Welcome, My Friends
I’m an HIV positive gay man in recovery from drug addiction. What’s not to love?
Be sure to check my entire video library here or browse my blog postings below. Get ready for some frank opinion, inspirational writing, debate on sexual politics, videos of poz life featuring my family and friends, and even some infamous drag. And please follow me on Twitter and join the My Fabulous Disease Facebook page!
Confessions of a Guy Who Used to be Hot
As I say in my recent interview for Dennis Hensley’s podcast (“Dennis, Anyone?”), it’s hard to talk about this without sounding like a total dick. But really, when has that ever stopped me before? Dennis has a way of entertaining his audience with zippy one-liners...
Once, When We Were Heroes
(I will never explain the early days of AIDS better then this, so I post this essay to commemorate World AIDS Day every year.) My brother Richard smiles a lot. He has an easy laugh. But there was a time, years ago, when he held a poisonous drink in his hands and...
For Charles Sanchez’s Cabaret Show, ‘Life is Fabulous’ at Long, Long Last
Charles Sanchez is one busy New Yorker. There’s the writing he does for nearly all of the major HIV outlets, his regular Instagram show featuring community notables, and then his dashes to the gym to contend with the five pounds, give or take, that continue to mock...
The Day After He was Murdered, I Got a Card from Josh Kruger
My husband Michael and I were sitting on the front steps of our new home in Atlanta. I tell you this because it is one of those moments that gets seared into your consciousness, one of those Where Were You When moments. Michael was explaining where he wanted to plant...
Does This Book Release Make Me Look Anxious?
The day has come. Today, My Fabulous Disease: Chronicles of a Gay Survivor is officially released. This book represents - and I know how this sounds - my life’s work. It features essays culled from writing over the course of four decades. It is joyful and dark and...
Heading to USCHA 2023? Here’s Inspiration for You.
You know what a fan I am of the annual United States Conference on HIV/AIDS (USCHA), produced by NMAC. I’ve been writing about it for years, and providing videos and photo essays for those of you who couldn’t make it or wanted to relive the highlights. If...
How Do We Support Black Women in an HIV Arena Once Run by Gay White Men?
In the early days of the AIDS crisis, as a young gay white man finding my way in the emerging HIV arena, I was King of the Mountain even if I wasn’t conscious of it. I worked with people who looked like me, on behalf of people like me, at organizations founded and led...
Greg Louganis Praises ‘Bold’ New Book about Love, Sex and Survival
It felt presumptuous of me to believe I have much in common with historic Olympian Greg Louganis. His level of fame, his record-shattering sports career, and the worldwide scrutiny he faced when he went public with his HIV status in 1995 are all beyond anything I...
How You Can Preserve the Music Legacy of AIDS Icon Michael Callen
It isn’t very often that any of us can play a tangible role in honoring and preserving the legacy of one of the pillars of our shared history. Here’s just that opportunity. Michael Callen is someone many people consider to be the original long-term AIDS survivor. He...
Can We Create a Life Beyond HIV?
I’ve known my best friend Charles for more than 40 years. He knew me when I was HIV negative, for goodness sake. That’s how long we’ve been besties. When Charles was interviewed recently for a story about my advocacy, he said something that surprised me. “Mark almost...
