Our SUR founder Karen Addison talks THE SUR WAY, growing a business, and a life lesson from Demi Moore.
Welcome to our all-new Blog: The SUR Standard. Over the coming weeks and months, we are going to be talking to you, and with you, about all things SUR. You can discover, in finer detail, about all of the transformative services we provide, as well as getting to know our team, and what makes them tick. What matters most to us is you: whether you are a potential patient, or somebody treasured who has already walked through our doors at 132 West Regent Street, Glasgow, we want to make sure you have every question answered.
We will be filling you in on the latest news from our two main divisions: SUR Medispa and SUR Wellness. SUR Defined Refined will investigate all things aesthetics-related, including non-surgical moving through to surgical procedures. Our emphasis is always on subtlety – obvious need not apply. SUR Safe Hands is all about meeting our team: from aesthetics practitioners to private GPs to surgeons, they are the field-leaders. SUR Health Wealth will focus on physical wellbeing: from accessing our private GP services, to referrals and surgery, we see health as an ultimate investment. SUR Self will look at a wider umbrella including mental wellbeing and holistic treatments.
SUR Female Wellness will zone in on our wide range of treatments which concentrate on female health, from pre-and-post natal care, perimenopause and menopause, hormone health, to name but a few. SUR Male Wellness is all about the services we provide which men can access, and ones which are dedicated wholly to them: from hair issues to hernias, we won’t shy away from discussion. And finally, SUR Innovation Conversation will look at all things new and how SUR uses industry leaders in terms of people, training, brands used, and how all of these knit together.
Before we begin our SUR posts, we wanted to start at the beginning and that is embodied not in a narrative but in our Founder & Clinical Director, Karen Addison RGN INP. Karen’s career journey began 20 years ago, in the NHS, at Glasgow Royal Infirmary, where she became a Senior Staff Nurse, via her education at Glasgow Caledonian University. In her own time, Karen explored the field of medical aesthetics, and her outstanding levels of education and experience led to the founding of SUR Medispa in 2016. In 2025, with 18 years as a medical aesthetics practitioner noted, and over 80,000 treatments delivered to date, we caught up with Karen to ask her more about her life, work and passions.
Karen you created THE SUR WAY and its the foundation of everything you do – what does it mean to you?
“The SUR Way is a whole ethos I have built both my professional practice and business around – it is a 360-degree wellbeing approach to give patients the very best in holistic care. Patients may present with an issue or an area they want treated, but The SUR Way ensures that we get to know patients, and that any treatment we deliver complements their physical, mental and emotional wellbeing. From their very first enquiry to our dedicated aftercare services, patients can utilise our Patient Advocacy Programme to ensure that every question and concern is answered.
As SUR now involves a multi-disciplinary team, patients often enter our doors for a singular treatment and stay with us, so THE SUR Way is now a fluid concept, curated so that it moves with each individual patient over time. It is important as an industry leader that we recognise that patients are on an emotional journey – my senior nursing background originally taught me that.
While here at SUR we are a team that provides the ultimate in expert vision in each of our dedicated teams, we also believe in letting the patient lead when it comes to really hearing their stories, experiences and desires.
People often ask me where the name SUR comes from. I was originally going to name the business using my own name, but I wanted to try something new. I worked with my sister who is a graphic designer. My proud roots here in Glasgow are all about where I come from: the Southside. SUR is Spanish for South, so it was the name I warmed to. In French it is also about guidance, and being recommended, so that added an extra layer. My sister’s logo design is monochrome and she wanted it to be very clear and direct – apparently, that reflects me!”
How do you feel about SUR now being the ultimate destination for establishing inner wellness and creating outer refinement?
“The business has grown at such a remarkable rate, that even I am taken aback at times and it rests on my singular principle: safety before profit. My years as a medical professional in nursing, and since my journey into aesthetics as both a practitioner and educator, it is the most pressing part of the role.
