The Advocate shows some love for booty butter researcher/advocate Leo Colemon

There is a condom fatigue within our community. Gay men like the natural feeling, and I look to a future with that being an option. That’s what rectal microbicides will do.

Leo is one of 23 LGBT people profiled regarding their "perfect" jobs in the March 2010 edition of The Advocate. Check out his blurb below.

LEONARDO COLEMON
Research manager in epidemiology
Los Angeles, 37

Gay men have long had a complicated relationship with condoms. Anyone who’s fought a losing battle with a prophylactic due to a latex allergy or loss of an erection may one day owe a debt of gratitude to Leonardo Colemon. The affable Mississippi native manages a team of researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles, and in collaboration with Pamina Gorbach and Peter Anton is developing a lubricant that would be applied to a receptive partner prior to anal sex. This lube (referred to as “booty butter” in an online educational video produced by the group) will contain microbicides designed to kill HIV and other STIs to a certain degree. “There is a condom fatigue within our community,” Colemon says. “Gay men like the natural feeling, and I look to a future with that being an option. That’s what rectal microbicides will do.” This cutting-edge infection-prevention tool is “being developed and targeted to men who have sex with men and don’t use condoms consistently,” says Colemon. “But it will also be useful to heterosexuals who want safer options for anal intercourse.” Colemon, who also volunteers as an HIV/STI counselor at the Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Center, notes that Food and Drug Administration approval could take five to 10 years, and he readily admits that while rectal microbicides “are unlikely to be 100% effective, they will certainly reduce the potential for transmission.

Read about other folks with cool jobs.

Learn more about rectal microbicides at the International Rectal Microbicide Advocates (IRMA) website.

How is Leo Colemon healthy?

One way I keep healthy is through a vigorous session of Ashtanga yoga.

My teacher brings elements of balance, flexibility and strength to our practice. Yoga challenges my body on many levels while I maintain a consistent and controlled deep breathing.

All these elements are basic to my body’s mental and physical health and I also view them as important extensions of my brain and soul. Going into Yoga, I practice conscious breathing and repeat a mantra of reflection, gratitude, love and responsibility.

Within minutes I become more aware of my body, its changes, limitations and my ability to release with patience and concentration. I especially love when I get lost in the practice, I feel my body and mind move in a meditative way that requires less effort and begin to feel the flow at a deeper level.

I sweat, go beyond boundaries I thought were there and push myself to try even higher levels. All this of course has a bearing on my life outside yoga and supports a foundation that anchors me when I am challenged to be balanced, flexible and strong.

-- Leo Colemon
Los Angeles

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