Blog: A Day in the Life - Our Founders
Running a surgical apparel brand whilst Ravi practices as a full-time Vascular Surgeon and Mel is half way through Advanced Training for General Surgery might sound intense — and that’s because it is. But for us, it’s also incredibly fulfilling and we love to have a few things on our plate to keep things interesting. Urban Surgeon was born from our love for surgery and a desire for practicality, ease and style while at work. We’re two surgeons who wanted scrubs that worked as hard as we do, looked sharp, took the thinking out of getting ready in the morning and felt like something we actually wanted to wear.
So we created them.
Here’s a look into what a typical day looks like for us — part scalpel, part startup.
5:30 AM – The Calm Before the Hustle
We’re both early risers — not out of choice, but necessity. Surgery days start early. Coffee is non-negotiable. Before the sun rises, we’re up, showered, jump into our Urban Surgeon scrubs (colour depending on vibe of the morning), compression socks if it's a theatre day and comfy sneakers. After a quick meal prep for the day we head off to our respective hospitals in Sydney.
6:30 AM - Office catch-up
In the office, time for coffee number 2. Time to review patient charts, CT scans, checking messages from the night surgical team. If there’s time, we’ll do a brief check on Urban Surgeon orders and emails. Seeing a new order come in while sipping a piccolo? That’s the energy boost we love in the morning.
7:00 AM – Ward Rounds
Whizzing around the surgical wards to see inpatients or new consults in the emergency department before our theatre or clinic day starts at 8am. When you're about to spend 8+ hours on your feet, what you're wearing matters. Whether Ravi has a long day of complex vascular consulting or Mel has an on-call trauma surgery shift, feeling comfortable whilst looking sharp is key.
12:00 PM – Between Cases
The mornings fly on operating days and operating theatres never really slow down, but there are always small breaks between cases. These are the moments where we'll likely grab coffee number 3, check in with each other's morning via text/call, update on any news either of us have had from our supplier or marketing team for Urban Surgeon and chatting through sales and ensuring customer orders are out in a timely manner.
We built this brand to serve the people we work beside every day — fellow surgeons, doctors, nurses, techs, interns, and medical students. We're always trying to grow and better Urban Surgeon and asking ourselves "Who would love our product and who would benefit from wearing Urban Surgeon". This gives us our target audience to reach out to and grow.
6:00 PM – Stepping out of work into Startup Mode
Post-surgery or consulting office days, if we're not on call, we decompress. Sort of. Once we hang up our surgical caps, we usually dive straight into Urban Surgeon mode. We might be on Zoom call, take a walk around the neighbourhood in our Urban Surgeon Athleisure wear and brainstorm future growth ideas, responding to customer enquiries, or shooting photos for our social media. It’s a different kind of hustle — but one that gives back and allows us to use the creative/business side of our brains after a day of being a clinician/surgeon.
There’s something powerful about building a brand that’s grounded in what we actually do every day. This isn’t a side hustle.
9:30 PM – Recharge
We wind down late. Some nights it's with journaling new design ideas, other nights it's Netflix and Uber Eats. Each night before bed we reflect on the day — both the encounters we had with patients and colleagues at work and with customers we've seen wearing and loving Urban Surgeon. We have so much gratitude for being able to bring this brand to life.
Urban Surgeon is more than just scrubs. It’s about reflecting the lifestyle and grind of healthcare professionals who do extraordinary things every day. We're proud to be part of that world — and to create great apparel that encompasses it.
From Our Scrub Life to Yours
If you’re wearing Urban Surgeon, know this: it was made by people who get it. We know the 5 a.m. wakeups. The on-calls. The back-to-back cases. The need to feel like you even when you’re on the job. We’re in it with you — every step of the way.
Stay sharp,
Mel & Ravi
Founders, Urban Surgeon