{"id":15118,"date":"2016-06-14T09:47:55","date_gmt":"2016-06-14T01:47:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lelo.com\/blog\/?p=15118"},"modified":"2026-03-14T05:26:06","modified_gmt":"2026-03-14T04:26:06","slug":"lelo-hex-charlie-sheen","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lelo.com\/blog\/lelo-hex-charlie-sheen\/","title":{"rendered":"LELO HEX &#038; Charlie Sheen"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;<em>I&#8217;m here to admit that I&#8217;m in fact HIV-positive<\/em>.\u201d Charlie Sheen\u2019s revelation on NBC\u2019s Today show in November 2015 was a defining moment: not only did his disclosure bring to light an issue still shrouded in taboo, for Sheen, it meant taking back control of a deeply personal matter from extortionists and blackmailers. Simply put, it changed everything. Now, HEX is doing the same.<\/p>\n<p>Charlie is a man who needs little in the way of introduction: Hollywood actor, erstwhile hell-raiser, father, philanthropist and life-long Reds fan. He\u2019s also one of just a handful of celebrities to publicly open up about HIV. Celebrity or no, Sheen\u2019s personal life is frankly none of our business, but for the sake of groundwork, here it is: he contracted HIV (\u201c<em>three hard letters to absorb<\/em>\u201d) in around 2011. He doesn\u2019t know how, or from whom. After years of paying racketeers millions to keep his status secret, he realized, \u201c<em>Enough<\/em>.\u201d Discussing his condition during that life-changing interview, he talked everything from antiretroviral drugs, to risks of transmission, and much more besides. It\u2019s illuminating, and certainly worth a watch &#8211; but dwelling on the past isn\u2019t LELO\u2019s style.<\/p>\n<p>Charlie\u2019s revelation was personal. It was about ending the extortion and taking back control. But his disclosure had bigger repercussions that not even he could have anticipated. Dubbed \u2018the Charlie Sheen Effect,\u2019 the actor\u2019s candidness sparked a surge in awareness surrounding HIV and AIDS &#8211; and a timely one at that! Not only is condom usage is at an all-time low, STIs are on the rise, including new drug-resistant strains of centuries-old diseases. For HIV in particular, public interest has waned since the epidemic of the 1980s. Despite being in possession of the facts and cognisant of the risks, a dangerous \u2018It\u2019ll never happen to me\u2019 attitude prevails.<\/p>\n<p><iframe src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/0iOOPY0pQf4\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Charlie\u2019s 2015 TV appearance was a perfect storm: a man as charismatic as he is controversial, his admission coincided with the unprecedented connectivity of our internet age. Instinctively, we turned to our screens, our keyboards, our devices, driving internet searches around HIV a whopping 417% above expected levels on the day of Charlie\u2019s disclosure. More positive still, that same month, condom queries soared 75% higher than usual. Just like that, the \u2018Charlie Sheen Effect\u2019 was born.<\/p>\n<p>Needless to say, Charlie was humbled and inspired &#8211; as were we: for almost seven years, we\u2019ve been working on a condom to change <em>everything<\/em>. Structurally different, HEX was created with users, for users, whoever they might be. Hearing an A-list celebrity publicly promote safe sex only served to reinforce our long-held belief: condoms\u2019 availability isn\u2019t the issue; rather, it\u2019s their <em>appeal<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p>Charlie, meanwhile, went above and beyond: he didn\u2019t just <em>own<\/em> his past decisions, he leveraged them to make things better. Shortly after that iconic TV appearance he launched charity campaign &#8220;Stay Positively Negative&#8221; to benefit the Elton John Aids Foundation. He later lent his celebrity credentials to CitoDyn\u2019s ongoing research into a potential HIV therapy, PRO 140. True to form, Charlie shouldered his newly founded ambassador status with typical candour, unflinching honesty, and utmost charisma. LELO HEX was hooked.<\/p>\n<p>Quietly confident, we sent Charlie a sample condom. We started talking: we told him how we felt let down by the big brands, how they\u2019d failed to innovate for almost 70 years, how condoms needed not just a re-brand, but a complete design overhaul. Clearly, we struck a chord. The actor opened up as to his own frustrations with condoms: they slip, they break, they reduce sensation &#8211; they\u2019re just <em>not sexy<\/em>. At the same time of course, few are as acutely aware as Sheen as to condom\u2019s downright necessity.<\/p>\n<p>Charlie Sheen and HEX are a perfect match. Like him, we\u2019re not afraid to ruffle a few feathers, we revel in shattering taboos, and we\u2019re pretty great at what we do. More important, we\u2019re both committed to change. For Charlie, that means different decisions with regard to intimate health. For LELO HEX, it\u2019s about being a catalyst for innovation. The usual suspects have dominated the condom market for too long. We\u2019re firm believers that it\u2019s what you do with it that counts. In other words, a privileged position means little if you don\u2019t use it to make things better.<\/p>\n<p>We\u2019re all about courage, ambition, and making a difference. On these points, LELO HEX and Charlie Sheen see eye to eye. We bring the technology, he brings awareness. What about you?<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>Enjoy 15% off <a href=\"https:\/\/www.lelo.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">LELO.com<\/a> with code <span style=\"color: #800080;\">VOLONTE15<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;I&#8217;m here to admit that I&#8217;m in fact HIV-positive.\u201d Charlie Sheen\u2019s revelation on NBC\u2019s Today show in November 2015 was a defining moment: not only did his disclosure bring to light an issue still shrouded in taboo, for Sheen, it meant taking back control of a deeply personal matter from extortionists and blackmailers. Simply put, it changed everything. Now, HEX is doing the same. Charlie is a man who needs little in the way of introduction: Hollywood actor, erstwhile hell-raiser, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":44,"featured_media":15124,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"coauthors":[950],"class_list":["post-15118","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sexual-health"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v24.8.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>LELO HEX &amp; Charlie Sheen<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.lelo.com\/blog\/lelo-hex-charlie-sheen\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"LELO HEX &amp; Charlie Sheen\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"&#8220;I&#8217;m here to admit that I&#8217;m in fact HIV-positive.\u201d Charlie Sheen\u2019s revelation on NBC\u2019s Today show in November 2015 was a defining moment: not only did his disclosure bring to light an issue still shrouded in taboo, for Sheen, it meant taking back control of a deeply personal matter from extortionists and blackmailers. 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