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Raif Derrazi responded to his HIV diagnosis by hitting the gym, hard
“I’m sorry to objectify you,” I said sheepishly to bodybuilder Raif Derrazi. For our videotaped interview, Raif was naked down to the nether regions of his sculpted abs, at my request.
“Not at all!” Raif happily responded. “There’s a time and place for everything, and this is it.”
Raif’s sunny disposition is disarming because as an aging queen who used to be All That, I was ready to resent him terribly. Alas, that is quite impossible. He is aware of his allure – he owns a mirror, after all – but he handles the trappings of hotness with humble aplomb.
Raif is also living with HIV, for seven years now, and he responded to his diagnosis in a fascinating way. He took his “not skinny, not overweight, just average” body and transformed it into a competition-level work of bodybuilding art. He did it as an act of reclaiming his body.
Watch our quick conversation below, taped at the hotel gym during the 2019 United States Conference on AIDS (USCA).
See more Raif Derrazi:
View this post on InstagramToday is National Gay Men’s HIV/AIDS Awareness Day. Well here you go! Be aware that I can live and be healthy like this with #HIV #AIDS . Bench press was the 3rd or 4th exercise I did for this chest day workout. Notice that I’m allowing the bar to come all the way down until it touches my chest for full range of motion. And the bar is right at about the nipple line…too much higher and the shoulders will start doing more of the work. I’m also pushing the bar all the way up until my arms are straight. 10-12 reps is solid for an emphasis on muscle growth! . Quit making excuses and get after it ??? . #NGMHAAD #HIVbodybuilder
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View this post on InstagramI’m embarrassed these two can run faster than I can ?? . I’m in the final two weeks before I hit the stage in Muscle Beach, Venice for my first natural, pro men’s physique bodybuilding competition @inbapnbaglobal_official I’m still not 100% certain it’ll happen…but I’m gonna keep training, dieting and practicing posing as though it is. . This prep has been tough. Life has been tough. My mental state has been rough. But I’ve shared the journey with you all here and in my daily vlogs and I’m so glad that I have/am. . Thank you so much for the support and encouragement. I wanna make y’all proud. Win or lose. Trying my very best to take moments and just enjoy the journey from here on out ?? . #HIVbodybuilder #contestprep #TeamFortitude
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View this post on InstagramThrowback to literally having the TIME OF MY LIFE standing on top of the @aidshealthcare bus, dancing to the music our DJ was spinning in the back and hyping up hundreds of thousands of people lined up along the streets. . Having ‘Living w/ HIV’ scrawled on my chest, being fully myself, on display and being loved and accepted and cheered for is a feeling I can’t describe. . Once I let go of FEAR of JUDGEMENT…FREEDOM took its place. In a way it’s easier for me to do big grand gestures that are courageous and brave. But it’s harder to sustain that bravery and fearlessness in the smaller day-to-day moments and THAT is where I believe it counts in the long run. So it’s my constant mission to push myself every day (in all the small, quiet moments), let go of that fear, be myself, allow freedom, creativity and inspiration to flow. And I SO MUCH wish that for you too. . #tbt #worldpride #freedom
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Follow Raif Derrazi on Instagram and on Twitter, and be sure to check out his engaging and informative YouTube channel.
Mark S. King is a Queerty contributor and writes the GLAAD-award-nominated blog, My Fabulous Disease.
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