Robert was born and raised in Tampa Florida to his father, Chief of Surgery at a local hospital and his mother, an ER physician. When he became disillusioned with being on pace to be valedictorian of his high school in Tampa without learning as much as he wanted, he decided to attend boarding school at Pine Crest Prep in Fort Lauderdale to better prepare for college and his aspiration of becoming a plastic surgeon. He chose to attend the University of Miami after being accepted into a dual admission accelerated medical school program.