Mikhail "Mike" Oskarovich Varshavski[3] (Russian: Михаил Оскарович Варшавский; born November 12, 1989), known online as Doctor Mike, is an American and Russian YouTuber, internet personality, certified family physician,[4] philanthropist, and professional 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.
Doctor Mike | |||||||||||||
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 Picture of Varshavski in 2020 | |||||||||||||
| Born | Mikhail Oskarovich Varshavski Михаил Оскарович Варшавский November 12, 1989 | ||||||||||||
| Nationality | American • Russian | ||||||||||||
| Other names |
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| Education | New York Institute of Technology (BS, DO[1]) | ||||||||||||
| Occupations |
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| Height | 6 ft 3 in (191 cm) | ||||||||||||
| Relatives | Dasha Varshavskaya (sister) | ||||||||||||
YouTube information | |||||||||||||
| Channel | |||||||||||||
| Years active | 2016–present | ||||||||||||
| Subscribers | 13.1 million[2] | ||||||||||||
| Total views | 4.0 billion[2] | ||||||||||||
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Last updated: December 20, 2024 | |||||||||||||
| Website | doctormikemedia | ||||||||||||
Early life
editVarshavski was born on November 12, 1989, in Saransk, Russian SFSR.[5][6] His father, Oskar, who was Jewish, was born in Ukraine, and worked as a physician after graduating from the Third Medical Institute of Moscow,[7][8] while his mother, an ethnic Russian, was a mathematics professor. He has an older sister, Dasha, who was born in 1980.[9] When he was five, he and his family immigrated to Brooklyn, New York.[10] The family immigrated as refugees, and their first apartment was a $500 rent-controlled apartment with mice and cockroaches.[9]
Varshavski was given the nickname "Doctor Mike" during his high school years by friends who came to him for sports-related injuries.[11] After seeing his father's relationship with his patients, Varshavski wanted to become a doctor.[12] 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,[13] which he completed in 2017.
Career
editIn 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".[12][14] Varshavski uses his social media to provide health information to millennials.[15]
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. In 2024, he bought another Newfoundland dog named Rib. [16] That November, People magazine named him "the Sexiest Doctor Alive" in its Sexiest Man Alive issue,[13] popularizing his Instagram account.[5]
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.[17]
In 2018, after his residency, he joined Chatham Family Medicine, a family practice with Atlantic Health System, in Chatham, New Jersey.[18]
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Varshavski reconfigured his YouTube videos to answer people's questions about the virus.[19] Varshavski debunked many of Judy Mikovits' claims about COVID-19 from the conspiracy film, Plandemic.[20] In March 2020, Varshavski interviewed Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), about the pandemic.[21]
Varshavski made his amateur boxing debut in May 2022 against influencer iDubbbz as the headline fight in the Creator Clash boxing event.[22][23] He won his match against iDubbbz in a unanimous decision.[24] Varshavski made his professional debut against Chris Avila on the undercard of Jake Paul vs. Anderson Silva.[25] He lost the fight via unanimous decision.
In September 2022, he launched a health related podcast on his YouTube channel named "The Checkup Podcast with Doctor Mike", which was renamed to "The Checkup with Doctor Mike". The podcast covers subjects related to sexual health, mental health, physical health, and social health. Varshavski has interviewed friends, medical professionals, athletes, comedians and actors. Guests have included Steve-O, KSI,[26] Tony Hale, Dane Cook, Hannah Brown, Marques Brownlee, Steve Madden, Steven He, Barbara Corcoran, Kal Penn, and Brandon Marshall.
