Martin Flynn 1952-2008 RIP

Leading AIDS writer, the handsome, charismatic Martin J Flynn died on October 23 at the University Hospital in Geneva, Switzerland after suffering a massive heart attack a month previously.

During his long journalistic career Martin worked on Body Positive Magazine, Virus, at the Pink Paper and most recently as news editor at UKC’s Positive Nation. He presented a BBC documentary on HIV and generic drugs in 2000. Fifty-five year old Flynn had been a volunteer at Terrence Higgins Trust in the mid’ 1990’s and a trustee of Body Positive in London. 

Openly HIV positive, Martin had recently taken up a high-profile job with the International AIDS Society (IAS) and  had been planning relocation to Spain and a civil partnership with his partner of twenty years, photographer Alejandro Caballero.  

His comedy novel, 57 jobs I’ve been fired from (title based on fact, he’d proudly tell me), remains unfinished. 

Martin was a newshound by nature, always getting to the bottom of the story, looking for the dirt beneath the veneer;  You can’t bulls*** a bulls****er,” he’d tell me. 

Martin will be remembered as much for the irreverent articles ‘Efavirenz drives you twice as mad,’ for Body Positive in 1998 to ‘ten top tips to beat Lipo’ for Positive Nation in 2004 as the interviews with leading lights in HIV, from Indian generics giant Dr Hamied at Cipla, Dr Helene Gayle at IAS to the UK’s Professor Margaret ‘BHIVA Diva’ Johnson. 

Nobody screamed down the phone at faceless Department of Health bureaucrats quite like Martin. He was also my best friend of twelve years.

Martin, rest in peace.