For anyone new who comes to visit us, the most important part of their journey starts with the initial consultation, and one-to-one in person always works best. A fresh patient may come to us with a desire to ‘fix’ a singular issue, but once the conversation opens up it is important for us as professionals to really listen. It might be someone who is reaching a milestone birthday and wants to look refreshed, for example. My approach is that I am here to ensure someone looks their very best, but still like themselves. The ‘defined refined’ approach works best, every time. I love working with natural features, rather than against them. I appreciate every single, individual face and its unique structure – the last thing I would want is for my patients to all start sporting the same ‘look’! My personal patients know that they are working with me, and that as well as my 20 years of medical experience I also have an expert eye, and all of my treatments take place in a contemporary, clinical, state-of-the-art setting.
It is so important that each patient gets to know – and trust – their practitioner here which is why we only work with the best of the best. I am so delighted with how the business has expanded to include such an umbrella of medical practitioners providing top-tier treatments and surgeries who you can learn more about as The SUR Standard gets to speak to them individually over the coming weeks and months.
I like to think my hard work over nearly two decades is coming to fruition, and personally, I stay curious, uphold my own professional development, and retain my passion for educating others. As well as creating a first-rate SUR family, our commitment to social responsibility means everyone who works with us, or visits us as a patient, is fully supported, heard, and is enveloped in the safety The SUR Way requires.”
Away from SUR, how do you find work/life balance and what matters most away from your professional practice?
“My professional work takes up so much of my time, so it is really important that my downtime centres around my children. I make it a point to never miss my son’s weekend football practice, and I have just come back from a gorgeous mini-break with my daughter. Of course, I try to follow the best advice in terms of looking after my own health and wellbeing: as a family we have a passion for the outdoors, and here in Glasgow we don’t have to go far to enjoy beautiful spaces. My loved ones are now my wealth – that’s one thing that life has taught me. It is my passion to keep us all healthy and happy – that’s the greatest reward.”
You are really keen not only to further your own business but also to support other female founders – where did that journey begin and where is it going?
“Being a business owner with any kind of profile, with years of proven experience, means that you might not always want the title of ‘role model’ but it is certainly important to know what it means to be one. As time moves on I like to think I am building a legacy for my family, and at times that has meant moving against so many odds.
My work isn’t just about me, or my team at SUR. Since the beginning of my career I have worked within teams, and then gone on to lead them. However, starting an independent business is a whole different arena. I often get approached by driven young women who are keen to enter the industry and then get involved in a start-up, and it is really important that they hear this: running a business is nothing like the ‘boss babe’ narrative they may see on socials.
Forget about glamour you see on glossy reels: you will now be devoting a huge proportion of your life to your work, and it usually has more pitfalls than glories. Leave behind glowed-up images of sitting in the back of a beautiful car with a designer bag in hand. You are going to need every skill a successful entrepreneur values and it all starts with you – welcome to the world of being an accountant, a marketeer, a HR expert, to name but a few. Staying humble always helps – the most inspirational business minds I have met are open, approachable and down-to-earth. However, it’s important to present you and your brand well – I have had to learn how to have my photograph taken and represent myself and my achievements.
My message is – be generous! Helping someone starting out is not going to hurt you. In fact, it is that generosity of spirit which makes your work worthwhile. I recently watched Demi Moore, whom I admire, give a speech at the Glamour Women of the Year Awards, describing how she was helped earlier in her career being mentored by actress Nastassja Kinski and I loved these words of hers: ‘We need to keep building a world where women come together not to compete out of scarcity, but collaborate out of abundance.’
I couldn’t have put it better myself. Demi is a lesson in grace, and her message about paying it forward is one which will stay with me, and which I will continue to reflect.
I am so excited that The SUR Standard will give us further space to explore every option we offer, as well as getting to know who we are behind our role titles.”
Karen is at heart of SUR and so she underpins every value of the practice, which are now included under our impressive umbrella. As The SUR Standard unfolds over time, as someone who is not just a founder but an educator and innovator, Karen and all of the team at SUR, from aesthetic practitioners to GPs, from medical doctors to surgeons and health professionals, will be on-hand so that you will be informed about exactly what we do, and how that suits the person who matters to us most – you!
It’s a conversation which we hope will also allow you to see what’s exactly behind our welcoming West Regent Street doors.
You are in safe hands at SUR.
Until next time.
To find out more about Karen and her professional background visit: https://surwellness.com/team/karen-addison
For regular SUR Medispa updates go to: https://www.instagram.com/surmedispa
To keep up-to-date with all things SUR Wellness go to: https://www.instagram.com/surwellness