Philanthropy
editIn 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.[14][27] 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.[28]
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.[29] 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.[30] In late March 2022, Varshavski set up a donation to GlobalGiving for Ukrainian people during the Russian invasion of Ukraine.[7] In June 2022, Varshavski donated $100,111 to Feeding America through a fundraiser organized by YouTuber Ryan Trahan.[31][32]
Controversy
editDr. Mike came under fire in November 2020 for being seen partying maskless during the COVID-19 pandemic.[33] Varshavski addressed the controversy in a response video posted on a secondary channel November 27, 2020.[34]
Personal life
editIn 2016, he and Filipino actress and 2015 Miss Universe Pia Wurtzbach met at a charity event in New York and started dating.[35][36] He dated American television news reporter Jennifer Lahmers.[citation needed]
Boxing record
editProfessional
edit| 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
edit| 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. |
TV Appearances
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? | Himself | Episode: "Hometown Heroes Week 5"[37] |
| 2017-2019 | Today | Himself | 2 episodes |
| 2017-2020 | Opening Bell with Maria Bartiromo | Himself | 12 episodes |
| 2017 | Rachael Ray | Himself | Episode: "October 5, 2017"[38] |
| 2018–2020 | Fox & Friends | Himself | 2 episodes |
| Live with Kelly and Ryan | Himself | 2 episodes[39][40] | |
| 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
editVarshavski won the 2020 Webby Awards for Education & Discovery, as well as for Health & Fitness in the category Social.[41]
| Year | Award | Category | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | Shorty Awards | Health and Wellness | Nominated | [42] |
| 2019 | Shorty Awards | Breakout YouTuber of the Year | Nominated | [43] |
| 2020 | Webby Awards | Education & Discovery | Won | [41] |
| Health & Fitness | Won | |||
| 2021 | Streamy Awards | Health and Wellness | Won | [44] |
| 2022 | Webby Awards | Best Influencer (People's Choice) | Won | [45] |
References
edit- ^ "Doctor. Mikhail Varshavski, DO". Chatham, NJ - Family Medicine. Archived from the original on April 21, 2019. Retrieved May 7, 2018.
- ^ a b "About Doctor Mike". YouTube.
- ^ Doctor Mike Vs KallMeKris | TikTok Battle (Video). YouTube. December 1, 2021. Event occurs at 7:51.
- ^ "Mikhail Varshavski - Overlook Medical Center | LinkedIn". LinkedIn.
- ^ a b 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.
- ^ 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.
- ^ a b 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.
- ^ "2019". Archived from the original on March 1, 2020. Retrieved March 1, 2020.
- ^ a b Dr. Mike (July 27, 2022), Draw My Life-Coming to America (YouTube), retrieved October 28, 2023
- ^ "The Real-Life Dr. McDreamy" (video). The Doctors. October 1, 2015. Archived from the original on March 16, 2017. Retrieved March 15, 2017.
- ^ 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.
- ^ a b Steinhilber, Brianna (October 4, 2017). "The 'Hot Doctor's' prescription for building a successful brand". NBC News. Archived from the original on February 13, 2019. Retrieved February 15, 2019.
- ^ a b 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.
- ^ a b 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.
- ^ 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.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "The epidemic of the "I Know All" expert". YouTube. December 14, 2017. Archived from the original on January 19, 2020. Retrieved May 15, 2020.
- ^ "Transcript: Chasing Cancer". Washington Post. October 24, 2019. ISSN 0190-8286. Archived from the original on August 19, 2021. Retrieved February 23, 2021.
- ^ Topf, Joel M.; Williams, Paul N. (2021). "COVID-19, Social Media, and the Role of the Public Physician". Blood Purification. 50 (4–5). Karger Publishers: 595–601. doi:10.1159/000512707. ISSN 1421-9735. PMC 7900472. PMID 33445176.
- ^ Zack, Naomi (March 31, 2021). The American Tragedy of Covid-19: Social and Political Crises of 2020. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 162. ISBN 978-1-5381-5120-4. Archived from the original on June 12, 2022. Retrieved June 12, 2022.
- ^ Ellis, Philip (March 29, 2020). "Doctor Mike Is Interviewing Coronavirus Expert Anthony Fauci Live on YouTube". Men's Health. Archived from the original on January 20, 2022. Retrieved June 25, 2022.
- ^ "Creator Clash". thecreatorclash.com. Archived from the original on April 19, 2022. Retrieved April 19, 2022.
- ^ 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.
