Doctor Mike

Mikhail Varshavski (Russian: Михаил Варшавский; born November 12, 1989), known professionally as Doctor Mike, is an Russian-American internet personality, family physician, philanthropist, and amateur boxer. His Instagram account went viral after he was featured in BuzzFeed and People magazine named him The Sexiest Doctor Alive in 2015. He has a YouTube channel on which he posts medically-themed entertainment videos and debunks false medical claims.

This article is about the Soviet-born American celebrity doctor. For other uses, see Doctor Mike (disambiguation).

Doctor Mike
Varshavski in 2020
Born
Mikhail Varshavski
Михаил Варшавский

(1989-11-12) November 12, 1989
Saransk, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union
Other namesDr. Mike
CitizenshipAmerican
EducationNew York Institute of Technology (BS, DO[1])
Occupations
Height6 ft 3 in (191 cm)
YouTube information
Channel
Years active2016–present
Subscribers11.3 million[2]
Total views2.78 billion[2]
100,000 subscribers2018
1,000,000 subscribers2019
10,000,000 subscribers2022
Last updated: September 5, 2023
Websitedoctormikemedia.com

Early life

Varshavski was born on November 12, 1989, in Saransk, Russian SFSR, to a Jewish family.[3][4] His father was Jewish and he was born in Ukraine, was a physician and a graduate of the Third Medical Institute of Moscow,[5][6] while his mother, an ethnic Russian, was a mathematics professor. When he was six, he and his family immigrated to Brooklyn, New York.[7] In Brooklyn, his mother worked sweeping floors for minimum wage, while his father attended medical school for the second time.[7]

Varshavski was given the nickname "Doctor Mike" during his high school years by friends who came to him for sports-related injuries.[8] After seeing his father's relationship with his patients, Varshavski wanted to become a doctor.[9] He enrolled in the New York Institute of Technology and was accepted for an accelerated, seven-year combined track for a bachelor's degree in life sciences and a medical degree (Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine) upon completion of the undergraduate program. During his first year in the NYIT medical portion of the accelerated program, his mother died of leukemia, and he decided to move back in with his father. In 2014, he started a residency at Atlantic Health System's Overlook Medical Center's Family Medicine program,[10] which he completed in 2017.

Career

In early 2012, Varshavski joined Instagram to document his life as a medical student and combat the notion that "you can't have a life in medical school".[9][11]

Varshavski gained media attention in August 2015 when BuzzFeed published an article about him titled "Um, You Really Need To See This Hot Doctor And His Dog" that highlighted his good looks and his relationship with his dog, a husky named Roxy.[12] That November, People magazine named him "the Sexiest Doctor Alive" in its Sexiest Man Alive issue,[10] popularizing his Instagram account.[3]

Varshavski uses his social media to provide health information to millennials.[13]

In 2017, a year after he launched his YouTube channel, Varshavski gave a TEDx Talk on "The epidemic of the 'I Know It All' expert" at a TEDxMonteCarlo event. The video of that speech has been viewed more than 3 million times.[14] In 2018, after his residency, he joined Chatham Family Medicine, a family practice with Atlantic Health System, in Chatham, New Jersey.[15]

In September 2022, he launched a health related podcast on his YouTube channel named "The Checkup Podcast with Doctor Mike"; guests have included Steve-O, KSI,[16] Tony Hale, Dane Cook, Hannah Brown, Steve Madden, Steven He, Barbara Corcoran, Kal Penn, and Brandon Marshall.

COVID-19 pandemic

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Varshavski reconfigured his YouTube videos to answer people's questions about the virus.[17] Varshavski debunked many of Judy Mikovits' claims about COVID-19 from the conspiracy film, Plandemic.[18] In March 2020, Varshavski interviewed Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), about the pandemic.[19]

On November 12, 2020,[20] for his 31st birthday, Varshavski traveled to Miami to attend a beach party that was also attended by a number of other people without masks, during the COVID-19 pandemic. Footage of the event was posted on Instagram and went viral, particularly on Reddit.[21] On November 18, Varshavski apologized for his actions in a YouTube video,[22] saying he "messed up" and he needed "to do better".[23] His attendance of the party was criticized by medical professionals. Bioethicist Arthur Caplan, director of the division of medical ethics at NYU Langone Health, said Varshavski "fails completely in being an appropriate role model and he should be called out, and he deserves even more criticism than he's getting so far."[23]

Boxing career

Varshavski made his amateur boxing debut in May 2022 against influencer iDubbbz as the headline fight in the Creator Clash boxing event.[24][25] He won his match against iDubbbz in a unanimous decision.[26]

Varshavski made his professional debut against Chris Avila on the undercard of Jake Paul vs. Anderson Silva.[27] He lost the fight via unanimous decision.

Philanthropy

In late 2015, Varshavski established a foundation, Limitless Tomorrow, to provide scholarships to students, and he has raised money for it by auctioning experiences with himself through his social media accounts.[11][28] In January 2016, the dating app Coffee Meets Bagel collaborated in a $10 raffle for a date with Varshavski; the campaign raised $91,000 for his foundation.[29]

In July 2019, Varshavski spread awareness for the humanitarian organization Save a Child's Heart by posting a photo with the organization's 5,000th patient while on a trip to Israel.[30]

In March 2020, Varshavski donated $50,000 worth of N95 masks in the face of shortages for medical personnel due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[31]

In late March 2022, Varshavski set up a donation to GlobalGiving for Ukrainian people during the Russian invasion of Ukraine.[5]

In June 2022, Varshavski donated $100,111 to Feeding America through a fundraiser organized by YouTuber Ryan Trahan.[32][33]

Boxing record

Professional
1 fight 0 wins 1 loss
By decision 0 1
No. Result Record Opponent Type Round, time Date Location Notes
1 Loss 0–1 Chris Avila UD 4 Oct 29, 2022 Desert Diamond Arena, Glendale, Arizona, U.S.

