Sometimes you just want to take a dip in the ocean. In fact, the urge can be so strong that you develop blinders as the sea breeze calls you in with its siren song. That’s what happened to an ordinary Australian man who simply needed the salty water between his toes. He wanted it so much that he didn’t notice there was an entire fashion show happening around him.
Australian Fashion Week was in full force at Tamarama Beach in Sydney last month. As perfectly sculpted male models began descending wooden stairs onto the beach, our dude, clad in a button-down shirt and baggy shorts, threw his towel over his shoulder. Model after model, each presenting a serious “Blue Steel” look, passed in front of and behind him, and he barely noticed.
‘Whose dad is this?’
A TikTok user named Violet Grace posted a clip captioned, “Whose dad is this?” We see the man half-glance at the lanky models as he takes off his shirt, balls it up, does a few wild arm stretches, and hops into the ocean with abandon.
The Today show in Australia tracked the man down and discovered his name is David Handley. Right off the bat, he apologized to the fashion designer.
“When I got to the top of the stairs yesterday, I saw the models. And I thought surely someone’s going to be controlling the stairs if the show has begun. They must be coming down here together,” he said.
Handley, laughing at himself, added, “And I suddenly went, ‘I’m the lead model.’”
Handley is the moment
Commenters on the TikTok clip are understandably in love with him. One joked, “He is THE show. He is THE moment.” Another quipped, “Are they bothering you, king?” implying that the entire planned runway show might be getting in the way of a good swim.
Quite a few point out the blue bracelet attached to his ankle. After some sleuthing, TikTokers found that it’s an “anti-shark bracelet,” which supposedly uses magnets to overload a shark’s senses and, hopefully, send it swimming away.
Channel NewsAsia also posted the clip on Instagram, asking a similar question: “Was he crashing the fashion show, or was the fashion show crashing his swim?” With more than 1.6 million likes and 15,000 comments, commenters were quick to point out that Handley appears to be “an absolute legend.”
Wedding crashers
Of course, he wouldn’t be the first accidental crasher. Another Instagram user shared a nearly identical story, except they accidentally crashed a wedding:
“True story: I once crashed a wedding in this exact same fashion. Like, IN THE WEDDING ITSELF. I didn’t realize they were all doing a procession down the steps, and some lady grabbed my arm and said, ‘Hey, you’re not supposed to be here, but we have a missing groomsman, so you can walk with us.’
So, there I was, escorted down the steps arm in arm with some random lady in a wedding I had no idea about. I was even in their video. They asked me to say words, and I said, ‘Give my regards to the bride and groom.’ I was then told on-camera it was a gay wedding, so I said, ‘Sorry, the groom and groom.’ Everyone laughed, I went to the beach, and I never heard from any of them ever again. I still wonder about these people from time to time, and I hope the couple is happy and can laugh at my misfortune.”
The show must go on
For what it was worth, Grace, the TikToker, made sure to share that the fashion show was quite lovely. Men, mostly shirtless, walked in earth-toned, flowing pants and shirts, seemingly unbothered by the wind…or the man crashing the whole affair.
