Bring HIV prevention into the light
How Kevin Waltz stared down stigma – and created an app to serve his community.
Preppy founder Kevin Waltz still remembers the first time he got tested for HIV. The experience, which he’d been putting off for a decade, was nerve-racking.
“I was sitting in the clinic for two hours, surrounded by other people, wondering what was going to happen,” Waltz says. “The guy testing me asked how I was doing. I said, ‘Not good!’”
That feeling stayed with Waltz when he created Preppy. This sexual-health app helps users track when they’ve taken their pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), a medication that can prevent HIV infection.
PrEP regimens can be either calendar- or event-based; the app is designed to simplify the tracking of both. A discreet Home Screen widget lets you record intake with a tap. Preppy also helps you record specific details of your sexual encounters, down to the most intimate details.
Talking about Preppy revealed something very intimate about me, something that’s not very obvious.—Kevin Waltz, founder of Preppy
“Some people might think, ‘Why do I need that?’” Waltz says. “But health is important – and so is keeping track of your activities and partners. What’s been surprising is seeing people using Preppy not just for the health aspect but also for this very intimate aspect of their lives.”
Waltz, who created a few health apps before Preppy, taught himself how to code in Swift by watching YouTube tutorials. The 29-year-old developer never expected to turn his code-writing hobby into a career. “At first, the app was something I made for myself,” he says. “I didn’t plan on releasing it.”
In the years after Preppy’s release, Waltz has shared his love of Swift with others, teaching coding and product design to adults looking to re-enter the job market. When Waltz first discussed his work on Preppy with his students, he wasn’t sure how they’d react.
“Talking about Preppy revealed something very intimate about me, something that’s not very obvious,” Waltz says. “But I was like, ‘I built Preppy, and it’s on the App Store where anyone can see it.’ I never got a bad reaction.”
Today, Waltz works at a medical-education startup and is studying clinical and digital psychology. Although others have offered to buy Preppy, and he’s considered charging for it, Waltz decided against both, instead providing it free of charge.
What began as a side project for his own use has become his contribution to the gay community at large. “I don’t have time to volunteer,” he says. “This is a way I can contribute my skills and help others.”