HIV Activist Clint Walters Dies Of Heart Attack At Just 31 Just Months After Fulfiling Dream

The gay HIV activist, Clint Walters has died at his home in Clapham, London at the age of just 31 after suffering from a heart attack.

Diagnosed at 17, Walters had dedicated his life to making sure there was better education about HIV for young people, which not only saw him tour round schools, but also take part in the London Marathon and other sporting challenges to raise money to further his cause.

One thing that Clint passionately fought for was a UK weekend HIV testing clinic that would allow young people to have somewhere to go to at the weekend to get diagnosed and discuss what it meant for them. Facing many challenges and obstacles that would see most of us give up, Clint instead never gave up hope and did manage to achieve his dream before his death.

Talking back in 2007 about why he had chosen to dedicate his life to improving that of others, Walter said:

“Why do I have this nagging feeling the gay scene is losing touch with what’s really important – compassion for the safety of your fellow man. Have all the 24 hour clubs, drugs and alcohol finally [taken] their toll or was it ever there in the first place?

“So, I’ve decided to turn my positive diagnosis on its head and shout it from the roof tops. If you don’t take full responsibility and call the shots, then who will?”

Mark Fell, one of Walter’s close friends said he would ensure that Walters’ legacy lived on, telling the Independent:

“He was the most amazingly inspirational person. He virtually lived on the breadline and completely dedicated his life to charity.”

Neil Parrett, another friend also spoke fondly of Walters to the Evening Standard about how selfless he had been about his diagnosis saying:

“Rather than let it beat him, he focused on life and tried to make it better for other people in the same situation,”

“He took calls from young people all over the country and people came to stay with him if they were struggling to come to terms with the diagnosis.”

Watch Clint Walters talk about his fight for a walk in HIV weekend clinic back in 2007: