Vote for Vaughn
May 9, 2014; Posted by WeBleed staff
Vaughn Ripley, a hemophiliac living with HIV and Hepatitis C, is in the running to be on the November cover of Men’s Health magazine.
Triathlete Vaughn Ripley looks like the epitome of good health, so it comes to no surprise that he is currently in the running to be on the November cover of Men’s Health magazine. (Vaughn is currently in 1st place – view the leaderboard) But what is not evident by his picture is that Ripley is a man living with hemophilia, HIV, and hepatitis C. After receiving a devastating diagnosis of HIV and given 2 years to live, Ripley spiraled down to a life of addiction and dispair. He states, “I thought I was dying because I was told I was. I could drink until the point of alcohol poisoning without worrying about it because I was like ‘I was going to die anyway’.” When Vaughn Ripley realized he wasn’t dying, that’s when he turned his life around and really started living.
Vaughn Ripley states on mhguysearch.com that he is “one of the longest surviving HIV+ people in the world.” Today Ripley lives a very healthy, well balanced lifestyle. He is an avid weight lifter, biker and runner, participating in at least 6 races every year. He has detailed his life story in his memoir, Survivor: One Man’s Battle with HIV, Hemophilia and Hepatitis C.
Ripley lives in Maryland with his wife of nearly 20 years, Kristine, and their two young children. Ripley is also the advocacy chair of the Hemophilia Foundation of Maryland.
The competition for the front cover lasts until late July. To vote for Vaughn Ripley for the cover of the November issue of Men’s Health “Ultimate Men’s Health Guy Search” and to learn more about his story, click here. Let’s make sure Vaughn gets to tell his story via Men’s Health.
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Image credit: Vaughn Ripley
