Three-part series creates space for candid conversations about pleasure, HIV, chemsex, substance use, loneliness and community — while inviting support to keep the conversation going
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 14, 2026
Media Contact:
Miguel A. Ayala
Director of Communications, AIDS United
communications@aidsunited.org
202-876-2820
WASHINGTON — AIDS United today launched Mask’d Confessionals, a new three-part podcast by and for Black gay men that creates space for candid, unfiltered conversations about sex, pleasure, HIV, chemsex, substance use, loneliness, relationships, bodily autonomy and community care.
The first episode, “The Pleasure Is All Ours,” is available today, with additional episodes scheduled for October 28 and November 11.
But AIDS United hopes these first three conversations are only the beginning.
Mask’d Confessionals was conceived as a limited series, but AIDS United is using the initial three episodes as a proof of concept for what could become an ongoing platform for Black gay men to tell their own stories, explore issues too often discussed only through the lens of risk or pathology, and help inform advocacy, programs and policy.
AIDS United is inviting listeners, community members and potential philanthropic partners to help build what comes next.
“Black gay men deserve spaces where the conversation doesn’t begin and end with HIV risk,” said Carl Baloney, Jr., President and CEO of AIDS United. “Our lives are about pleasure and relationships, joy and loneliness, family and community, survival and ambition — all of the complexity that makes us human. Mask’d Confessionals creates room for those stories to be told honestly and on our own terms. We hope these first three episodes demonstrate what is possible and inspire partners to help us keep these conversations going.”
The series is hosted by Bishar Jenkins, Senior Manager of Government Relations at AIDS United, and Micah Marquez, founder of Deviant, and produced by Pierre Phipps and Jabari Payne.
Rather than approaching Black gay men primarily as a population to be studied or a set of health outcomes to be improved, Mask’d Confessionals centers lived experience, agency, desire and connection.
“Mask’d Confessionals was curated specifically to get underneath the surface,” said Jenkins. “It was imperative to create a series that gives Black gay men permission to be fully seen. Too often substance use or HIV is discussed as if it is a spectacle or scandal, but rarely do we talk about what our greatest fears and desires are as Black gay men. Understanding these elements of tenderness and care is crucial to developing transformative interventions and public policies that actually serve Black gay men.”
Three Conversations. No Shame.
The three-part series explores different dimensions of Black gay men’s lives:
Episode 1: “The Pleasure Is All Ours” — October 14
What does it mean for Black gay men to claim pleasure on our own terms? Jenkins and Marquez open a candid conversation about desire, intimacy, sexual agency, condoms, HIV, connection and what it means to feel truly seen.
Episode 2: “Boys to Men: Coming of Age” — October 28
Who teaches Black gay boys how to become Black gay men? The conversation turns to growing up, masculinity, identity, first experiences, loneliness, family, chosen family and the lessons many Black gay men are left to learn on their own.
Episode 3: “The Business of Sex and Drugs” — November 11
What happens when sex, money, drugs, pleasure, survival and agency intersect? The final episode explores sex work, chemsex, substance use, bodily autonomy, stigma and the complicated choices Black gay men navigate every day.
From Conversation to Community Insight
Mask’d Confessionals grew out of AIDS United’s Pipeline Collaborative, an initiative created to engage Black gay men as impactful messengers around harm reduction, drug safety, sexual health, desire and pleasure.
The project included a paid community advisory board of Black gay men who helped shape the work and contributed their lived experience, expertise and perspectives to its development.
The series also serves as more than a storytelling project. AIDS United is asking Black gay men who engage with Mask’d Confessionals to participate in a community needs assessment that will help the organization better understand what Black gay men want and need from organizations, programs, advocacy and policy.
The goal is to listen — and then use what is learned to help shape future work.
Help Keep the Conversation Going
The initial three episodes of Mask’d Confessionals were made possible with funding from Merck and ViiV Healthcare.
AIDS United is now looking toward what could come next.
The organization hopes to secure additional philanthropic support to produce future episodes, broaden the range of voices and experiences represented, create opportunities for in-person and live conversations, and continue building Mask’d Confessionals as a platform where Black gay men can speak openly and authentically about their lives.
Individuals can also directly support the project and AIDS United’s work to create more spaces like it.
“We don’t want the third episode to be the end of this conversation,” Baloney said. “If our community tells us this space matters — and if partners are willing to invest in it — we want to build on it. Supporting Mask’d Confessionals is an investment in Black gay men being able to tell our own stories, ask our own questions and help shape the solutions that affect our lives.”
Watch, listen, participate in the community needs assessment, and support future episodes at:
www.aidsunited.org/maskdconfessionals
About the Pipeline Collaborative
The Pipeline Collaborative was developed by AIDS United to build a cohort of Black gay men equipped to serve as impactful messengers on harm reduction, drug safety, sexual health, desire and pleasure. Through community engagement and the leadership of a paid community advisory board, the initiative seeks to affirm the full humanity of Black gay men, challenge narratives rooted solely in risk and pathology, and create resources and conversations grounded in agency, lived experience and community care.
About AIDS United
AIDS United’s mission is to end the HIV epidemic in the United States. AIDS United works to ensure that people living with and affected by HIV have access to the prevention, care and support they need by investing in community-based organizations, advancing sound public policy and strengthening the HIV movement. AIDS United centers racial justice and health equity throughout its work.
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