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Essex man David Gandy is the mostsuccessful male model of his generation.Here he explains how to turn a healthygym habit into a lucrative recipe for livingWords Dan Jones Styling Eric DownPhotography Hamish Brown

The world, or perhaps the internet, likes tobestow unofficial titles. Hepce, Lionel Messiis The World's Best Footballer. Stephen Fry is

Britain's Cleverest Man. Jersey Shore is history's MostAddictive TV Show. And so ono

By the same token, David Gandy is The World's BestLooking Man. The 30-year-old Dolce & Gabbana modelmade his name by being impeccably chiselled framhead to toe. Well groomed, well dressed, and gym-buffed: Gandy causes female swooning and grit-jawedmale jealously wherever he goes.

Not bad for a bloke who was a fat kid and a scrawnyteenager, and says he still has to overcome painfulshyness to talk to the girls who are melting over him."Inever aspired to be a model," says Gandy. "Ifell intoit really, and I learned my trade along the way."

Although Gandy believes in working things out asyou go along, he's a decent enough gent to share his tipsfor successo We can't guara:n.tee that poster campaignswill follow, but it will sharpen up your style, help yougain and maintain lean muscle, and enable you to

~ Gandy spends more time than the average man in hisunderpants. So he needs to make sure his workoutdoesn't let him down. "If l know l can get to the gymevery day, l'Il do separate muscle-group workouts," hesays. "l do pecs, arms, shoulders, and back on separatedays, then one cardio session." If you only have a fewdays to work out, Gandy recommends going all-outfor circuits. "Pick exercises that hit every muscle andd030secondsofeach:

Maintaining a 28" waist at 6ft2in (188cm) means beingdisciplined with your nutrition. "If there's somethingthere, l'n eat it,"Gandy says. "l know l'm weak that way." Sohe keeps his fridge junk- free and stocked with chicken,hummus and fruit to keep his metabolism fuelled.

But the biggest ~nemy is an empty fridge. "If there'snothing there, then you can't eat it:' he says. "But if there'snothing to eat, you'll go out, which is when you'llcheat." Shop online to get a week's metabolic energydelivered to the door and avoid the biscuit aisle.

Although he watches his eating habits, Gandy doesn'tlet them kill his sociallife. "If there's dessert ina restaurant, have it," he says. "Don't be pedantic. l'vebeen on planes with guys shaking up their proteinsaying: 'l can't have aeroplane meals.' To me tha1'snot living life." lnstead, Gandy advises a balancedapproach. "llove my food and drink:' he says, though henotes downing six pints of Marston's every night willbe a man's undoing. "l1'sdifficult to get definition if youdrink a lot, as i1's so calorific," he says. If you're cuttingfat but don't want to take a vow of abstinence, Gandyrecommends vodka on ice with a dash of cranberry.

BREAKThe face (and body) of Dolce & Gabbana Light Blue

CHILL YOUR EGOAside from watching England play football, there arefew more stressful experiences in a man's adult lifethan a big job interview. Gandy is no stranger to them,experiencing more in one week than most of us willhave in a lifetime. "l might have 10 or more castings

Dolce & Gabbana's Light Blue fragrancecampaign (above) is responsibleforbringi ng David Gandy to the world' sattention. Shot by Mario Testino, it starsan ultra-toned Gandy, wearing very littleand getting up close and personal with

supermodel Anna Jagodzinska, alsowearing very little. Looking for someinspiration to hit the gym? This is it.Thisis the shoot that transformed Gandyfrom commerciai model to face ofDolce & Gabbana and overnight star.

Gandy says. "They're not interested one iota in anyoneelse apart from themselves, and that go es for a lot ofpeople." He finds the best way to get along witha difficult colleague or the icy beauty at the bar is tokill your own ego before approaching them. Make ityou~ mantra for successo

"l don't really like talking about myself because l'malways interested in other people," says Gandy. "I takean interest in where they've been, h.ow they got there,their life, their family and everything." NB: at the pointthey pull out the iPhoto slideshow of their last walking

holiday, you are within thebounds of civility to Ioseinterest and sidle away.

