Health Posts

You'd think with the onset of Spring, motivation to get an exercise regime together would come naturally. The pressure starts to mount from all angles when shirtless fun is just around the corner. Whether you go to the gym to keep up a healthy lifestyle, vanity, or genuine enjoyment, it can get kind of stale at times. Recently I've been trying to be a bit more active outside of the gym, as in, building some "real world" strength that's actually applicable and, dare I say, fun. The gym plateau we all reach is commonplace, which why a supplemental activity seems like the best chance of shaking things up. In effort to give us all the "get up and go" we may need, I've gathered some potentially fun suggestions to keep things interesting.

Join an Intramural Gay Sports Group

If you're like me, the only reason you played or avoided sports in high school was to sidestep any suspicions that you were the giggity-gay. But now that our high school days are far behind us, what would happen if you played a sport without any added pressure of keeping up appearances. What if playing sports with a group of guys could actually be fun? Not only are gay sports leagues are great way of keeping in shape and to a schedule, they're a great way to make new friends (and who knows, even lovers). Outsports has a super useful search tool that helps you find any sport with a gay league in your area. They've got everything from frisbee football and curling to volleyball and basketball.

Grab A Partner...

It's a day of remembrance.
We remember those that have passed away.

A day for reflection.
To look at ourselves, our behavior, and the example we set for others.

A day to give thanks.
Thanks to all those tirelessly working to find a cure while simultaneously making the lives of those living with HIV/AIDS just that, livable.

A day to get angry:
Angry that we face another December without a cure. Another winter without a vaccine. And another year where millions of people lack access to life-saving drugs.

At Daddyhunt.com, we are committed to creating a safe and welcoming environment for people living with HIV. We encourage our members to share how often they get tested for STDs and we provide space for members to openly share their HIV status and their own sexual health strategies. We believe that it is up to us to educate each other. The Internet has made it easier than ever for people to connect online, but many people throughout the world are still unaware of the risks or engage in risky behavior.

When members join Daddyhunt, we ask them to consider signing the Daddyhunt Code. #4 and #5 of the Daddyhunt code relate to sexual health and the shared responsibility we all have to treat people living with HIV with respect and to insure that we do everything we can to prevent the spread of the epidemic within our community.

So on this day, we'd like to ask all Daddyhunt members to re-read the Daddyhunt code and remember all the members of our own community and worldwide who are living with HIV and all...

If being a part of a community where 1 in 5 gay men are HIV positive wasn't alarming enough, how about the fact that nearly 50% don't know it? It may be a day late, but recognizing yesterday's HIV/AIDS Awareness Day is still post-worthy, especially when you hear stats like those from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention.

As gay men we're reminded all the time about the importance of knowing your status, getting tested, and to always be safe and use condoms, but with most messages repeated over and over again, it's easy to let them fade into the background. That's why it's imperative that we take the time a few times a year to push the message through and make it a priority. Even though some may consider a day of awareness less potent than other HIV/AIDS-related messaging, just having the reminder there can do wonders and get people to make an appointment to get their testing on.

Mine's this week, when's yours?

I have had the privilege of sharing my life with two different dogs during two different eras of my adult life. It doesn’t feel right to say I owned these dogs, for reasons that should be obvious to anyone who looks a beloved dog in the eyes and sees clearly another sentient being looking back at you with an expression that might be quizzical, adoring, or might reflect wisdom beyond our understanding. In any case it is clear the dog is its own person, so to speak, with its own motivations, thoughts, feelings, needs, and desires. The dogs owned themselves without doubt, and I have been fortunate to be their caretakers as well as being the recipient of their generous attention and care.

The first dog I brought into my life was a young, female Rottweiler I adopted from the animal shelter. Looking back I can see that a Rottweiler was a perfect dog for the somewhat insecure young, gay man I was, as her sturdy build and characteristic markings complemented the masculine image I was eager to project. When we walked down the sidewalk together, people often crossed the street in fear. You would never mistake me for a frightened sissy with such a fearsome beast under my control. She was as gentle a being as I’ve ever encountered, however, and she always greeted visitors as if they were long-lost friends. She had a deep-throated warning bark that sounded so fierce, my brother nearly jumped out of his skin one night when he came creeping into my house late in the dark. But even when neighbor children teased her relentlessly through the screen door at the front of the house,...