- ^ Corby, Donagh (May 15, 2022). "iDubbbz vs Doctor Mike boxing LIVE: UK start time, stream and results from Creator Clash". www.mirror.co.uk. Daily Mirror. Archived from the original on May 15, 2022. Retrieved May 15, 2022.
- ^ "MMA's Avila to box YouTube star Doctor Mike". ESPN.com. September 20, 2022. Retrieved September 20, 2022.
- ^ Majumdar, Ripan (May 4, 2023). ""She's My Rock" – $25 Million Worth KSI Shares How His Girlfriend Saved the YouTube Star From Being a "Lost Human Being"". Essentially Sports. Archived from the original on March 5, 2023. Retrieved March 5, 2023.
- ^ Koman, Tess (January 19, 2016). "ALERT: IRL McDreamy Is Auctioning Off a Date Right This Moment". Cosmopolitan. Archived from the original on March 15, 2017. Retrieved March 15, 2017.
- ^ Petersen, Vicki Martinka (February 16, 2016). "DO leverages social media popularity to raise funds". The DO. Archived from the original on February 15, 2019. Retrieved February 15, 2019.
- ^ Barak, Naama (July 8, 2019). "Dr. Mike pays Save a Child's Heart 5,000th patient a visit". Israel21c. Archived from the original on July 12, 2021. Retrieved July 16, 2020.
- ^ Peele, Anna (March 22, 2020). "YouTube's Dr. Mike Varshavski Is Using Internet Fame—and Hot-Doctor-Ness—to Battle COVID-19". Men's Health. Archived from the original on July 16, 2020. Retrieved July 16, 2020.
- ^ @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.
- ^ "Who is Doctor Mike? YouTuber donates over $100K for Ryan Trahan's 1 Penny challenge". June 29, 2022. Archived from the original on July 2, 2022. Retrieved July 2, 2022.
- ^ "People's 'Sexiest Doctor' Under Fire for Pics From Maskless Miami Party". November 25, 2020. Retrieved October 10, 2024.
- ^ Doctor Mike Clips (November 27, 2020). Admitting When I'm Wrong. Retrieved October 24, 2024 – via YouTube.
- ^ "Pia Wurtzbach confirms she's dating Dr. Mike, shares more details". Rappler. April 15, 2016. Archived from the original on February 19, 2022. Retrieved February 6, 2024.
- ^ "Are Pia Wurtzbach and Dr. Mike dating?". Rappler. March 20, 2016. Archived from the original on July 16, 2022. Retrieved February 6, 2024.
- ^ Hogan, Kate (November 3, 2016). "PEOPLE's 'Sexiest Doctor Alive' Competes on 'Who Wants to Be a Millionaire' : Does He Win Big?". Archived from the original on November 4, 2016. Retrieved May 8, 2023.
- ^ Dr. Mike Varshavski [@realdoctormike] (October 5, 2017). "Breaking down the hype behind vitamin supplements tomorrow at 10am EST with the lovely @rachaelray" (Tweet). Archived from the original on August 18, 2022. Retrieved May 8, 2023 – via Twitter.
- ^ "First Aid Kit for Summer with Dr. Mike Varshavski | LIVE with Kelly and Mark". Live with Kelly and Mark. May 30, 2018. Archived from the original on May 8, 2023. Retrieved May 8, 2023.
- ^ "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.
- ^ a b Kastrenakes, Jacob (May 20, 2020). "Here are all the winners of the 2020 Webby Awards". The Verge. Archived from the original on October 2, 2020. Retrieved May 22, 2020.
- ^ "Dr. Mike - 10th Annual Shorty Awards". Shorty Awards. Archived from the original on November 22, 2018. Retrieved November 22, 2018.
- ^ "Dr. Mike - 11th Annual Shorty Awards". Shorty Awards. Archived from the original on September 23, 2020. Retrieved May 15, 2020.
- ^ "11th Annual Streamy Nominees". The Streamy Awards. Archived from the original on December 13, 2021. Retrieved December 5, 2021.
- ^ "Doctor Mike | The Webby Awards". The Webby Awards. Archived from the original on May 8, 2023. Retrieved May 8, 2023.