HIV/AIDS LONG-TERM SURVIVOR * YOUTH EDUCATION * ADVOCACY * ACTIVISM * RESOURCES
Houston, Texas - United States
What defines a long-term HIV/aids survivor
Surviving and thriving with HIV
“Being an HIV/AIDS long-term survivor is more than a label; it’s a symbol of resilience, a reminder that the human spirit can endure against all odds.”
~ Bob Bowers aka One Tough Pirate - Houston, Texas USA
Never EVER surrender!
When most people hear “HIV,” they think about medicine, risk, or stigma. But before all of that, it’s important to remember one simple truth: the H in HIV stands for human.
HIV Long-Term Survivors Awareness Day (HLTSAD)
bob bowers is a long-term survivor living with HIV/aiDs FOR 43 YEARS
June 5 is HIV Long-Term Survivors Awareness Day. First observed in 2014, it’s a day to honor long-term survivors of HIV and raise awareness about their needs, issues, and journeys.
The selection of June 5 for this annual observance coincides with the anniversary of the first official reporting of what became known as the AIDS epidemic on June 5, 1981, when the CDC first reported on five cases of a mysterious disease affecting young gay men. June 5, 1981 is considered the start of the AIDS pandemic.
LET'S KICK ASS
“The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that 50% of people with HIV are older than 50 years and account for 70% of total deaths among people with HIV.”
—The Lancet HIV in a series on Aging with HIV, February 24, 2022
let's kick ass
When AIDS first arrived in 1981, unnamed, deadly, feared, and first erroneously reported to only affect gay men, it created fear and scapegoated an already marginalized community. It created a new form of stigma and discrimination. The collective experience of the1980s and 1900s AIDS pandemic was characterized by the mass casualties of young men and extraordinary caretaking. AIDS forced young people to do the work of elders. For nearly twenty years, having The Virus was considered a death sentence.
we're still here
Founded in 2013 by, for, and about HIV Long-Term Survivors, Let’s Kick ASS is the first nonprofit founded to address the unmet needs and issues facing women and men living longest with HIV and AIDS.
What defines an HIV/aids long-term survivor
It’s more than years—it’s fire, love, and the refusal to disappear.
Too often, long-term survivors are measured by numbers. But those of us who’ve walked this path know the truth: survival is more than a timeline. It’s a testimony.
HIV long-term survivors include several groups:
- People who have had HIV for 10 years or longer
- Adults with HIV who acquired the virus as babies
- People who were diagnosed with HIV before the availability of antiretroviral therapy (ART) in 1996
But those are just the facts.
What truly defines a long-term survivor goes far deeper than dates or diagnoses. It’s the tenacity to keep waking up when your body feels like it’s quitting. It’s the courage to love and be loved after profound loss. It’s the commitment to stay informed, to fight stigma, and to advocate for others—especially when your own strength is running low. It’s the resilience to hold your ground in a world that once wrote you off.
Long-term survivors aren’t just people who lived through HIV—they’re people who refused to disappear. Who found ways to carry grief, to celebrate life, to demand justice, to build community, and to keep the conversation going even when the world wanted to look away.
As someone who’s lived through it, I can tell you—survival never felt guaranteed.
It’s been a street fight from day one. I’ve buried more friends than I can count, lived through years when hope was rare, treatments were punishing, and stigma was a constant shadow. There were nights I didn’t think I’d see the next sunrise—physically or emotionally—and days when the silence around me screamed louder than the diagnosis ever did. But I kept showing up. For myself. For others. For the ones who no longer could.
I didn’t survive this long by accident. It took grit, grief, love, purpose, and a refusal to disappear. I clawed my way forward, sometimes crawling, sometimes carried by community, but always moving. And along the way, I found strength in the ashes, rage that turned into resilience, and grace in the moments when laughter somehow found its way into hospital rooms. Being a long-term survivor isn’t just about time—it’s about heart. It’s about choosing to live fully, scars and all. I am more than a long-term survivor. I’m living proof of what it means to endure—with pride, with fire, with tenderness—and with a soul that refuses to be quiet.
43-year long-term HIV/AIDS survivor -- Bob Bowers
U = U
Undetectable equals Untransmittable
As a 43-year heterosexual survivor of HIV/AIDS, I've lived through the darkest days of fear and stigma, only to emerge into the empowering light of U=U—Undetectable equals Untransmittable. This scientific truth isn't just a slogan; it's a lifeline that shatters myths and restores dignity, proving that with consistent antiretroviral therapy, my viral load remains undetectable, making sexual transmission impossible. For long-term survivors from the 1980s like me, U=U means reclaiming intimacy without the shadow of guilt or rejection, fostering deeper relationships in a world that once isolated us. It challenges outdated narratives, especially in heterosexual communities where silence often reigns, and empowers us to advocate boldly: HIV is manageable, not a barrier to love or life. By embracing U=U, we not only protect our partners but also dismantle the barriers to testing and treatment, turning personal victories into a collective triumph over the epidemic.
