HIV/AIDS LONG-TERM SURVIVOR * YOUTH EDUCATION * ADVOCACY * ACTIVISM * RESOURCES
Houston, Texas - United States
contact bob bowers aka one tough pirate
Bob Bowers is a 42-year survivor of HIV/AIDS living in Houston, Texas USA
Never surrender! Never forget!
Photos of Bob Bowers
"My personal ambition is to inspire and motivate everyone to be victorious in life's challenges. In this process I educate about the cause of HIV/AIDS, the consequences of having it, and how I have survived for 42 years."
THE PIRATE! I appreciate positive role models when it comes to being HIV+. The Pirate is a symbol of strength and rebellion, and these are the character traits necessary to live with HIV. Together, timbers will shiver for certain.
Douglas P.
NO SHAME! NO SURRENDER!
Bob's life story
Photos of Bob Bowers
Photos of Bob Bowers
I lived this shit. For decades, I’ve spoken to youth, to crowds, to anyone who would listen—not because I wanted recognition, but because I had to. Because HIV/AIDS wasn’t just some distant crisis to me; it was my life. My reality. My battle.
~ Bob Bowers
Photos of Bob Bowers
Photos of Bob Bowers
Photos of Bob Bowers
I’m not just living with HIV—I survived the ‘80s.
Back when a diagnosis was a death sentence and hope was in short supply, I kept breathing, fighting, rising.
42 years later, I’m still here—proof that strength outlives stigma.
Bob Bowers' Tattoos
Photos of Bob Bowers
Bob Bowers' Tattoos
My tattoos speak when I can’t.
They carry the names, the battles, the prayers, and the promises.
Each one marks a moment—of pain, purpose, faith, and fight.
They remind me where I’ve been, what I’ve lost, and who I refuse to become. This skin is my armor, my journal, my battle flag.