TRUST YOUR WAY'Smart-casual' is a phrasethatGandyregardsasamodern abomination. "l'ma bit traditional with mystyle," he says. "Iwent to

a wedding recently in Italy and there were peopiewearing flip-flops with a suit - it was one of the worstIooks l've ever seen."

He reckons British men should revel in traditionalBritish styIe: sharp tailoring influenced by Savile Row.And you should err on the formaI side. If in doubt,he says, "thinkMad Men. Donaid Draper has donewonders for men's styIing." Less so their livers.

Gandy trusts his instincts in his work, too. Like anyother industry, the modelling business goes throughdifferent trends. He was down on his luck a few yearsago when alI the work went to waif-thin blokes whocould squeeze into spray-on jeans.

But he didn't let it get to him. In any workingenvironment, you're bound to feel the pressure

SHIFTYOURBELLYSetyollr alarmclockbalfanbollrearly"Getup and do your c~rdiobefore breakfast. Youdon't have anythingin your stomach, so itburnsall the fat. You eat straight into your fat reserves"

a week," he says. "And while they're not usually long,you have to be abie to make an impression in a fewminutes. I1's pretty difficult."

He says the best image to try to put across whenyou first meet people is one of humiIity and an easynature. Trying to impress an interviewer with yourcut-throat instincts and an iron will can be very off-putting and you're more Iikely to convince them thatyou're a difficult person to work with.

"People want results," says Gandy. "You wantpeople to meet you and think 'this guy seems like he'lIwork hard, he's very polite, we'll have a Iaugh withhim, and we'll get the best results possible'."

Many ambitious men and hot wornen are a pain inthe posterior. Others are merely difficult to engage."l'>T"" 'ATnr1l'""r'! 'ATit h;:, nllm hoy nf fom::>lo CllnOYTY'l"rI", l co"

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GET ABIGGERCHESTPlIsbfortbepoweroftbree"I do triple-clap press-ups: Iperform one witha double clap, one with a clap behind myback,and then another one with no clap. Youneedto work up slowly to this"

• Suit f1,395 shirtf185, tie f95 belt

f188 shoes f369 aliDolce & Gabbana

• Watch f6,150Jaeger LeCoultre• Sunglasses f180Dolce & Gabbanaat David Clulow

•~ STYLE,. EXTRA

~ focusing on the long-term. "I1'sno good saying 'I wantto re-brand myself, I want to be this person,'" he says."Iwas never going to be a skinny Dior guy, eventhough tha1's where all the money was at the time.Tha1's just not me."

Gandy trusted his intuition and stood firm,believing the fad would passo "I thought, 'this is silly,'''he says. "l've always been quite a big lad." And luckily

MAKEA GOOD IMPRESSIONBagyollrdreamjob"Ialways think that the best image to tryand putacross when you firstmeet peopleis one of humility and an easy nature"

• T-shirt f115 jumper f375jeans f340 trainers f193 aliDolce & Gabbana• Watch f6,150Jaeger LeCoultre

he was right. "Success is about having achievabieaims and a great team araund you to support youwhen things are difficult," he says.

ASK THEASSISTANTTime spent in America has taught Gandy one or twothings about styling. The big secret? Use a free guideto get the best out of the high street, and ask the shopassistant. "People tend to think that personal styling issomething tha1's only available to celebrities:' he says.But actually, i1's there in every shop and men in the USuse the service a lot more.Gandy says the biggest hurdleis asking. "In Britain shop assistants ask 'can I help you?'and we say 'God, no: and run out of the shop."

Looking for the best in -store stylist of them alI?Gandy recommends Joe Ottaway at Liberty, in London.And, as one of the best dressed men out there today,if Gandy likes him, we like him. mrI