As an Ambassador for MTV's Staying Alive Foundation, Gym Class Heroes' lead singer Travis McCoy spent his summer traveling the world, meeting with young people working on the grassroots level to impact individual HIV/AIDS communities. For World AIDS Day, MTV networks around the world will premiere The Unbeaten Track, a documentary chronicling Travis's journey. Travis will also debut his new single One At A Time, the proceeds from which will benefit the Staying Alive Foundation.
Causecast recently spoke with Travis about the global fight against AIDS and his experiences traveling as a Staying Alive Ambassador. Here's what he had to say:
Causecast: What made you want to get involved with the Staying Alive Foundation and shoot this documentary?
Travis: It started out as a great opportunity to be involved with the foundation back at the EMAs in 2008 when I was asked to do some red carpet hosting on behalf of Staying Alive. After spending more time with Georgia and seeing what amazing work they did, I immediately asked what else I could do to help be involved. They asked me to be their next Ambassador, and that was that. I lost somebody close to me to AIDS when I was younger, so the cause is extremely important to me. My life has taken me to a point where I am in the position to influence my fans about what music to listen to, how to dress and so on -- so why can't I get them to think and be a little more aware and hopefully smarter about a more serious issue like the battle against HIV and AIDS?
I lost somebody close to me when I was younger. Going through an experience like that, and seeing how it affects them and their loved ones is devastating. Along with that, at that point I didn't really know much about HIV or AIDS, and all you know is what your friends tell you or some of those other misconceptions about the disease. Education is such an important part of fighting this epidemic, that I almost felt as if it was my obligation to do my part.
CC: What can people do to get involved if they're inspired the documentary?
Travis: On December 1, World AIDS Day, I am releasing a charity track on iTunes called "One At A Time." One hundred percent of the proceeds are going to Staying Alive to enable them to continue to support and fund their grantees across the globe. They all have amazing initiatives, and need our help in order to be able to continue as they are. So, people can go to iTunes and download it four or five times and know that a simple thing like that will help the foundation. They can also go to www.theunbeatentrack.com and www.staying-alive.org to find out more information about the trip, the foundation and how to get involved.
Read more Causecast musician interviews at www.causecast.org/music.