Phellipe Lutterbeck had been diagnosed with the virus in 2021 after returning to BrazilPhellipe Lutterbeck. Photograph: Nick Bradshaw Hosanna BoulterTue Jun 16 2026 - 06:00 • 4 MIN READIn 2021 Phellipe Lutterbeck (32), who moved to Dublin in 2016, went home to Brazil and received life-changing news. “I went to get some blood tests, just a kind of regular check-up. The nurse asked me if I wanted to do my STI [sexually transmitted infection] screening as well. I was like yeah, sure,” Lutterbeck says.That’s when he discovered he was HIV positive.“It was like a very, very shocking moment, I wasn’t expecting that at all because I had been in a closed relationship for a while.” To start with he decided to keep the news to himself while he learned more about its treatment. “At the time, I was so lost with ‘what do I do now?’ Should I go back to Ireland? Like, how it’s going to be life there?”He grew up in a rural part of southern Brazil. “My parents tell me that I always told them that I was going to leave the country since I was little.”At 17, he left home to move to a city a few hours away as he wanted to live somewhere he felt was more exciting. He stayed there for five years and it was there that he began his career as a hairdresser. While he loved his life there, he had always dreamed of moving to Europe and in 2016 he moved to Madrid. “I found it was very difficult to make connections there. People are always running and rushing, they don’t really have time for you. Very different compared to Dublin, for example.”[ ‘I tell all my Irish friends that Ireland is the Brazil of Europe’Opens in new window ]A few months after moving to Madrid, Lutterbeck phoned a friend in Brazil and explained how difficult he was finding life there. “He said, why don’t you try Dublin? There are so many Brazilians there, so you might find it a bit easier to make connections, and to start your life there.”Taking his friend’s advice seriously, four days later he was on a flight to Dublin. Moving at that time was a risk as he was fairly broke, with only €400 to his name. However, having contacted a few Brazilian hair salons before he arrived, Lutterbeck was offered a job within days. While he loved working in the Brazilian hair salon he felt that his English was not improving while he worked there as he was till speaking Portuguese with most clients.Phellipe Lutterbeck in Dublin. Photograph: Nick Bradshaw “I needed to find a way to push myself and introduce myself into the community here.”He then went to work at a salon in Clarehall where he estimates that 90 per cent of his clients were Irish, and his English quickly improved. “From there things just got better, work wise.”He went on to work in the hair salon in Brown Thomas where he had many celebrity clients and was flown over to work on models taking to the runway at London Fashion Week. As Covid-19 shut down his industry, he decided to take some time out to go and visit family, which was when he received his HIV diagnosis. As a teenager he had come out as gay. He now felt like he was coming out again, this time as HIV positive. He was scared of how his loved ones would react. “Just after I got my diagnosis, I was with some of my old friends and she was talking about this guy that lives with HIV as well. She spoke with such stigma.” Initially he told some close friends, who were very supportive. He had not told his mother when she revealed she knew. He is still unsure how she found out. “There was no drama or anything. She said, I just want to know if you are okay, not just physically but also mentally. I want you to know nothing has changed. I still love you the same way. I’m here to help and support you.”His decision to return to Ireland came about after he saw a video on Instagram of a campaign that the HSE was doing with a drag queen called Veda Lady to educate people about HIV.“I was like, oh my God, it’s a sign to go back. The HSE are doing that.”He did some research and found out that Veda Lady had founded the Poz Vibe Tribe, which provides support to HIV-positive people. The Tribe has a podcast where they tell the stories of HIV-positive people to give hope, especially to those who have recently been diagnosed. “I always say that that moment gave me hope again and a sense that things would be okay. I just need to keep on top of my health, take my meds and take care of myself.”[ A Brazilian man in Ireland: ‘I was working nights just collecting drunk people’Opens in new window ]Three months after he received his diagnosis the medication he was taking meant that the HIV became undetectable in him, which means that he cannot pass on the virus to anyone else. Upon his return to Ireland he made contact with the Tribe. Meeting others with the diagnosis who are going after their dreams and living full and happy lives was life-changing for him. Today he lives in Dublin and manages a salon his friend founded in Castleknock. He plans on staying in Ireland long-term. “I think it’s where my heart is.”We would like to hear from people who have moved to Ireland. To get involved, email newtotheparish@irishtimes.com or send us two lines about yourself using the form below. IN THIS SECTION