Greg Louganis
When I was first diagnosed in 1988, the same year as the Seoul Summer Olympics, HIV was thought of as a death sentence, so I was going to do the honorable thing and go back home, lock myself in my house and wait to die. Because that was the mentality during that time. And then my cousin – who was my doctor and who did the HIV test – he really encouraged me to stay in training. He said that was probably the healthiest thing for me to do for myself. And I was very thankful for that, because I was able to focus on my diving, which was very positive, rather than on this cloud that potentially loomed over my head. Secrets are devastating, they can really isolate you, and that’s what happened with all of these secrets about my sexuality, and also about treatment, about my illness, about HIV.
You really have to go back to 1988, when there was a lot of miscommunication about HIV, about how you get HIV, and also how you don’t get HIV.
Unfortunately, now a lot of young people are seeing a lot of the progress in HIV treatment as a silver bullet. And so that is the reason why it is important for me to go out and talk to people and share what it’s like: my drug regimens and the side effects from some of the medications. It’s important for young people to understand that we’re progressing with treatment with regards to HIV and AIDS, but it shouldn’t be thought of as a silver bullet. My message to young people is to love yourselves enough to protect yourselves.
In addition to my treatment regimen, I stay physically active. I get to the gym, I spin or do yoga, and I focus on alleviating the stress in my life. That’s the biggest thing, as far as advice that I give anybody who’s been living with HIV or is newly diagnosed: get physically active. Take care of yourself. Do everything you can to alleviate stress in your life. Most of the stress that we contend with in our lives is self-imposed, so take a break and laugh at yourself and have a good sense of humor. It’s very important.
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