Between “constant jet lag and two children”, David Gandy has not slept in about 20 years. Two decades: the amount of time that's passed since the 44 year old, now the most recognisable male model in the world, won a talent search on This Morning. Since then, it’s been nothing but go go go: even in his down time Gandy can be found lifting weights in his newly-built home gym, walking for miles in Richmond Park with his rescue dog Dora, or working on his namesake clothing line David Gandy Wellwear.
No sleep, then, and no mattress or pillow recommendations for us to cop. What he does have, though, are solid tips for quality buys in almost every other category. A fan of classics, Gandy likes things simple and well-made: a 1965 Porsche 356, an engraved Jaeger LeCoultre, a selection of perfect linen-blend T-shirts. Even his taste in food is refined but unfussy: at the moment he's perfecting a spaghetti vongole with which to impress his chef friends.
He's been working with Comic Relief for years, and this time round he's been getting plenty of wear out of his Morph-decorated sweatshirt, clothing his daughters prefer to any of his Dolce & Gabbana archive pieces. Red noses on as we take a sneaky look inside his newly-built Richmond Park house.
Hi David! Can you start off by telling me about your favourite skincare?
A lot of men ask me about this. There’s so much stuff now it’s kind of unbelievable. There’s two brands at the moment: SkinCeuticals, which is amazing. Rather expensive, I have to say, but it is probably the best. I’m also currently using Fjor and I’ve been recommending that to everyone because it’s absolutely amazing. If I get [sent] anything good then my wife steals it; I know something is good if it goes missing.
A lot of grooming is on the inside, too, and I’ve been working with Vitabiotics Wellman for seven or eight years, but I’ve been taking the product since I was about 20. I still swear by them.
How do they help?
To me, it’s energy levels, [especially] being a dad to a five- and a two-year-old.
How about haircare?
Nana’s Mousse, which is very old school, is an incredible product. It’s by Larry King haircare. He’s one of my best friends.
You have your own clothing line, David Gandy Wellwear. What’s your favourite from the collection?
Asking for my favourite piece is like asking to choose a favourite child. I love the new henley which we’ve produced with Hackett of London, but I live in T-shirts: that’s why we make so many. We do this beautiful linen-cotton blend T-shirt which I adore, so that, I have to say, is probably my favourite piece. I wear it all the time, even if it’s under a suit. My daughters are also very impressed with the Comic Relief T-shirts and sweatshirts that have Wallace and Gromit and Morph on them. I loved Morph but my picture never ever got put up on the wall.
What’s the lay of the land when it comes to your house?
We just built this house, so we’ve done smart lights, heating…everything is connected up to Google because I’m that lazy and if I can’t be bothered to switch the light on I just tell my Google Home to do it. It’s quite smart. There’s not much need for any other tech: it’s all connected to my Google Pixel phone.
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Do you have books lying about?
I keep lots of old lookbooks from Ralph Lauren and all these different brands for inspiration. I’m constantly in bookstores. I’m also a big petrolhead: cars are my passion. We’ve built the garage where my classic cars are so all my car books are now in the garage: they’re not really allowed in the house because there’s so many of them.
My good friend Chris Harris has brought out a book called Variable Valve Timings about his dream cars which I’m trying to get through when I’m not being interrupted by my two lovely children.
And how about décor?
I’ve collected lots of vintage. Andrew Martin has a lot of incredible pieces. I’ve been going into his shop for about 15 years and buying bits and pieces from there. I have a gorgeous canvas map of London; I’ve got an old carpenter's bench which is in the office here; and I don’t like TVs on walls so I’ve got an old easel for it.
Do you wear jewellery?
I’ve got quite a few watches but I don’t wear any other jewellery. I’ve got two Jaeger Lecoultres and I’ve had them both engraved with my daughters’ initials and dates of birth. Everything else is probably Omega. I’ve got lots of more historic watches. I’ve got a ‘60s Moonwatch from Omega… it’s more historic and sentimental [watches] than very expensive stuff. And I still can’t quite get into smart watches.
Let’s talk kitchen. Are you the cook?
I am the cook. We built the house around the kitchen. When my chef friends come to dinner the pressure is definitely on, but Hexclad saucepans and frying pans are the Rolls Royce of pans. I’m known to do a spaghetti vongole at the minute which I’m trying to perfect. A good friend of mine, Chris Baber, comes round for dinner. He’s nicked a couple of my recipes: I think a couple are in his book to be honest. There’s a strawberry, raspberry, almond crumble that I think is in his book.
Do you have a mattress you swear by?
I’m not a sleep expert. I haven’t slept in about 20 years. I’ve been constantly jet-lagged and now I’ve got two children, so…
Where do you relax other than in the kitchen in that case?
I’ve just built a home gym by TechnoGym, which is my dream. They have this new AI stuff coming out. It’s like having a personal trainer. It will tell you if you’re working out hard enough; if you’re a bit weaker today; if you need to increase or decrease the weights or increase the intensity. It’s absolutely incredible. I’m very old school in my gym otherwise: it’s just weights. I train five times a week so to be able to pop next door is very, very nice.
How about cardio?
I surprise people when I tell them I’ve never done cardio. I did the London marathon once and I trained for that but that’s about the only cardio I did. But I take my dog Dora for about a four-mile walk in Richmond Park every morning and then she gets another one in the afternoon.
Tell us about your dog!
Dora is from Battersea Dogs Home; another charity I’m an ambassador for. We got her about seven years ago. She’s getting on a bit. I don’t know how many miles we’ve walked together. We’ve got matching jackets because Barbour sent her her own one. I always say she’s my first child.
You should get a watch with her date of birth on it.
Just another excuse to buy another watch. I’ll explain that to the wife.
Any parting recommendations?
My new obsession in the house is my new Dyson robot vacuum who I call Larry. That’s my new dream. You can say on Google Home: “Larry, go and clean the kitchen” and he comes out with his little light on. I’m obsessed: I keep Instagramming him. I put my phone on him and did LarryCam.
The limited-edition Red Nose Day fashion collection, featuring cracking designs from Aardman, is available at TK Maxx stores and online at tkmaxx.com from Feb 2024 to raise money for Comic Relief, a registered charity in England & Wales (326568) & Scotland (SC039730).
