Doctor Mike is everywhere. Since being named People's "Sexiest Doctor Alive" in 2015, his
social media accounts have catapulted him further into fame. Still, there's probably
a lot you don't know about the popular physician. Here's the truth about Doctor Mike.
In 1995, when Doctor Mike was just 6 years old, he immigrated to the United States along
with his family in search of a better life. While the Internet sensation has experienced
quite a lot of success since then, it wasn't so easy when he first came to the states.
He told NBC News,
"We lived in a tiny $500 a month apartment for four people."
And he didn't speak English, making the adjustment to American life and school even harder. He
admitted that his parents struggled as they looked for jobs in the U.S., but tried their
best to make it work. On "The Doctors," he explained,
"My mom actually worked for $5 an hour sweeping floors, but before that she was a math professor
at one of the highest universities in Russia."
When you think of medical school, you probably think of long hours training at a hospital
and almost a decade of your life with your face in textbooks. In other words, you have
absolutely zero free time. Doctor Mike was out to prove that's not the case with his
Instagram posts while he was in school. He told Coveteur,
"I would show myself in the operating room, and out at an event later that day. I would
go to fashion events and people would be like, 'How is this guy a medical student and doing
all these things?'"
Over three years at the New York Institute of Technology, he slowly gained around 100,000
Instagram followers. With his increased following also came a love for something more than medicine.
He was bound and determined to prove to doubters that he really was a medical student that
still had time to explore New York City. He told DuJour,
"That's what made me even more passionate, because they said, no medical student can
have that much free time."
Doctor Mike's huge Instagram following brought more attention to his account than just people
who were intrigued with his life. In 2015, BuzzFeed published an article called "Um,
You Really Need to See This Hot Doctor and His Dog" and — you guessed it — that "hot
doctor" was Doctor Mike. For him, the attention wasn't exactly what he had hoped for. He told
Instant,
"As a doctor you want to be known for being the youngest doctor in the hospital, publishing
research, that I had Encyclopedia articles written by myself — and what I was known
for was a hot doctor."
"In that week I probably gained a million followers."
People magazine went on to name him "Sexiest Doctor Alive" that year, and his Instagram
following quickly skyrocketed. Doctor Mike decided to make the most of his newfound fame.
He told Business Insider,
"I can impact — instead of the 40 people I see a week — 40,000 people a week, a million
people, through my videos to make better health decisions."
Even with millions of eyes on this social media star each and every week, Doctor Mike
wasn't always such a social person. In fact, he said he was quite shy. He told NBC News,
"When I was in high school, I wasn't the person that was always public speaking and making
speeches. And I wasn't popular with girls."
"I grew up as a huge nerd."
In fact, Doctor Mike was shocked when People mag reached out to him in 2015 to let him
know he had been named their "Sexiest Doctor Alive." He told Fox 10 Phoenix that he thought
it was a joke.
It took Doctor Mike years to get to a point where he was comfortable enough to share the
personality we know and love today online. As a self-proclaimed nerd in high school,
he spent time reading many books on how to be more outgoing and less fearful of receiving
judgment from other people. He explained to NBC News,
"I really just found out that it's all about putting yourself outside of the comfort zone,
learning that it's okay to mess up. We're humans. Everyone makes mistakes."
There's a special lady in Doctor Mike's life and she's also pretty popular on Instagram.
His dog, Roxy, has over 70,000 followers of her own. Doctor Mike, however, seems to deny
that her popularity is because of his Internet fame. He told ABC News that Roxy is, quote,
"a star on her own." He believes, instead, that she's what made his claim to fame possible.
Doctor Mike adopted the Siberian Husky while he was still in medical school as a way to
bring support and a smile to his face following his mom's passing.
"She's been such a blessing because in a moment where we were grieving for the loss of my
mother, we also had something positive."
Posting several selfies with Roxy online grabbed BuzzFeed's attention. Doctor Mike even spent
extra time training his beloved pooch so she's able to come along on appearances, spreading
the smiles to others. He told ABC News,
"She gives a fist bump. She gives hugs. When I do events like the breast cancer walk, she'll
come in, she'll pose for pictures."
While Roxy's Instagram account has been quiet since 2019, she still makes appearances on
Doctor Mike's page, along with another dog — a pup named Bear. And, of course, Bear
has his own Instagram too with over 165,000 followers.
Speaking about his typical schedule, Doctor Mike explained to Business Insider,
"The first half of the week I am making YouTube videos. The second half of the week I'm in
the hospital actually doing the things I'm talking about."
While also traveling for television appearances, Doctor Mike balances meeting patients, spending
time in the operating room, and even delivering babies as a physician in New Jersey. He told
Australia's "Morning Show,"
"I love my patients. I love what I do. I think that translates into the work I do not only
in the office but also on my YouTube channel."
