On 21 February 1986, Paul Boakye received a diagnosis that would change his life forever. At just 22 years old, he was told he was HIV positive. Doctors initially said he would not live to see 30. Yet today, at 62, Boakye is not only alive but thriving as one of the rare 'elite controllers' of the virus.
A diagnosis that felt like a death sentence
Boakye learned his status on the day of his sister's 21st birthday. He had gone to a clinic in Chelsea to collect test results, knowing little about HIV or AIDS at the time. 'I spent the next several days hiding away in a darkened room, crying uncontrollably,' he recalls. The prognosis in the mid-1980s was grim, and he initially resigned himself to an early death.
Loss and survival
His ex-partner, Colin, from whom he contracted the virus, died in 1993. Boakye has lost many friends to HIV and AIDS. Despite the dire predictions, he continued to live. After dropping out of Birmingham University, he founded the BetterDays card company, producing ethnic minority greetings cards with support from the Prince's Youth Business Trust.
Becoming an elite controller
In 1991, Boakye participated in a trial of the antiretroviral drug AZT but stopped due to severe side effects. Throughout the 1990s, his regular screenings showed no symptoms of HIV. Since 1996, when viral load measurements became available, he has been 'undetectable'. Fewer than 0.05% of HIV-positive people share this status, retaining a high CD4 count without needing medication.
Survivor's guilt and scientific contribution
Boakye experiences survivor's guilt, having witnessed entire communities vanish. 'I have lived long enough to have seen whole communities vanish,' he says. This has driven him to help research. In 2025, he joined studies at Imperial College London, Harvard, and Erasmus MC, contributing to reservoir research and projects like Idris and Virias, which aim to understand how elite controllers naturally suppress the virus.
Boakye describes his experience as 'running naked through a house on fire – and somehow not getting burnt.' He hopes science will unlock the secrets of his natural immunity to help millions worldwide.
