Tony Mills

In 1999, he moved to Los Angeles and opened a general medical practice specializing in HIV care. He was certified as an HIV specialist by the American Academy of HIV Medicine in 2000 and currently serves on both the California Board and the National Board of the AAHIVM. In 2002, Mills joined the Clinical Medicine Faculty at UCLA where he works actively with residents and fellows and is a frequent lecturer.

In May 1998, he won the title of International Mister Leather, publicly coming out as HIV-positive one day later.

In May 1998, having previously won the regional title of Mister Mid-Atlantic Leather, Mills won the International Mister Leather contest. Since winning the IML contest, Mills has been featured in the documentaries Beyond Vanilla and Mr. Leather. He has also been a model for the COLT Studio Group.

In 1994, Mills was named Chief of Pediatric Cardiac Anesthesiology at the University of Miami, where he was actively involved in both the recovery community and in the gay community as an advocate for people living with HIV.

Mills graduated from Duke University School of Medicine and was awarded both the Stanley Sarnoff Fellowship Award in Cardiovascular Research and the Eugene Stead Research Award. He began his clinical practice in 1991 at Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center in New York City, concentrating on heart transplantation and cardiovascular research.