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David Gandy – Nine things we learned when he spoke to Rylan Clark about How to Be a Man

David Gandy makes a living being the embodiment of masculinity. He’s one of the biggest male models in the world – one of the few who’s become a household name. But what’s it like when so many people consider you the ideal male specimen? On this episode of How to Be a Man, Rylan talks to David about feeling like an outsider, his thoughts on men’s mental health, and how he doesn’t actually like having his photo taken. Here are nine things we learned…

Listen to their conversation here

1. His big break wasn’t an accident

David found fame when he was cast in an advert for Dolce and Gabbana’s Light Blue fragrance in 2007. It was just him and a pair of white swimming trunks. It was a lucky break but it wasn’t just luck. “There was a strategy behind getting that campaign,” he says. He’d been working successfully as a model for years, but he wasn’t getting major bookings. He worked with his agent, Tandy Anderson, to secure a huge job, even if it was a one-off. “I said to Tandy, ‘Look, I don’t want to do catalogues… I don’t care if I just do one campaign once that leaves a legacy… To work with the best creatives. And that campaign was it.”

To this day I don’t feel that I fit in the fashion industry. Maybe that’s imposter syndrome, but I don’t feel I really ever have... when you’re on set you can be a different person. You’re playing a character.
David Gandy

2. He’s never felt like he fits in

Being a supermodel doesn’t mean you’re always confident. David says he’s always felt like a bit of an outsider. “I didn’t really fit in at school,” he says. “[I was] very individual; quite a loner… To this day I don’t feel that I fit in the fashion industry. Maybe that’s imposter syndrome, but I don’t feel I really ever have.” He says posing in front of a camera enables him to overcome his shyness. “I’m a naturally shy person, which is why… when you’re on set you can be a different person. You’re playing a character.”

3. The fashion world showed him a different side of masculinity

Growing up in Essex, says David, there were definite views on how men should behave. He says he’s a very affectionate person and feels no qualms about showing that to the people he loves. “If people say that’s not masculine, I don’t care,” he says. “I suppose that’s being in the fashion industry. The openness and the inclusiveness of the fashion industry. You’re brought up in this very small world, especially in Essex, where [a man does this and a woman does that] and then you’re chucked into the fashion industry where people are exuberant, people are gay… Then hopefully it’s up to you to educate other people about that as well… I think the fashion industry has helped open up masculinity in many ways.”

4. Working out and dressing well feel “like armour”

Asked how he gets himself in the mindset to be the picture-perfect man on set, David says it’s about putting on his “armour”. He explains: “It’s the physique… I get myself in better shape and that gives me the confidence… I don’t do it for anyone else. That’s the way I’m happy. I do it for me. A suit is the same. I love tailoring… When I put that suit on it’s a bit like armour. I’m ready to go.” And then once that’s done, “I literally cannot wait to get in the car home and get a cup of tea.”

5. Outside of work, he doesn’t care much about his appearance

When Rylan describes him as the “classic male”, David laughs. “I think people care about my appearance more than I do,” he says. “They assume. ‘You’re a model, you’re vain’. If you saw me dropping off at the nursery in the morning… I’m wearing whatever I can chuck on to get in the car. I’ve never been that defined… by my appearance. People think I have this massive wardrobe and stylists and glam teams.”

6. It doesn’t bother him that he earns less than female supermodels

David’s one of the biggest male models in the world, but in terms of earnings and fame he’s still a long way behind the biggest female models. And he has no problem with that. “They deserve it. It’s a simple answer to that one,” he says. “Kate Moss or Christy Turlington… they’re going to sell millions and people are going to engage with that brand because they’re in the campaign. It’s not because I’m in the campaign. I was never going to say, ‘It’s unequal. I should be paid the same as Kate.’ Absolutely not.”

How does it feel as a man working in an industry where women earn five times more?

David Gandy on why he never thought he should be paid as much as Kate Moss.

7. His approach to fatherhood is nothing like his dad’s

David’s the father of two daughters. He tells Rylan that the night before their interview he’d been up looking after one of them when she was sick. “That role has changed for men,” he says. “My dad, bless him, would not have done that. He would have been out to work and that would have been Mum’s job… I think we’re the first generation without those defining roles. My role is I cook, I love flowers, I dress [the kids].” He says his dad is not one to show emotion, although David knows he loves him. “He’s not the father to say, and he won’t mind me saying this, ‘I love you, David’ or ‘I’m so proud’. But my mum says if they’re away, ‘God, I can’t stop your dad talking about you’… That’s the way he was brought up.”

8. He thinks telling men to talk is a cop-out

David is a big advocate for talking about mental health, but he thinks it’s being framed the wrong way. “The cop-out is to say ‘men need to talk’,” he says. “That’s very true, but who do you talk to?… Men need to talk, but we can’t really talk any more. We can’t talk freely.” He thinks fear of saying the wrong thing has stopped some men from opening up. “We say we need men to talk, but don’t say anything that will offend us and don’t say anything we don’t agree with. So what do you end up doing? You don’t end up talking?”

9. He doesn’t like having his photo taken

You might think that David would be pretty happy in front of the camera, given his job, but he says, “I actually don’t like having my photo taken. Might be in the wrong industry.” He means he more specifically doesn’t like having his photo taken outside of a studio setting. “When someone comes up and wants a picture or… I’m on the red carpet, believe me, I am panicking. It’s not my natural environment.”

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