Kōrero Breaking the Stigma: Carl Greenwood’s Resilient Journey Living with HIV | Ep. 007 | Tino Pai Podcast

Kia ora e te whānau, and welcome to another meaningful kōrero on the Tino Pai Podcast.

In this episode, we sit down with Carl Greenwood (Regional Manager for the Needle Exchange Program) to hear his deeply personal story of living with HIV for more than three decades and the stigma, discrimination, loss, and resilience that have shaped his journey.

Carl takes us back to a time when an HIV diagnosis was often seen as a death sentence. He shares what it was like to watch friends and people in his community become seriously ill, to live with the fear of not having a future, and to navigate the stigma attached to HIV, sexuality, and drug use.

He also speaks openly about his own history with drug use, the role it played in helping him cope with difficult experiences, and his journey towards recovery and harm reduction. Along the way, Carl reflects on how dramatically HIV treatment has changed and what it means today to live a healthy and ordinary life with HIV.

This kōrero also explores some of the misconceptions that continue to surround HIV, the importance of education and honest conversations, and why people need to feel safe enough to be open with their healthcare providers without fear of judgement.

At its heart, this is a story about survival, stigma, compassion and change—and a reminder that behind every diagnosis is a person with a whole life, a history, and a story to tell.

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