U equals U
People with HIV who take HIV medicine as prescribed and get and keep an undetectable viral load can live long and healthy lives and will not transmit HIV to their HIV-negative partners through sex.
bob BOwers' life story is coming soon!
The True Tale of One Tough Pirate
The Gospel According to One Tough Pirate
The Gospel According to One Tough Pirate
"You call him One Tough Pirate. The man. The myth. The absolute badass. Bob Bowers isn’t just a survivor—he’s a force. A walking, talking, tattooed sermon. His story doesn’t quietly ask for your attention. It grabs you by the soul and demands you sit up, shut up, and listen."
The True Tale of One Tough Pirate - Bob Bowers' life story
The Gospel According to One Tough Pirate
The Gospel According to One Tough Pirate
The Gospel According to One Tough Pirate
"I don’t preach from pulpits. My sermons are sidewalk-born. Sometimes they start with a compliment about my ride, and end with a grieving stranger in tears over a brother lost to AIDS. That’s how it happens. Every. Damn. Time. Not because I go looking—but because I am looking. For connection. For meaning. For redemption. I don’t hunt down the hurting—I am the hurting. I just happen to be loud, tattooed, and too stubborn to shut up."
The Gospel According to One Tough Pirate - Bob Bowers' documentary/docuseries
The Heart and Fire of an HIV Long-Term Survivor
Live to tell the tale!
Surrender isn't an option!
Surrender isn't an option!
I survived two pandemics. I’ve had so many holes poked in me for blood draws I should leak, and more procedures than most people ever hear named — spinal taps, scopes, nuclear medicine tests — because medicine was guessing in real time and our bodies carried the answers. Friends disappeared faster than treatments arrived. We adapted and kept going because there was no other option on the table.
Survivor’s guilt is real, but I know I’m here for a reason. And that reason is to keep fighting for others.
~ Bob Bowers aka One Tough Pirate
Surrender isn't an option!
Surrender isn't an option!
Surrender isn't an option!
Kindness, compassion and love for each other is the greatest gift we can give each other. A great teacher, and friend has taught me that...!
Namaste,
Pam
SURVIVORS RULE!
Phill wilson
Phill Wilson and Bob Bowers at the 2006 United States Conference on AIDS (USCA) in Hollywood, Florida.
magic johnson
HIV survivors Bob Bowers and Magic Johnson in Maui, Hawaii for Magic's basketball camp with Jerry West.
Dr. Michael gottlieb
Dr. Michael Gottlieb and former patient Bob Bowers at the International Conference on AIDS in Washington D.C. in 2012.
heterosexual men - hiv/aids long-term survivors
62 Years of Living
62 years. 22,630 days (and counting). Some were heavy, some were light. Some were barely survivable. But all of them have shaped me into who I am today.
At 21, I was told I wouldn't make it to 25. It's hard to believe that now, knowing I’m 62. But here I am, still here, still living with purpose, still learning, still fighting.
In these 62 years, I’ve lost loved ones, I've battled demons, and I’ve danced with joy in moments I never thought I’d get to see. Through it all, I’ve held onto a simple truth: God wasn’t done with me. And I’m still not done.
I am humbly grateful for every day. For every breath, every step, and every challenge that brought me closer to who I am now. I’ve lived a full life, and I’m still writing the next chapters.
Here’s to life. And to all the incredible people who’ve walked alongside me, seen the best and worst of me, and reminded me why I should never stop fighting.
Bob Bowers aka One Tough Pirate
HIV/AIDS long-term survivor Bob Bowers aka One Tough Pirate
Exercise/workout/fitness with hiv/aids - Move it or lose it!
Adapt Without Quitting
Bob Bowers has been exercising/working out while living with HIV/AIDS for 43 years.
Sore? Adjust. Tired? Pace yourself. You don’t stop just because the plan changes — you shift gears and keep moving. Some days you go heavy, some days you focus on form, some days it’s just about showing up. Progress in exercise — and in life — isn’t built on perfect conditions… it’s built on persistence. Strong isn’t a mood — it’s a decision.
