Ian Bicko was devastated by his HIV diagnosis seven years ago. ‘I feel like, in many ways, the day I was diagnosed is when I began living,’ he says.

Ian Bicko initially hated playing beach volleyball.

“It’s hot,” he remembered. “There’s no AC. I’m getting sand in my ears. It’s in my eyes. I don’t have the right sunglasses. I’m getting sunburned. It’s just like too much for me. I can’t jump because of the sand.”

That was Bicko’s introduction to two-man beach volleyball, and it was a jarring switch from the indoor game the 6-8 player was used to from high school and college.

But the game on the sand eventually hooked him, took him from a dark place and led him to use his sport to advocate for people with HIV.

You can follow Ian Bicko on Instagram.

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