Simon Johnson tells PN about how his website
for young gay men, puffta.co.uk,
is reaching increasing numbers of sexually active youth
Photos: Jay Eff
Last
year PN and the UKC teamed up with Simon Johnson to talk about young gay men
who are increasingly playing Russian roulette with Aids. Just before this
year’s Pride, we caught up with him to find out what’s new in
the world of gay youth.
PN: We hear you’ve got some exciting news...
SJ: It doesn’t take much to excite me, but this year
has been fantastic, and we’re only halfway through. Puffta recently
joined the Millivres Prowler Group, the largest gay and lesbian community
business in Europe. So now I’m working alongside my big brothers AXM
and Gay Times. I’ve finally turned my hobby into a full-time job, and
can give the site my full attention. The site was also voted runner up web
site of the year in the Boyz awards beating the BBC and eBay. We also launched
our new look in February, I don’t think you’ll find a gay website
that looks quite like puffta. It’s hot.
PN: Last year you and Adam launched www.positiveadam.co.uk. How is he doing
and what’s going to happen to his site?
SJ: Adam’s doing great. People seem to be quite interested
in his counts, and at the last count his CD4 was 570 and his viral load was
down to 6,000 so there’s nothing to worry about. I’m amazed at
how well he deals with it; it’s not his life, it’s just part of
it, a tiny part. He’s been given a break from his diary as we’re
redeveloping the site. It’s going to be more of a community site, where
HIV positive (and negative) teenagers can talk about their own experiences.
Adam will still be writing his diary, but we hope others will want to get
involved, too. There will also be some other features rolled out, and puffta
is getting some great new
features for gay teens to get into.
PN:
Last year you carried out another sex survey. Previously 46 per cent of gay
teenagers were having regular, unsafe sex. Has this changed?
SJ: The puffta ‘love.sex.life’ survey revealed
35 per cent were having bareback sex, which is down from the previous year,
but still too high. It’s not new, and it’s not going to go away.
I believe HIV is hitting teenagers hard. Our survey also revealed that 36
per cent don’t know their HIV status. I know more do now, because they’ve
come to me and told me they’re positive. They’re looking for somebody
to tell them it’s going to be all OK. Prevention and support is needed,
and it needs to be directed at youth. ‘Young and healthy’ sleeping
with ‘young and healthy’ doesn’t mean no HIV. That’s
what gay youth need to arm themselves with now, along with condoms and lube.
PN: What’s next?
SJ: Puffta recently sponsored Student Pride, in Oxford, and
I spent the day talking to young people, getting feedback about the site.
It’s the first time I’ve really met the people that use it face-to-face.
People like puffta for different reasons. Sexual health and coming out are
an important part of puffta, but it’s not all the site is about. I want
puffta to be like a magazine gay teens can just pick up and put down when
they fancy; we’ve got all the usual coming out, going out and staying
out stuff, along with competitions, music videos and intuitive gay features.
I really believe there isn’t anything out there quite like puffta, and
we’re going to continue to grow up internally and the sites are going
to get bigger and better.
• This year Simon Johnson will be raising funds for UKC at the Walk
for Life on 30 July. Sponsor him at
www.walkforlife.co.uk/amazingexpress
• www.positiveadam.co.uk
• www.puffta.co.uk
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