He played against future players of the Germany national team such as Bernd Schneider, Thomas Linke, Steffen Freund and Frank Rost.

[6] In 1991, he began studies in urban and regional planning at Bauhaus-Universität in Weimar, graduating in 2000 with a master's degree in engineering, specialising in renewable energy.

He undertook his civilian service year in 1997, working for an organisation that provided special therapies for disabled children based on theatre, music and art.

[4][2] Urban came out to family and friends in 1994, but it was not until 13 years later, in 2007, that he publicly came out in an interview with the newspaper Welt am Sonntag in which he spoke about the difficulties of gay football players.

He makes appearances on TV, radio and in print media, discussing his experiences as a gay man in sport, and his work in this area.