This paper describes a qualitative study taking place into (un)safe sex practices by gay men. The paper seeks to understand the initiation of sexual practice from a loyalty perspective in an effort to ascertain if established behaviours (loyalty) may be shifted over time. To this end, a natural history embedded within a narrative enquiry approach has been adopted. Preliminary outcomes provide some insights into urgent priorities for social marketing campaigns aiming to decrease the spread of HIV/AIDS in gay populations.