Movement is medicine
Exercising with HIV/AIDS. It’s medicine. It’s faith. It’s proof that no matter how many times you fall, you can rise again.
surviving and thriving with hiv/aids
LONG-TERM HIV/AIDS SURVIVORS
HIV/AIDS is more than the deadliest epidemic in human history. It continues to have, profound social and cultural meaning. The epidemic has long-term, broad-ranging effects on personal relationships, social institutions, and cultural configurations. The epidemic galvanized communities, often providing a sense of meaning and purpose, AIDS robbed young adults of youth of the years that lead to relationships and the rewards of working.
Because of their experiences with the epidemic, LTS express feelings of abandonment and a sense of invisibility. They evidence high rates of depression as well as PTSD fueled by social isolation.
Challenges Experienced by Long Term Survivors LTS include:
Depression
Panic from age
Suicidality
Sexual risk-taking
Self-destructive behavior
Substance abuse
Social withdrawal and isolation
Negative thoughts such as deep regret and shame
Survivor’s guilt
Cognitive impairment
Anxiety and nervousness
Irritability or flashes of anger
Sleep difficulty and nightmares
Low self-esteem and self-worth
Self-stigma
Long-term HIV/AIDS survivors - Bob Bowers - Houston, Texas
HIV/AIDS Long-term survivor Bob Bowers
As a 43-year survivor of HIV/AIDS, I've witnessed firsthand the incredible transformation in how we live with this virus. Thanks to modern antiretroviral therapy (ART), HIV is no longer a death sentence but a manageable chronic condition. This has led to a rapidly growing population of older adults living with HIV—defined as those aged 50 and older—who are benefiting from longer, healthier lives.
Straight Men with HIV/AIDS Are Here
— And Always Have Been
HIV/AIDS doesn’t care who you are — it cares what you do.
While many still wrongly assume HIV only affects the LGBTQ+ community, the truth is that heterosexual men have always been a part of this fight. From the 1980s to today, straight men have been living with, advocating through, and surviving HIV. We’re not statistics. We’re fathers, husbands, veterans, teachers, athletes, and advocates. And we're not silent anymore.
Straight men living with HIV/AIDS are seen here.
hiv/aids long-term survivors from the 1980s - Bob bowers
never ever surrender
As a 43-year long-term survivor of HIV, Bob Bowers faces a combination of physical, emotional, and social challenges. Having been diagnosed in the early 1980s, when HIV was often a death sentence and treatments were highly toxic, his body and mind have endured decades of stress that more recent survivors do not experience.
survive
I’m proof that survival is an act of rebellion.
Proof that healing ain’t always clean or quiet.
Proof that love, faith, and fire can still burn inside a cracked vessel.
— Bob Bowers aka One Tough Pirate
hiv/aids long-term survivor friends
Rebekka Armstrong
Jake Glaser and Kalee Garland
Rebekka Armstrong
Bob Bowers and Rebekka Armstrong presenting at Redondo Union High School
Shawn Decker
Jake Glaser and Kalee Garland
Rebekka Armstrong
Bob Bowers and Shawn Decker at UW-Madison after Shawn and Gwenn's presentation
Jake Glaser and Kalee Garland
Jake Glaser and Kalee Garland
Jake Glaser and Kalee Garland
HIV/AIDS long-term survivors Jake Glaser, Kalee Garland, and Bob Bowers flipping off stigma at Camp Heartland in Malibu, California - 2006
Joel Goldman
Nelson Vergel
Jake Glaser and Kalee Garland
Bob Bowers and Joel Goldman at Camp Heartland in Willow River, Minnesota
Nelson Vergel
Nelson Vergel
Nelson Vergel
Nelson Vergel and Bob Bowers in Florida for the AIDS Treatment Activists Coalition (ATAC).
Jake Glaser
Nelson Vergel
Nelson Vergel
Jake Glaser and Bob Bowers reunited in 2021 in Portland, Oregon
Kalee Garland
Kalee Garland
Kalee Garland
Kalee Garland and Bob Bowers after interview for 106.3 KLOO Radio in Albany, Oregon
HIV long-term survivor bob bowers
"Life’s a gamble, and sometimes, it’s about more than just surviving. It’s about thriving in the face of the unexpected. Every year I’ve lived beyond what I thought possible, I’ve gained something deeper—a sense of gratitude, a stronger faith, and an ever-growing belief in the power of determination."
~ Bob Bowers
"I used to believe that I had to be flawless before I could share my life story. However, I've come to realize that the true beauty and heart of my narrative lie in my imperfections and my willingness to openly discuss them."
~ Bob Bowers
"There was a time when I would have bet every cent I had on being just another statistic—someone whose name would be spoken in hushed tones, if at all. Another story of someone who didn’t make it. Yet, here I am, still standing, and every day feels like I’ve outplayed the odds."
~ Bob Bowers