In fact, he's gotten some wild messages from fans saying they would throw themselves down
stairs so they can come see him, but ladies, please don't. He explained to New York Magazine,
"The thing that is the most ironic about it is, I focus on preventative care. So people
come to see me when they are healthy to stay healthy and avoid getting sick. People don't
have to get sick or hurt themselves to come see me."
"Easy on the eyes is just a bonus."
As a practicing physician, Doctor Mike isn't scared of emergency situations. However, heights
sure do scare him. On his YouTube channel, he admitted,
"If I'm on the edge of a building or I'm on the tip of a bridge, even though it's unlikely
that I'm going to fall off, I still have this horrible vertigo and sense of doom."
However, in 2018, he realized that the only way to get through this fear he had was to
experience it firsthand — by flying a small World War 2 plane. He explained,
"To say it lightly, I was very scared. [...] [But] just because you're anxious doesn't mean it
should stop you from doing anything."
It's clear Doctor Mike uses his YouTube channel for more than just medical discussions, but
that's his main focus. He told ABC News,
"The biggest impact that I've seen [from my posts] is, not only are more people coming
in for preventative visits just to have a conversation about their health, but also
people are relating to me a lot better in a sense."
To avoid jet lag, Doctor Mike planned to sleep during his flight to Israel in 2019. However,
he woke up early in the trip to a very different plan. Flight attendants were desperate to
find someone on board who was able to help a man suffering from an allergic reaction.
He told Australia's "Morning Show,"
"In these cases, timing is everything. You have to administer the medication as soon
as possible in order to prevent the throat from completely closing."
Normally, people with allergies carry an EpiPen. But since the man wasn't aware of his allergy,
he had no medication.
Doctor Mike dug through the airline's onboard emergency kit and found a vial of epinephrine.
Since they were crossing the Atlantic Ocean, they had no place to land, so this doctor
had to make it work. Luckily, he was able to save the man's life by adjusting the dosage
prior to administering it. In a follow-up on his YouTube channel, he said,
"Now [that man is] carrying an EpiPen around to not repeat this experience."
Ever since Doctor Mike went viral in 2015, it's not unusual for fans to stop the famous
doctor on the street and request a selfie. Of course, his social media success wouldn't
exist without his millions of fans, so he's happy to take a photo. However, he's diagnosed
one problem with meeting fans. He told Tech Insider,
"As soon as they get the selfie, they run away."
In fact, he once had a fan ask for one while he was still on the job. On his YouTube channel,
he revealed,
"The weirdest situation I've been asked to take a selfie was during a code blue. That
means that someone's heart has stopped, and I'm trying to actively revive them."
Doctor Mike really is a fan of his fans, though, so he has some non-medical advice for those
who spot him out and about. He told Tech Insider,
"If you do come up to me and you ask for a selfie, hang around, give me some background
on you so we can make a normal human connection."
"Can I overdose on Claritin?...once a day, no."
When he's not busy creating his own YouTube videos, Doctor Mike is a practicing medical
professional. So when a worldwide pandemic hit at the start of 2020, it only made sense
that he would be found on the frontlines. He even took advantage of his huge number
of followers to get an important word out during his hospital's time of need. In a video,
he told his Twitter followers,
"We need more resources on the frontlines as family physicians, White House, I'm looking
at you."
As far as everyone at home, he said during a July 2020 conversation with the Atlantic
Health System,
"Folks just want answers. Doctors should be giving answers."
And that's exactly what he did. Doctor Mike began using his social media platform to clear
up the confusion that fans had about the pandemic. Everything from discussing how safe the vaccines
are to debunking conspiracy theories made it onto his YouTube channel. He was determined
to help everyone at home stay safe — and informed — during this confusing time. He
said in one YouTube video,
"This isn't a panic-demic. This is a pandemic. What we should be doing is staying alert,
not anxious."
"The way we control Covid right now is by being responsible, both you and me."
When the coronavirus pandemic seemed to be at its peak, Doctor Mike found himself in
the middle of a pretty big controversy. In November 2020, photos on Instagram emerged
showing him at a party in Miami — without a mask.
Fans everywhere freaked out, claiming that the doctor was actually a hypocrite, and some
even went as far to say that his behavior was a true sign of a conspiracy, according
to the Daily Mail. Doctor Mike admitted,
"When I see bad actors and conspiracy theorists try and use my situation to attack the legitimacy
of COVID-19, to downplay its risks, to say masks don't work, that kills me."
He was prompted to make a YouTube video apologizing to all his fans for his actions. Doctor Mike
explained that he was visiting his father down in Florida when his friends surprised
him with a boat for his birthday. After assessing the situation and considering the risks, he
decided to go along with it. But he went on to say,
"Even considering following the rules as the guidelines that are set forth, it doesn't
matter. I messed up. I really did, and I need to do better."
After realizing the impact he has thanks to his large following, he used his apology video
to encourage everyone to continue to wear masks and social distance to stop the spread
of COVID-19.
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