If there’s one guy that unfailingly gets both women’s and men’s hearts racing, it’s David Gandy. After he shot to fame in Dolce & Gabbana’s Light Blueadvert all the way back in 2013 in those miniscule white speedos, an underwear line for M&S in 2014, he’s now Brit’s top male export, highest earning male model, and occupies a little bit of each and every one of our brains daily. We caught up with him at the home of Dolce & Gabbana’s Light Blue – the unfailingly blue Capri – over some Aperol Spritzes about everything from David Attenborough to spray tans.
How he gets in shape:
“I’ve always trained but regularly reach a kind of plateau. For modelling, you want to be in the best shape you can be for every campaign you do. When you get to the age of 30, you start putting on fat in places much easier than you did when you were young.” He swears by lifting weights in a high-intensity way. “I make sure to have a goal because otherwise it’s so easy to talk yourself out of it. The best thing is seeing a result at the end of the day – it’s hard to notice progress but it’s part of my work life.”
His crazy trick to defines those abs:
“I do this thing called depletion. You basically drink as much water as you can to deplete all the salt out of your body so you don’t bloat. Then you dry the body out by not drinking any water for a day and a half,” he says of the crazy model-led trick that we don’t recommend you try at home. “It makes you feel absolutely horrendous but it is the best day once you’ve finished shooting and you can eat all the pasta and drink alcohol. At that point, I require both of them every five minutes.”
On holidays:
“My girlfriend is half Greek so we’re usually on a Greek island somewhere; we love going to this very quiet and peaceful one called Skyros because no one goes to it,” he says, pointing out that the paparazzi tend to find them elsewhere. “They did once get a great shot of me and Stephanie on the jetskis though. I looked really James Bond…”
"We’ve done a few boat holidays - there’s no one there – you go and find a little bay and dock the boat up, the restaurants have tables by the sea and they bring you catch of the day. It’s one of the hardest islands to get to."
The way he adventures:
Forget lying horizontally for a holiday, David likes to get active. “I’ve trekked after gorillas in Uganda, fished for piranhas in the Amazon rainforest and been with brown bears in Alaska – I love a story behind the things that I do. My mum and dad educated me through travel.”
On David Attenborough:
We’re all big fans of the King of environmentalism, but David believes his position in society should be elevated: “I just think David Attenborough should run everything. People will listen to him. Get him on Brexit! If David Attenborough does Brexit, people will be like, “Yes, we’ll do whatever you say!”” He admits to being star struck when he met Sir David recently at a fundraiser for environmentalism: “I got to talk to him about the gorillas and brown bears – it was incredible!”
How Light Blue changed his career:
“I wouldn’t be here without the Light Blue campaign – it put me on the map. When it came out, it allowed me to do something I always wanted to do and I don’t think any of us realised it would be this iconic.” We’ve seen that advert in countless magazines and on myriad billboards since 2006, which is no mean feat given that was even before the rise of social media: “It’s a great example for longevity for brands and their strategies.” Lest we forget the tiny white speedos…
The perfume that sees him through summer:
True to his roots, his favourite summer perfume is Dolce & Gabbana’s new Light Blue Sun, £53: “They’ve changed the ingredients slightly from the original Light Blue. These are sea-like, crisper and with mineral undertones and I really like that.”
His skincare regime:
“I’m a big believer in a good scrub, serum and moisturiser. I think men need to keep it simple but still do something. I really love the serum and face cream from Majo Medicine [an organic skincare brand] and Lancer’s three-step system is the very best.”
On man’s best friend:
“I have a little mongrel called Dora. She’s just had her first cover of a magazine actually [YOU magazine], and she’s done the Kiehl’s and M&S campaigns.” Having learned from the best, David alludes to countless shots where she has the wind blowing in her hair – this is a dog that knows how to pose.
How he starts his day:
“I wake up, say good morning to my 5 month old daughter, feed her now she’s starting to eat porridge (which is a whole world of mess) and then take Dora for a 5 mile walk. The best thing for me is to be away from people in the morning – I am not a morning person – and otherwise I just grunt at people.”