http://www.cantonrep.com/news/x215415694/Ex-Playboy-Playmate-afflicted-with-HIV-becomes-bodybuilderBy Charita Goshay
CantonRep.com staff writer
JACKSON TWP. — .At 18, Rebekka Armstrong graced the pages of Playboy magazine. By 22, she was contemplating suicide after learning that she had HIV.
Today, Armstrong uses her body as a weapon in the fight against the spread of HIV and AIDS. The model-turned-competitive bodybuilder visited Kent State University’s Stark campus Tuesday in conjunction with the school’s weeklong observance of World AIDS Day.
Activities include a fundraiser, AIDS quilt display, discussions, presentations by Armstrong, and free HIV testing in partnership with the Alliance Health Department.
Armstrong contracted HIV while having unprotected sex in high school. She said bodybuilding has given her confidence as well as physical strength to fight the disease.
During her former life as a model, Armstrong said near-starvation, bingeing and purging were a way of life.
“When I was diagnosed with HIV in 1989, I got very sick, very quickly,” she said.
CONFIDENCE BUILDER
At one point, Armstrong dropped to 80 pounds. To avoid what she calls the “wasting syndrome,” she educated herself on fitness and nutrition and began weightlifting in 2000.
“AIDS is catabolic which means it’s a meat-eater; it eats muscle mass,” she said.
By 2002, Armstrong was fit enough to win her first bodybuilding competition, at California’s world-famous Muscle Beach.
“I started doing this to stay alive, but then I thought, ‘Hey, I want to show it off,’ ” she said.
Armstrong said she eschews steroids.
“I don’t want to look like a man,” she said. “I want to look feminine and graceful on stage.”
Armstrong, who is nationally ranked in her sport, said bodybuilding has helped her to better-weather medical treatment.
“I do this also for myself mentally,” she said. “Depression can be pervasive. This kicks depression’s (butt).”
Armstrong said she’s gotten support from her family and friends, including Hugh Hefner.
“My mom’s gotten into it,” she said with a laugh. “Hef has seen my transformation; he makes jokes but he’s proud. He also very proud of me for being open about having HIV and AIDS.”
Campus spokeswoman Cynthia Williams said Armstrong is example of someone who hasn’t allowed her illness to stop her from making a difference.
“She turned her life around,” Williams said. “She’s been a great advocate for HIV awareness. It shows you can do anything, regardless of your affliction.”
YOUTH AT RISK
Lisa Noble and Bradley Middleton of Kent Stark’s Spectrum group spearheaded the event.
“There wasn’t anything widely available in the community,” Noble said of World AIDS Day events. “For young people, there wasn’t a lot of programming, at least that targeted college kids.”
Noble and Middleton both said they encounter college students who have great awareness of HIV, as well as some who know very little.
“Young people think they know about it,” Noble said. “Unfortunately, a lot of parents don’t talk about it.”
Armstrong, who disclosed her disease in 1994, said she’s aware that her fitness might send a mixed message.
“Yes, people with HIV don’t necessarily look sick ...We’re not seeing the face of AIDS in our everyday circles like we used to,” she said. “People like Magic Johnson and me saying ‘These meds are saving our lives.’ But to the uneducated mind that has never taken pills, or been in the hospital or in pain, it may not seem like a big deal.
“People are living longer, and because of treatment, other people are putting themselves at more risk. Every hour in the United states, two, 13-to-24 year-olds are getting infected.”
Armstrong also cites what she calls “the human condition” of denial, noting that one-third of all people infected don’t know it.
“It can’t happen to me,” she said. “But you can’t identify the face of AIDS.”
