Kalvin Pugh

Kalvin Pugh is an award-winning HIV advocate, musician, and currently serves as an independent consultant. He was diagnosed HIV+ in 2016, not finding many young people online talking about thriving with HIV and following the death of the late Carrie Fischer who advocated to speak your weak things with a loud voice and that your secrets make you sick, he felt moved to come out about his HIV status. After sharing his diagnosis on social media platforms resulted in an outpouring of support from friends, family, and complete strangers he began mentoring other people living with HIV at KC Care Health Center as a peer educator, eventually becoming the department’s lead educator. Sharing his story also allowed many other opportunities to live out loud, featured in publications, speaking engagements, podcasts, and a nation-wide HIV treatment TV commercial.

He has dedicated his life to reducing HIV-related stigma and improving quality of life for people living with HIV through education, advocacy and working with global leaders to change policies, and more importantly hearts and minds. Kalvin currently serves as a member of the United States People Living with HIV Caucus and as the campaign lead for the international Zero HIV Stigma Day Campaign while holding dearly the belief since 2016 that if you say aloud the things that others are afraid to whisper you become a voice and not a victim. He resides in Kansas City, Missouri with his dog Chip.

Kalvin can be found on Instagram, TikTok and YouTube @katelvinnohobbs.

Click here to read all of Kalvin's articles on H-I-V.net.