David Gandy's diary

I've just come back from taking one of those holiday things I keep hearing people talk about. My breaks usually include very little downtime and some sort of unnecessary danger: skiing and crashing down mountains, trekking to see a 25-stone gorilla, or whitewater rafting down the crocodile-infested Zambezi. However, this trip was to the Gandy family holiday home in Florida. The only danger there is the 90-year-old ladies who have shrunk so much that they can't see over the steering wheel of their huge Cadillacs. After an irritable couple of days cold turkey with my BlackBerry switched off, I finally relaxed into the lifestyle of the Gulf Coast. I even started chatting, smiling and making conversation with complete strangers very un-London-like.

In Florida I had time to get back into running every morning. I ran the London Marathon in April for Oxfam and it sounds a strange thing to say, but it's nice finally to have my toenails back. I lost five of them during the race shoes weren't to blame, more the fact that I cramped up at 19 miles and had to run (well, hobble, sob and moan) the last seven miles with my toes curled under, finishing in what can only be described as an Apollo Creed (from Rocky) moment, exhausted and shouting, 'Ain't gonna be no rematch!' but will there be? My time of 4½ hours grinds me to this day, but the thought of months of midwinter training, physio, chiro, stretching, losing weight and another 26 miles isn't exactly appealing right now.

At 16, I found myself slumped over the keyboard of a beige BBC Electron computer while its latest program worked out the best career path for me. I remember it clearly instructing me that my immense talent and charisma (seriously) would be best put to use working as an editor. Ignoring it, I took a different path - modelling - and 16 years later, here I am guest editing ES Magazine's men's issue.

The word 'guest' conjures up visions of plumped-up cushions, freshly poured cups of tea and sitting around not doing much more than eating biscuits while everyone else does the work for you. Thankfully, this wasn't the case. No sooner had I agreed to take part than I found myself, sitting with the editor, pondering a trend piece on men having colonics, who my top three cover stars would be and swapping creative ideas on how the issue would come to life and have my stamp on it.

I'm hugely proud to be British. I know it must seem that Italy has adopted me, what with my work for Dolce & Gabbana and now the 'Luck is an attitude' competition I helped launch with Martini in Rome. However, I live in London, drink copious amounts of tea, drive a Jaguar and now I'm one of the new faces of M&S (OK, so it's for the Collezione campaign and was shot in Italy, but, honestly, that had nothing to do with me). Surely you can't get more British than that.

After the recent riots and subsequent bad press internationally, I really wanted to emphasise the 'Great' in Great Britain and make this a 'Best of British' issue. I also wanted to focus on men's style. There is limited fashion advice for men out there, but in this issue we demonstrate the enduring appeal of the three-piece suit, by recreating some iconic and supremely stylish films. And there's always time for car talk, so Colin Goodwin recommends the best new cars and the best British roads on which to thrash, I mean drive, them. Of course, it wouldn't be a men's issue without some beautiful women and Nathalie Bomgren is one of the most stunning I've ever known. She also happens to be one of the most sought-after personal trainers in Europe. If ever you needed an incentive to get to the gym, she is it. Comedy actor Neil Grainger makes me laugh hysterically and don't ask me why, but he once showed me his bum, so who better to write about a colonic at one of London's top spas?

Last but not least is the cover star. If you didn't know who Stuart Broad was before this summer, you will now. An England cricket captain at 25 (for Twenty20), part of The Ashes-winning and now number one team in the world, an astonishing bowler and accomplished batsman, and 6ft 6in with movie-star looks, he is a great guy and a perfect ambassador for Britain. He also drives a Jaguar, but that is where our similarities end.

Being guest editor has been a busy time and I was happily made to feel part of the team, more than an indulged guest. This was never more apparent than at the cover shoot in Deptford last week when Stuart was offered a cup of tea and I wasn't. I glanced up from choosing a biker jacket for his first shot and for a very short moment I missed being on the other side of the camera... but really, I wouldn't have had it any other way. I have thoroughly enjoyed the hard work, creative input and fun I have experienced and now it's back to the day job. I'll savour every sip of those cups of tea I'm made from now on.