Panozzo founded Styx in the '70s with his brother and hid the fact that he was gay throughout the band's most successful years in the '70s and '80s. In 1991, he was diagnosed with HIV and decided to not take any medication. By the end of the decade, he was so sick that he was forced to take a 23-pill regimen.
"It was the sickest time of my life, both psychologically and physically," Panozzo told Out magazine in 2017, "but that's where I found the strength to say, 'I can no longer live this life as a closeted man, so I'm willing to leave this band.'"
He eventually came out and told the world he was HIV positive. After getting himself healthy, Panozzo is still touring with Styx and hoping to be a role model for the younger LGBTQ community.
"When I go onstage I never know who's going to be out there," he told Out magazine. "But if there's a young gay man who's gone through the same thing I have, I'd like him to think, 'If he can do this, then why can't I?'"