Our June digital cover star, Shazril “Dr Say” Shaharuddin, presents himself as an open book online. Think you know everything about the doctor-slash-influencer? Here are five things you may or may not know about Dr Say.
If you’ve been following Dr Say on Instagram for a while, you’ll notice that his content ranges from in-depth, long-form writing (there’s a segment he aptly calls ‘Topik’, where he doubles down on the more serious issues such as his son’s autism, or strengthening communication in a relationship) to funny clips and videos that showcase his day-to-day life. Either way, Dr Say shares. A lot. Almost to the point where you start to wonder, is there more to know about the doctor-turned-influencer? Well, yes! Here are five things you might not (yet) know about Dr Say Shazril.
Dr Say is now, finally, on TikTok. Say, not bad for this doctor dad! Earlier last week, Dr Say announced on his Instagram that he has opened a TikTok account, joining the fellow ‘Gen Z’ers. He did say that it makes him “anxious” and his bio reads “I’m new, show some love” — but if it gets his useful medical tips and other important topics out there, he assures that it’s worth it! So, if you haven’t yet, do give him a follow.
His nickname has been around since childhood. Out of curiosity, we couldn’t help asking the doctor where the ‘Dr Say’ moniker came from — and the story behind it is more endearing than we’d expected. “I think ‘Say’ started from my family,” he said. “Itu lah, because my real name is Shazril, and for a younger me, it was very difficult to pronounce and even more difficult to memorise. So when I was very young, my parents were like, ‘What should we call him then?’” They tried giving me something like Paril at first, but figured it didn’t sound right for me. And then tak tahu somehow, after a while it became Say. So that has been a family nickname, and it’s easy to remember even until now lah, and that’s why it has stuck.”
He (and the rest of us!) thank his wife, Dr Azura Abas, for his awareness of skincare. On top of everything else, Dr Say is known online for his advocacy of skincare — always telling us about the prevention of acne and the ways we can remedy it. At our shoot, he also spoke at length about why men should definitely prioritise skincare, especially since men’s skin tends to age much more rapidly than women’s. But did you know that it was actually his wife, Dr Azura, who introduced him to the wonders of makeup and skincare in the first place? “I must say thank you to my wife juga lah, because initially I was just using soap every day — like, the soap for both body and face every day,” he admitted, much to the horror of our fellow beauty writer. “Only recently have I known about all these things, like cleansers, toners, moisturisers and sunscreens. I think it’s very important for us to take care, especially for men in the early stages lah.” (Thank you, Dr Azura!)
He’s actually the cool dad we see on his Instagram. In a friendly little game of ‘Father’s Day Fact Check’, he debunked the age-old myth that modern dads are strict and unbending when it comes to rules. “I’m the good cop,” he said with a laugh, giving a cheeky nod to his wife, aka the ‘bad cop’ of the two. “I like to give junk food to my kids, I like to make them happy, to make them play with me — and not sleep!” Alas, the endless Instagram videos of his kids laughing all around him certainly speak for themselves.
He’s always dreamed of being famous. Dr Say Shazril becoming an online sensation wasn’t a total stroke of good luck. Coming from a big family of mostly doctors and pharmacists, it’s likely that his medical profession was an act of fate — but Dr Say had secretly wanted to pursue his studies in mass communication. “In the back of my mind, I think I just wanna be famous,” he admitted. “Doesn’t matter in what way, whether it’s acting or influencing ke, or hosting. I don’t mind. But people always say that acting is the fastest way to get known.” In fact, he’s gotten offers to go into acting before, but ultimately rejected them as he still wanted to focus on the medical aspect of his profession.
Find out more about Dr Say Shazril in the latest issue of LSA Digital Cover Vol. 011 HERE.
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Written by
Puteri Yasmin Suraya
Senior Writer, Features and Tech
Hailing from an English Literature & Creative Writing background, Yasmin has a deep love for fiction and poetry. When she’s not reading or café-hopping, she spends most of her time in the comfort of her own room binge-watching period romances, (badly) belting out show tunes, and curating Spotify playlists to match her mood for the week.
