David Gandy

David James Gandy (born 19 February 1980 in Billericay, Essex, England) is a British model. He grew up in Essex in a working-class family. After winning a televised model-search competition, he became a successful model. For several years, Gandy was the lead male model for Italian designers Dolce & Gabbana who featured him in their campaigns and fashion shows.

In an industry dominated by skinny models, Gandy's muscular build caused some menswear fashion designers to move to a more masculine standard.The increase in his popularity and name recognition resulted in a broad portfolio of magazine covers, editorial photo shoots, interviews and industry awards. He has gone on to participate in fashion-related and personal projects such as writing a blog for British Vogue, writing car reviews for British GQ, mobile app development and charity work.

In his youth, Gandy wanted to be a veterinarian but his grades were not high enough to meet the needed standards for that line of study. So, while studying multimedia computing, he went to work for Auto Express, delivering the latest Porsches and Jaguars to the track for testing. Before graduating from the University of Gloucestershirewith a Marketing degree, Gandy's flatmate entered him (without his knowledge) into a modelling competition on ITV’s This Morning hosted by Richard and Judy.The 21-year-old Gandy won the competition which included a contract with Select Model Management in London.