So what happened?
In August, a newly qualified doctor rocked up to his new job with a Rolex clipped to his lanyard. Before you ask why he wasn't just wearing it on his wrist: he's not allowed to. NHS England's uniform guidance says no watches on your wrist during patient care, because they harbour bugs and get in the way of washing your hands properly. So healthcare staff resort to wearing it on their lanyards.
The internet was not okay...
The video went round MedTok (the medical side of TikTok) but then it just kept going. America, Europe, Australia, New Zealand: everyone had an opinion, and loads of people made their own videos about it, which is honestly a crazy thing to happen over a watch.
The comments were wild. Some people said a black doctor doesn't deserve a watch like that. Others said doctors are paid too little to be wearing luxury stuff at all. Funny thing is he hasn't even received his first doctor paycheck yet... so I covered the hate he was getting with the videos getting almost 1 million views!
So I invited him round
So I invited him round my apartment for some drinks and a game of pool and I asked him the questions everyone wanted answered.
- How does a brand new doctor end up with a Rolex? He worked 3 jobs at university and did a lot of side hustles.
- What was the worst comment? Someone said "people like him" shouldn't have nice things like this, which is exactly as bad as it sounds. It got deleted after a few people reported it.
- And the funniest? Someone told him: "If I were white, they'd ask me for advice on building generational wealth instead of hating."
- Has work been weird about it? Not much has changed, apart from the nickname. People now call him Mr Rolex or the Rolex doctor, which is not the legacy he was going for.
