About Us
The Bigger Blacker Book started out very simply: I was bad at remembering names.
Like a lot of gay men, I was living a full, active, sex-positive life — and sometimes that meant trying to remember who I’d been with weeks or months later. At the same time, I came of age during the height of the HIV epidemic, when contact tracing wasn’t just helpful, it was life-saving. Knowing who you’d been with mattered — for your own health and for the health of your community.
Over the years, everything changed. HIV went from a death sentence to a manageable — and even preventable — condition. New medications, PrEP, PEP, and other treatment protocols transformed what it means to live a healthy sexual life. But with more tools came more responsibility: remembering when to take medications, tracking testing, and staying informed became more important than ever. Then the mpox (monkeypox) outbreak reminded us all how quickly things can change — and how valuable it is to be able to look back and say, “Oh yeah, that’s who I was with.” Even if you don’t need that information today, you might tomorrow.
Now that I’m a grown man, I wanted to give something back to the community that supported me, challenged me, and showed me that living a sex-positive life isn’t just possible — it’s deeply rewarding. The Bigger Blacker Book grew from a personal memory aid into a full sexual health app for gay men, built around privacy, honesty, and care for ourselves and each other. My goal is simple: to share what I’ve learned, reduce stigma, encourage healthier choices, and help our community thrive — one honest conversation, one reminder, and one shared responsibility at a time.
Our Vision
We believe sexual health works best when it’s built on trust, respect, and real life — not shame, fear, or judgment.
At the core of the Bigger Blacker Book is privacy. Your data belongs to you. Period. Sexual health is deeply personal, and we believe you should always be in control of what you track, what you share, and with whom. The app is designed to keep your information safe, secure, and private, so you can focus on living your life without worrying about who’s watching.
We’re also unapologetically sex-positive. Sex is a normal, healthy part of life, and enjoying it doesn’t make you reckless or irresponsible. We reject the idea that pleasure and responsibility are opposites. In fact, we believe they go hand in hand. When people feel informed, supported, and respected, they’re more likely to take care of themselves and their partners.
That’s where harm reduction comes in. Not everyone makes the same choices — and that’s okay. The Bigger Blacker Book isn’t here to tell you what you should do. It’s here to help you make better decisions with the tools you have. Whether that’s remembering partners, tracking testing, managing medications, or sharing status when it feels right, we aim to reduce risk without increasing shame.
Our vision is a healthier, more connected community — one where people look out for each other, talk openly about sexual health, and have access to tools that respect their autonomy. We’re building the Bigger Blacker Book to support that future, because taking care of ourselves is one of the most powerful ways we take care of each other.
