Writers in the Models Direct offices are always interested to hear about male model agency favourite David Gandy. Described as the world’s first male supermodel, his rise to fame began with a modelling competition win in 2002 and the 33-year-old hasn’t looked back since.

Following publicity from the comp and various modelling jobs, Essex-born Gandy got his big break in 2006 as the face (and body) of Dolce & Gabanna fragrance ‘Light Blue’. His muscular physique was a big change from that of the very slim male models traditionally seen in this type of advertisement at the time, but it was a gamble that paid off for D&G.

“Dolce & Gabbana cast me as a more muscular man and the other designers followed suit. At the time people hadn’t seen that type of masculine shot and it caught the public’s imagination,” he recently told the Daily Mail. “The response to the ad campaign was pretty unprecedented, so I’m loyal to Dolce & Gabbana. It’s an iconic fragrance and has changed the industry.”

Gandy is now considered one of the world’s most successful male models but he apparently hasn’t always wanted to take the modelling route. “I’d have loved to have been a vet but I wasn’t intelligent enough,” he says.

We have to admit that we think he made the right choice. And his secret? When a Daily Mail reporter asked him to share his motto he said: “Always persevere and work hard. And when you make it, don’t believe your own hype.”