After just two months, GMFA’s Poz Pub Crawl looks likely to become a gay scene fixture. Already it has spawned a Birmingham pub crawl and there is talk of similar events being launched in Manchester, Brighton and even in Berlin.
by GMFA | 3rd March 2014
GMFA’s Chief Executive, Matthew Hodson said, “We’re thrilled it’s taken off so quickly. When we arrived for the first one in January, we had no idea how many people would show up, or indeed if anyone else would. Soon though the Kings Arms, where we started the evening, was awash with red t-shirts. By the time we got to Compton’s about a quarter of the customers were in our party. Asking people to just show up and wear red makes it really simple, we’re easy to spot, so people can just come along and join us. I think this could continue to grow and become something really game-changing in terms of the way that we talk about and think about people with HIV on the gay scene.”
Some of the men who came on the crawl told the organisers that they had never openly owned-up to their status before, and that they found the whole experience quite emotional, but also liberating. The pub crawl attracted men from across London, and from around England, leading to new events being planned.
“I’m really pleased to see that there’s an event planned in Birmingham, and talk of doing the same in other cities too. The Pub Crawl is the kind of community activist event that GMFA specialises in. It’s a fun night out, but it also makes a really serious point about the visibility of HIV on the scene, challenges stigma and helps to promote a realistic understanding of what it means to live with HIV now.”
Although originally intended just for HIV-positive gay men, the pub crawls have also drawn in ‘Positive Friends’ and several straight women with HIV have signalled that they plan to come to future events.
Matthew added, “One of the things that is great about the evenings is the wide variety of men who have been on them. We’ve had young men, who are still dealing with the trauma of a recent diagnosis, and much older men, who lived through a period when there was no effective treatment and who have suffered enormous personal loss. Everyone has been through a lot but, at the same time, it’s a great big fun night out, which is what makes it so special.”
It remains up to individuals how open they want to be about their status. Following requests from some of the Poz Pub Crawlers, GMFA plan to produce a limited edition ‘HIV+’ t-shirt for individuals who feel bold enough to wear one. This will not only help to communicate to other drinkers the purpose of the group but will encourage other people on the scene to engage with members of the group and talk about the public visibility of HIV, stigma and other HIV-related topics. In this way the Poz Pub Crawl will make HIV visible and give it the power to dispel some of the myths and misconceptions about living with HIV.
The London Poz Pub Crawl takes place every 3rd Thursday of the month, with the next one on Thursday 20th March. The March Pub Crawl will visit the following central London venues:
King’s Arms from 7pm
Duke of Wellington from 8pm
Compton’s of Soho from 9pm
The first Birmingham Poz Pub Crawl will take place on Friday 28 March at these Hurst St venues:
Eden from 7pm
Village from 8pm
Sidewalk from 9pm
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