Watch: Doctor rolls away into retirement in viral video

Dr. Phillip Masterson uniquely celebrated his retirement after a nearly 40-year career. Masterson went viral on TikTok after his daughter filmed him roller-skating around his workplace on his last day as an emergency care physician at TotalCare Emergency Room in Denton, Texas.

He told Good Morning America, “I was trying to have some fun with my staff as I was retiring. I wanted to do something fun for them and something they didn’t know that I could do.”

“I’m surprised how much attention I’ve received since that video went viral on TikTok,” he expressed.  Masterson revealed that he acquired the idea to roller-skate his way into retirement from a friend who had always wanted to do the same thing but ended up retiring earlier than anticipated.

After he spoke with her, his friend recommended that he go roller skating instead, and he agreed. He amazed his crew by rolling by while dancing to Ray Charles’ “Hit the Road Jack,” much to everyone’s pleasure.

Masterson has been a physician since 1985, but he has also enjoyed roller skating since his late teens. Over time, he found that roller skating helped him to relax from his demanding career.

He noted that “Roller-skating became a very strong source of a stress reliever for me, as well as exercise. And it was always a lot of fun for me.” 

The seasoned physician stated that he and his spouse, Sherry Masterson, who had retired the week before he did, intended to go to Spain in the future and stay there for a minimum of a year. He mentioned that he wants to study both art and music.

“We have a lot of travel plans in store that we’re looking forward to, but we have so many family members and good friends in the United States. We’re looking to do this as a temporary measure,” he noted.

He advised others to “always be true to yourself and enjoy life as much as possible because life is so precious and fleeting.”