MTV Staying Alive are proud to have added a new Ambassador to the ranks.

Shawn Decker, blogger, musician, peer educator  and star of 2000 MTV Documentary Staying Alive 2 has joined the likes of Kelly Rowland and Travis McCoy as a representative of MTV Staying Alive.

Shawn Decker was diagnosed with HIV at age 11 in 1987. He was kicked out of public school after testing positive and didn’t open up about his status until the age of 20.

Launching one of the first HIV positive blogs in 1996, he began a writing career that led to the publication of his humorous memoir, My Pet Virus.

For the last ten years Shawn has been peer educating on college campuses alongside his wife, Gwenn. The focus of the education is on the importance of condom use, and how it’s possible to maintain a healthy sex life despite the presence of HIV.

MTV Staying Alive is happy to have a spirited, long-time survivor on board to spread the word.

For all of you who didn’t see the first time around, here’s another chance to catch Shawn and Gwenn on Staying Alive 2:

What’s next for Shawn? Well he certainly likes to keep busy – he’s about to embark on a huge tour with his band Synthetic Division. Keep an eye on the blog for more info on this next week.

Shawn will also be blogging for us regularly, so how about welcoming him to the team by asking him a question below, or suggesting a topic for him to talk about?