Despite experiencing #HIVStigma after his diagnosis, Activist, Felice Marano still considers himself lucky!
You can read the transcript of Felice’s conversation with Karl below.
FELICE
Even though I embraced this path of personal development and personal growth, there still are these challenges.
KARL
Hello there. Welcome to Plus Talk on Plus Life, where we’re all about turning positive into a plus. And my guest today does that on a, well, a daily basis. If you look at his amazing Instagram profile. Felice Marano, good to see you, sir.
FELICE
How are you? Very good to be here with you today.
KARL
I’m well and I should say your Instagram account caught my eye. Borntobelove.community. And what strikes me about this great account that you’ve created, is the messages of positivity that you put out there for everyone. And I know that’s very much a part of your mission. And I also love how honest you are because one of the posts you put up recently said, “HIV scares the shit out of me.” It scares the shit out of a lot of people. But, you meant it in a different kind of a way, didn’t you?
FELICE
I was invited to speak about something special, and I decided to share my story. And you know a lot of us think that like, maybe once we disclose our HIV status, it’s like “That’s it, it’s done.” Like, “I’m out there and like, and that’s it.” And then I realize with time that even though I’m doing this and I keep doing this, it still scares the shit out of me. So, I kind of realized like, there’s not a specific antidote of like a formula. And I think this is important for many people to understand. It’s like, with time, yes, maybe we may get better in doing so. But, like, for me, even though I embraced this path of personal development and personal growth, There still are these challenges. Even now, like I am launching an online course for people living with HIV and it’s like, man, a few years ago, I could not even imagine to do something like this. Like, for me it was me, my life and my idea of like taking the best out of this experience. But, now it’s becoming like a new adventure. Like, trying to help and support other people to do the same. And, yes, that’s scary.
KARL
Of course it is. And what do you constantly come up against though as the biggest misconception? Like, what do people keep sort of, you know, on a regular basis saying but this or that, that you go, “But that’s just not the case. “Let me educate you. “Let me teach you.”
FELICE
I don’t know, maybe it may be on a personal level. First of all, I think like, more of this thing that we were saying before like, maybe I understand for most people I think that like, I’m always happy and having this incredible life. And of course I try to show up in that, in that environment when like when I can give something to people. But, the reality is there are like a lot of moments where like, for days, weeks, sometimes like even for a month or more, I can’t even see Instagram. Because thinking of receiving like, all these stories and all these messages for as much as I made it my mission, and for as much as I love it, sometimes it’s overwhelming. You know? Maybe another misconception is this is like that is impossible where if you live with HIV to travel around the world. And how you do when you like, you are traveling and you take your pills with you. So, for me it’s just like, live your life. And there’s a lot of information out there.
KARL
I’m curious in all your travels, ’cause you do travel a lot, and it’s great to follow that through your Instagram account. What are the similarities when you connect with HIV-positive people in all these different countries? Other than the fact that we have HIV in common that we’re both, you know, that we’re living with HIV. What’s something that has surprised you about meeting HIV-positive people from all different cultures? That has pleasantly surprised you in a in a way that has made you feel connected to this community?
FELICE
What I can tell you is like, as soon as I discovered about HIV I went to Amsterdam. There was like one of the international AIDS-
KARL
World AIDS conference in Amsterdam.
FELICE
Conferences.
Yes. And I went to participate as a a volunteer because I said like, “Oh my god, I don’t know, it’s so overwhelming. I don’t know how to deal with this.’ So, I decided to be there and like, be surrounded by people living with HIV. Man, what I love the most is like, all this energy, at least from these people I met there, like to thrive no matter what. Like, you know, to transform this thing in something better and more beautiful. Of course we can be sad and depressed and like, there’s all the cultural stigma and the rejections. Where it’s like, “Guys we’re so lucky nowadays.” And I think like, this is what I try to do even though it’s hard. And even for me, I think we owe to these people and like to the incredible stories they have to have an incredible life and to be happy and live with HIV.
KARL
Well, listen, your Instagram account is addictive and contagious. It’s wonderful to see your messages of positivity and your honesty. So, you’ve gotta check out the Instagram account. It is borntobelove.community. And we’ll put that up on the screen. That’s gonna do it for this episode of Plus Talk on Plus Life. Remember you can follow us across social media. We are @pluslifemedia. And you can always visit the website pluslifemedia.com. Until next time, be nice to one another. See you soon.