We were lucky to catch up with Brandon Cox Sanford recently and have shared our conversation below.
Brandon , looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Can you talk to us about a project that’s meant a lot to you?
I was born HIV positive from my HIV positive mother, Lynette. She passed away at the young age of 26 from AIDS complications in 1998. This was due to fear of the stigmas attached to HIV and AIDS. Twenty years later, I created the Keeping It Positive Movement in which I use stand up comedy and social media to remove stigmas with education, entertainment, and empowerment. Since then, I’ve traveled the country, met countless celebrities, been featured in magazines, newspapers, and other media outlets. I feel as though stepping out of fear and sharing me and my mom’s story has helped a lot of people.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
I first got into stand up comedy in college in 2012. Since then, I never imagined sharing my HIV status publicly until it first began in 2017. I think what I’m most proud of is being able to share my story and comedy material with my favorite celebrity, Alicia Keys.
What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?
My goal of Keeping It Positive is creating a new narrative on HIV/AIDS. I want to remove 30 & 40 year old stigmas that people still associate with people living with HIV/AIDS.
We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?
I think the lesson that I had to unlearn was to love myself a lot more, despite how society teaches people to look at those living with HIV/AIDS.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://Andyfedscomedy.com
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/andyfedscomedy
- Facebook: Andy Feds – Comedian
- Youtube: Official Andy Feds
- Other: TikTok: Andyfedscomedy
