“I am the steward of my ship”: John Gibson rewrites his HIV narrative

The Switch is a video series sharing positive lifestyles and health routines to help you thrive while living with HIV. Listen to our guests living with HIV talk candidly about the positive switches they have made in their daily lives, including their approach to HIV treatment. Watch more episodes here.

It started with a few brown spots.

John Gibson, then 23 and fresh out of college in Florida, noticed discoloration on his hands. A trip to the doctor revealed secondary syphilis — and then, after routine bloodwork, the life-altering news: He was HIV positive.

“I remember the call coming and not answering it,” Gibson recalled. “And when you don't answer a call, they’d send the CDC to your home and leave a letter. That was the moment I was like, ‘Okay. This is something real. I cannot live in the twilight zone.’”

Today, nearly two decades later, Gibson is 39, thriving in New York City as TikTok’s Client Solutions Team Lead and a visible advocate for people living with HIV. His journey — a blend of personal reckoning, career drive, and radical self-love — is a testament to how living with HIV doesn’t mean life ends. Sometimes, it just begins again.

“I was young, naïve, and honestly didn’t think it could happen to me,” he said. “I hadn’t ever been tested. I wasn’t engaging in full-on sex, just oral. But untreated syphilis made me more vulnerable.”

The diagnosis rocked him. As a young Black gay man, he was already navigating the world with “extra pressure,” and the stigma surrounding HIV felt like another weight — one he wasn’t ready to share. Gibson didn’t tell his parents for more than 10 years. He retreated, throwing himself into work and putting dating on the back burner.

“I didn't want that burden to be on anyone else,” said Gibson. “And I didn’t want to be rejected.”

Instead, Gibson built an impressive career, but the internal silence grew deafening.

“I got really far, but I wasn’t living my true, authentic self,” he elaborated. “I was constantly overwhelmed trying to put on that I’m perfect.”

The real shift came with vulnerability — and a therapist. For the past four years, Gibson has met with his therapist every Saturday.

“It’s something I look forward to every week,” he said. “It’s a brave, safe space for me to be my authentic self.”

With that emotional support came lifestyle changes: a deeper commitment to physical health, regular STI testing, and full ownership of his sexual wellness.

“Being positive doesn’t mean you’re not susceptible to gonorrhea or other STIs,” he said. “I’ve learned to proactively ask, ‘When’s the last time you’ve been tested?’ — something I never used to do.”

Gibson has also become a self-described “Peloton person,” diving into daily HIIT workouts and group fitness, which feed both body and spirit.

“A lot of the change has been around being mindful of overall health and wellness,” he stressed. “If it’s not my treatment that I take daily, it’s my physical activity.”

But the emotional weight of disclosure still lingered — especially in dating. For years, he avoided it altogether. That changed at 37, when he fell in love for the first time.

“That relationship turned into a fiancé, and then into a husband,” Gibson said, smiling. “I made the decision that I was deserving of unconditional love. If you weren’t going to give that to me, then it wasn’t meant to be.”

Today, Gibson is open about his status — with friends, family, and even strangers who pull him aside to say, “John, I would’ve never known.” To him, that visibility matters, especially when media portrayals of HIV still lean on outdated, tragic tropes.

“There isn’t enough representation of people living with HIV in the media,” he said. “You rarely see people who look healthy, thriving, and just living life.”

Gibson knows the journey can be isolating — especially in the early days after diagnosis. His advice? Find community. Advocate for yourself. And never forget the power of your own resilience.

“When I first received my status, I had that feeling that the life I planned for myself would no longer come to fruition,” he said. “But I got to a point where I said, ‘F—k that. I am the steward of my ship.’”

And that ship? It’s heading full speed ahead.