Bryan Levinson is ready to take on the world. His social networking organization, Strength In Numbers (SIN,) has carved out a place for itself in the US among an endless and ongoing number of social and support groups that have been coming on the scene since the arrival of AIDS and HIV in the 1980’s. In the spirit of moving onwards and upwards Levinson has already began expanding his organization’s appeal by taking it to a global audience.

Levinson, who tested positive in 2000, started SIN five years ago in Los Angeles after attending various social and dating events organized especially for people with HIV and AIDS. “I attended because I didn’t want to feel alone.” Says Levinson. “It was at a time when I was still newly diagnosed and wanted to find a boyfriend.” Levinson recalls that “some of the events were set up like speed dating or mini dates where you would chat with several assigned candidates over the course of the evening. I always found this a bit formal and since everyone hates interviews why would you want to do that on a date?”

While volunteering at different HIV and AIDS organizations Levinson made friends with several guys and decided to put together something a little more casual. He organized a potluck evening and between 50 and 60 people turned out for his first event. The gathering eventually became a weekly thing and the group’s list of activities expanded to include weekly breakfasts, hikes, whitewater rafting trips and fund-raising events to help other organizations. Levinson is quick to point out that “SIN is not a new idea or concept, just a format that works - it can be easily replicated in other cities.”

The SIN gatherings were becoming well known among the HIV community in Los Angeles, where Levinson was living at the time and the word about SIN was spreading. Bryan was soon contacted by someone in Phoenix who wanted to start a SIN group in that city. With Levinson’s guidance and direction more groups were started in different US cities under the SIN umbrella and the organization has been growing at a steady pace ever since. There are 31 US chapters including a new chapter in Napa, California but where Levinson is spending more and more of his efforts is helping to develop SIN in other countries. There are now several international chapters of SIN in cities including London, Sydney, Toronto and Rio De Janeiro. A Scandinavian chapter has also recently been started.

Part of SIN’s success and growth can be attributed to its simple structure. It doesn’t have a lot of rules or mandatory do’s and don’ts. “We don’t have committees or board members. I think when organizations become too bureaucratic, especially a less formal organization like SIN, they are less likely to succeed.” Levinson has learned over the years that new chapters will only succeed if there is a lot of initial involvement from the chapter leader. So he puts anyone who wants to start a new chapter through a pretty rigorous interview process and insists on a commitment of at least a year before the reins can be handed over to others. “Once a chapter is created and is up and running, they pretty much take care of themselves. They might come to me with general guidance questions but mostly we just give each other support. We’re kinda like a big family.”

The Internet has played a large part in helping to broaden to organization’s horizons and Levinson definitely wants to continue to take advantage of it. It’s been a valuable tool in helping to extend SIN to countries outside the US. SIN members in US cities, such as Wayne Norman who runs the Dallas/Ft. Worth chapter, help with outreach programs to establish new SIN chapters in other countries. As part of this outreach Levinson is planning to take a trip to Brazil in 2008 with several US SIN members with the goal of more firmly establishing it’s roots in South America and leveraging the help of it’s Brazilian brothers to help with the task. “We want to be in less developed countries where there are large populations of gay men who are positive but who don’t have access to services that are available in more developed countries.

As Levinson is finding out, expanding with such lofty goals brings its own set of challenges. Communicating with new chapters in foreign countries can be difficult because of the language barrier. Levinson is already brushing–up on his Portuguese in preparation for future development of SIN in Brazil. Workload is also another challenge. Levinson, who now lives in San Francisco, has a full-time job so juggling his career, SIN and any kind of a personal life can be difficult.

It’s not stopping him though, with discussions underway for start-up chapters for women who are HIV positive and another one for HIV positive gay men in the US prison system, it seems like the world may not be enough.

"Your place to hang out, meet great people, love/date/hook-up and really connect - not just in cyberspace."