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Jack
Mackenroth
entered
the
world
of
pop
culture
as
a
contestant
on
Bravo
TV’s
“Project
Runway.”
He
was
embraced
quickly
as
a
fan
favorite,
both
for
his
sharp
design
skills
and
his
refreshing,
optimistic
demeanor.
(The
pecs
and
biceps
didn’t
hurt
his
appeal,
either.)
Then
he
came
out
as
being
HIV-positive—a
first
for
the
show,
and
a
topic
that
has
been
rarely
discussed
on
reality-TV
since
Pedro
Zamora
in
the
mid-1990’s.
Unfortulately
his
role
on
the
show
was
short
lived:
during
taping
of
the
program
he
developed
a
case
of
MRSA,
“methicillin-resistant
Staphylococcus
aureus,”
a
highly-contagious
(but
not
HIV-related)
staph
infection,
in
his
nose
and
upper
lip.
As
a
result,
he
bowed
out
of
the
competition
to
receive
treatment;
but
his
legacy
remains,
both
as
a
beloved
contestant
from
the
show
and
as
an
advocate
for
the
HIV+
community.
Mackenroth
is
now
the
spokesperson
for
a
national
HIV/AIDS
educational
campaign,
called
“Living
Positive
By
Design.”
Sponsored
in
part
by
drug
manufacturer
Merck,
the
Blade
spoke
with
Mackenroth
about
the
campaign
during
his
stop
in
Fort
Lauderdale
for
the
2008
US
Conference
on
AIDS.
Tell
me
about
“Living
Positive
By
Design.”
It’s
a
really
great
educational
program
revolving
around
HIV/AIDS,
that
speaks
to
the
HIV-positive
community.
I
talk
about
how
I
designed
my
life,
and
how
I
went
about
facing
this
illness
on
my
own.
I
don’t
think
there’s
a
lot
of
role
models
who
are
speaking
about
it,
so
the
program
is
a
method
to
get
people
talking
about
it.
How
is
the
program
structured?
We
give
people
a
loose
road
map
to
manage
their
disease,
by
having
an
open
discourse
with
their
doctor,
knowing
that
there
are
lots
of
treatment
options
out
there.
I
was
diagnosed
over
19
years
ago,
and
the
outlook
at
the
time
and
the
treatments
available
were
very
bleak.
But
in
order
to
cope,
I
quickly
partnered
with
a
doctor—the
same
doctor
I
still
have—and
I’ve
been
lucky,
I’ve
been
healthy.
I
know
that’s
not
always
the
case,
I
don’t
want
to
paint
a
picture
as
being
glamorous,
like
“You
can
be
me
if
you
follow
these
steps!”
But
hopefully
for
most
people
it’s
a
manageable
disease.
You
just
have
to
take
the
responsibility
of
owning
it.
With
all
the
progress
in
treating
HIV,
you
would
think
people
would
be
more
comfortable
talking
about
it.
There’s
still
a
lot
of
shame
around
the
disease,
which
is
unfortunate.
I
would
use
stronger
language
if
I
wasn’t
being
interviewed.
People
are
in
denial,
they
won’t
get
tested,
they
won’t
go
to
the
doctor,
they
won’t
tell
their
sexual
partners—or
anyone—because
they
are
embarrassed
or
ashamed.
But
there
was
a
time
when
HIV/AIDS
was
in
the
forefront
of
the
news.
Why
don’t
people
talk
about
it
anymore?
There’s
not
such
a
sense
of
urgency,
because
people
see
it
as
a
manageable
disease,
which
we
are
saying
to
a
certain
degree
it
can
be.
The
messages
years
ago
hit
home
with
us
because
people
were
dying
a
lot.
My
boyfriend
at
the
time
passed
away
in
1996.
When
you
see
all
of
that
and
witness
it,
you
listen
to
the
messages,
and
you
take
it
very
seriously.
I
think
now,
with
this
generation,
they
don’t
see
that.
Do
you
think
race
plays
a
role?
This
used
to
be
a
disease
of
gay
white
men,
but
now
the
new
infections
have
shifted
to
ethnic
minorities.
Critics
say
that
has
a
lot
to
do
with
the
loss
of
public
interest.
Well…
I
live
in
Harlem,
in
New
York,
and
in
the
ethnic
minority
communities,
the
issue
is
the
stigma.
They
won’t
talk
about
it,
they
won’t
talk
about
being
gay—period.
They
have
girlfriends!
If
you
won’t
talk
about
your
sexuality,
how
are
you
going
to
talk
about
a
disease
you
may
have?
So
how
do
you
eliminate
that
stigma?
There’s
just
so
many
HIV-positive
people
who
don’t
talk
about
being
positive.
Even
at
my
last
job
no
one
knew,
and
I’m
so
honest
and
open
about
it.
But
I
worked
with
all
straight
people,
and
although
it’s
not
a
gay
disease,
we’re
still
disproportinatley
affected
by
it,
and
if
I
said
‘Oh,
I’m
HIV-positive,”
then
everyone
would
freak
out.
But
that’s
because
we
don’t
talk
about
it.
I
think
we
really
need
to
start
a
dialogue,
on
an
international
level.
When
you
were
on
Project
Runway,
you
were
quoted
as
saying
“I’m
HIV
positive
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