alarmed by,” he added.