Bobby Lutz was born on September 29, 1953. After becoming infected with HIV, Lutz wrote a
number of booklets under the pen name "Bobby Positive" offering practical advice about
living with HIV/AIDS. The most popular was "AIDS 201: Survival Tips for Symptomatic PWAs."
He wrote these booklets during a period when new drug therapies offered dramatic hope for
HIV+ individuals. However, such drugs were expensive; they carried their own debilitating
side effects; and patients sometimes developed resistance to the treatments. In partnership
with the Brady East STD Clinic (Milwaukee, Wis.), Lutz published and distributed 30,000
copies to individuals and agencies around the world. Nationally distributed magazines such
as Positively Aware and POZ
published excerpts of the booklets, and HIV/AIDS newsletters across the world serialized his
work. Lutz died in Venice, Florida on July 4, 1997.
