A rare male voice in the herpes space, Christopher Pickering, breaks down erectile dysfunction, porn desensitisation, disclosure, and why his sex life got better post-diagnosis. 

We cover:

• A male blueprint for navigating herpes, ED, and dating with actual results

• How to re-sensitize your brain + body so real sex feels good again

• The numbers game of dating post-diagnosis (and why one “yes” changes everything)

• Masculine leadership in disclosure (what women wish men would do)

• Ethics of coaching: free vs paid help, and why “when you pay, you pay attention”

• Diagnosis ≠ death sentence. Chris used herpes as leverage to fix ED, quit porn, build confidence, and make condoms work.

• One win resets the nervous system. You only need a single successful disclosure to rewrite your dating beliefs.

• Stigma is cultural. Bali/Europe ≠ North America. Education > fear.

• If you don’t believe the shame, it can’t stick. Judgment only lands on what you secretly agree with.

  Business & love mirror each other. Rejection is data. Keep going.

  
  

  Time-stamped guide

• 00:00 Two choices: hide forever… or heal for real (ED + herpes)

• 00:49 Where are the men? The five male advocates he can name

• 02:26 Diagnosis story (Covid era, slow realization)

• 06:09 Sexless first relationship, desensitisation spiral

• 10:04 The night he likely got HSV-2; the condom problem

• 12:06 What was harder: ED shame vs. herpes stigma

• 17:26 First disclosure via Google Translate (and why it worked)

• 19:59 Her oral HSV, his perspective shift: “It’s the same thing”

• 21:20 The belief break: one yes > 100 imagined rejections

• 21:42 Dating = sales: why “no” isn’t a verdict, it’s math

• 23:49 Building a herpes brand, handling haters (and a 6.6M-view clapback)

• 30:39 Family finding out on YouTube (and why he didn’t spiral)

• 45:13 Who has it “easier,” men or women? (truth: both grind, differently)

• 53:15 Sex now: less stress, more leadership, better orgasms

Connect with Christopher:

IG: @PickeringFitnessTikTok: @PickeringFitness

Ready to break through what’s holding you back and create real transformation? Click this link to book a connection call with my head coach and let's get started.

I get SO lit up by every single conversation I have with my community. 💜 If you loved this episode, screenshot it, tag me, and come and say hi on Instagram @rebecca.antonucci