Twin Cities trainer troubled by HIV ad with his photo

Damien Rochon-Washington awoke Friday morning to calls and texts about a photo of him, finishing the 2013 Twin Cities Marathon, that appeared in a full-page ad in the Washington Post.

Next came awkward questions, such as "Is there anything you want to talk to me about?"

Turns out Rochon-Washington's inspiring finish-line photo was selected, without his knowledge, to be the face of an HIV advocacy walk in Washington and was published as an ad online and in one of the nation's largest newspapers.

The Twin Cities fitness trainer suddenly had friends wondering about his HIV status and sexual orientation, and he worried that ­nervous clients might get scared off.

"It's got HIV/AIDS plastered right above my head in bold, red letters," said Rochon-Washington, a trainer at the YMCA New Hope who was named best trainer by City Pages in 2012.

"I want to be so clear that I support the cause," he added. "But I have a physical job. … I would have appreciated some kind of chance to authorize this because I've already gotten several phone calls today asking me whether I have AIDS — in so many words."

The organizer of the HIV walk quickly agreed to stop using the photograph. But even so, the episode reflects the way images from public events can spread by Internet beyond their intended uses — and in some cases beyond the comfort levels of the photo subjects.

Rochon-Washington, 35, said he is the kind of guy who would participate in an AIDS walk, and that he has no biases regarding sexual orientation. But he works closely with his clients — including Mixed Martial Arts fighters — who might find other trainers if they are worried he is an infection risk.

"That's my direct concern — the fact that I have to have close physical contact with clients," he said. "Am I worried about somebody thinking I'm a homosexual? I guess I'm not. I don't think [that carries] a negative connotation. However, that doesn't mean I deserve to be identified as something I'm not."

Runners in Twin Cities Marathon events grant marathon officials permission to use any images or videos of them "for any purpose without limitation or compensation."

Rochon-Washington would have given such permission last year, when he registered for his first and only marathon at his wife's nudging. He had retired from semipro football and she thought he needed an outlet.

In this instance, though, the image was taken by a photographer from the Pioneer Press newspaper, rather than a photographer hired by Twin Cities in Motion, the nonprofit that organizes the marathon. The photo by Ben Garvin was highlighted on the newspaper website as a top image of the 2013 race — without a caption identifying the runner.

The image of Rochon-Washington near the finish line — astonished, mouth open, arms thrust out in celebration — matched the event theme that an end to HIV is tantalizingly close.

"This is the first time people are talking about an end to HIV," said the agency's creative partner, Jeff McElhaney, who created the campaign ­pro bono. "That focus on the emotion people feel and express when they cross the finish line, we didn't have a budget to speak of [to capture that]. So we searched on the Internet."

There was some confusion in the transaction over whether the campaign already had permission to use the photos, or needed to contact the photo subjects and gain their consent first, McElhaney said.

He apologized to Rochon-Washington and agreed the use of the image without his consent is "outrageous."

Rochon-Washington and his wife said they are glad Whitman-Walker removed the picture from its website — and support its fight against HIV — but noted the image still exists on the organization's Facebook page and on the Brand+Aid agency Web page along with others Garvin took from the 2013 marathon. Rochon-Washington said he was astonished how quickly the use of his photo resulted in awkward calls.