Exhibition
1 fight 1 win 0 losses
By decision 1 0
No. Result Record Opponent Type Round, time Date Location Notes
1 Win 1–0 iDubbbz UD 5 May 14, 2022 Yuengling Center, Tampa, Florida, U.S.

Filmography
Year Title Role Notes
2016 Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? Himself Episode: "Hometown Heroes Week 5"[34]
2017-2019 Today Himself 2 episodes
2017-2020 Opening Bell with Maria Bartiromo Himself 12 episodes
2017 Rachael Ray Himself Episode: "October 5, 2017"[35]
2018–2020 Fox & Friends Himself 2 episodes
Live with Kelly and Ryan Himself 2 episodes[36][37]
2018 The Doctors Himself (guest co-host) Episode: "January 17, 2018"
2019 Sidewalks Entertainment Himself (guest) Episode: "Doctor Mike"
Cavuto: Coast to Coast Himself Episode: "March 5, 2019"
Peston Himself (guest) Episode: "25 March 2020"
2020 Access Hollywood Himself Episode: "24.182"
The Talk Himself Episode: "Wayne Brady/Jonathan Mangum/Dr. Mike"

Awards and nominations

Varshavski won the 2020 Webby Awards for Education & Discovery, as well as for Health & Fitness in the category Social.[38]

Year Award Category Result Ref.
2018 Shorty Awards Health and Wellness Nominated [39]
2019 Shorty Awards Breakout YouTuber of the Year Nominated [40]
2020 Webby Awards Education & Discovery Won [38]
Health & Fitness Won
2021 Streamy Awards Health and Wellness Won [41]
2022 Webby Awards Best Influencer (People's Choice) Won [42]

References
  1. "Dr. Mikhail Varshavski, DO". Chatham, NJ - Family Medicine. Archived from the original on April 21, 2019. Retrieved May 7, 2018.
  2. "About Doctor Mike". YouTube.
  3. Lahmers, Jennifer (February 25, 2016). "Meet People magazine's sexiest doctor alive". WNYW. Archived from the original on August 5, 2018. Retrieved August 8, 2018.
  4. Liphshiz, Cnaan (July 5, 2019). "Doctor Mike treats Birthright participant on Israel-bound flight". Times of Israel. Archived from the original on October 25, 2019. Retrieved February 20, 2020.
  5. Goldiner, Dave (March 27, 2022). "Russian-born Dr. Mike helps Ukraine with fundraising boxing match and emotional video". New York Daily News. Archived from the original on March 27, 2022. Retrieved March 27, 2022.
  6. "2019". Archived from the original on March 1, 2020. Retrieved March 1, 2020.
  7. "The Real-Life Dr. McDreamy" (video). The Doctors. October 1, 2015. Archived from the original on March 16, 2017. Retrieved March 15, 2017.
  8. Riley Banner, Nicole (January 19, 2016). "14 Things To Know About Dr. Mike, NYC's Most Eligible Bachelor". Elite Daily. Archived from the original on March 15, 2017. Retrieved March 15, 2017.
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  10. Willett, Megan (January 17, 2016). "The 'Sexiest Doctor Alive' has 1 million Instagram followers and wants to find love". Business Insider. Archived from the original on March 15, 2017. Retrieved March 15, 2017.
  11. Street, Mikelle (June 1, 2016). "Instagram Secrets of the Sexiest Doctor Alive". New York Magazine. Archived from the original on March 15, 2017. Retrieved March 15, 2017.
  12. Tully, Kaelin (August 29, 2015). "Um, You Really Need To See This Hot Doctor And His Dog". BuzzFeed. Archived from the original on February 18, 2019. Retrieved February 15, 2019.
  13. Katz, Barbara (October 28, 2018). Connecting Care for Patients. Jones & Bartlett Learning. p. 351. ISBN 978-1-284-12942-7. Archived from the original on June 12, 2022. Retrieved June 12, 2022.
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  15. "Transcript: Chasing Cancer". Washington Post. October 24, 2019. ISSN 0190-8286. Archived from the original on August 19, 2021. Retrieved February 23, 2021.
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  20. "Dr. Mike: Man dubbed Instagram's hottest doctor slammed for partying without mask". www.msn.com. Archived from the original on July 12, 2021. Retrieved December 8, 2020.
  21. "'Sexiest doctor alive' slammed for flouting COVID rules". NewsComAu. November 26, 2020. Archived from the original on December 5, 2020. Retrieved December 5, 2020.
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  23. Frellick, Marcia (December 1, 2020). "Celebrity Doctor Chastised After Maskless Boat Party Photo". Medscape. Archived from the original on December 2, 2020. Retrieved December 5, 2020.
  24. "Creator Clash". thecreatorclash.com. Archived from the original on April 19, 2022. Retrieved April 19, 2022.
  25. Polhamus, Blaine (March 25, 2022). "iDubbbz's Creator Clash to feature boxing cards with Doctor Mike, Michael Reeves, JustaMinx, and more". Daily Dot. Archived from the original on May 2, 2022. Retrieved May 2, 2022.
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  32. @realdoctormike (June 13, 2022). "What a great cause @RyanTrahan Happy to have donated! I think you're gonna like my tattoo idea" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
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  37. "Dr. Mike Varshavski Shares What Precautions to Take as the Country Reopens". Live with Kelly and Mark. June 10, 2020. Archived from the original on May 8, 2023. Retrieved May 8, 2023.
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