IREDELL COUNTY, N.C. — A dermatologist in Iredell County went viral on social media after sharing skincare videos, and he hopes to positively influence young people in his community. 

Dr. Muneeb Shah, known as "The Derm Doctor," says he loves dermatology because skin is the first thing people see when they see you.

"It represents what is going on inside your body, and also what is going on outside your body. I love how people, their emotions, their confidence and who they are, are so entwined with their skin,” Shah said.

Shah not only has his patients' skin to look after, he has millions of followers on social media, with more than 14 million on TikTok.

He says he first started creating content for family and friends, and then a few videos went viral. 

“People started leaving comments about, 'How do you treat acne scars, and how do you treat acne', and I’m like, 'Well I know how to do that and I can make it simple, and I can package it up for people and make their lives better,'” Shah said. 

He started to create more content, answering people's questions and debunking myths. 

“I realized everyone around the world has the same skin issues. About 50% of my followers are in the United States, but the other half are global. This information is not just helping people in the United States, this information is helping people across the world," Shah said. 

He wasn't always sure he wanted to be a doctor. His father was born in Pakistan, and his mother was born in New York. As a child, education and hard work were a part of his upbringing, but Shah said he couldn't quite find his niche. 

He worked at fast food restaurants and retail stores, but it wasn't until he took a biology class at a community college that he found his passion. 

“I fell in love with it, and I told my parents. I came home from community college and I told them, 'I’m going to be a doctor.' They’re like, 'you’re not a very good student, how are you going to go to school for 12 years?'" Shah said. 

But 12 years later, he is now partner at PC Dermatology in Mooresville, has millions on followers on social media and has a YouTube page with more in depth information. TikTok named Shah AAPI, Asian American Pacific Islander, Trailblazer of the Year. 

“So what I think is beautiful about that is, there are people that are from this API, this Asian American community, that are doing so many different things right. So it's showing young people who may not have role models to look up to in their own communities that other people are out there doing these things they could do as well. I didn’t have role models like that growing up, so for me it's a really important thing that I do," Shah said. 

Shah hopes his passion in the office and online will inspire and help millions to be comfortable in their skin. 

"So, we might remove a skin cancer one day, another day we’re treating a young kid with acne. We do so many different things. We work with our hands, but at the same time, we’re really improving the quality of people’s lives," Shah said.