Experts slam naked influencer’s ‘dangerous’ sunscreen advice

Dave Driskell, who owns a chain of CrossFit gyms that operate in Byron Bay and Bali, shared a photo of himself lying naked in the sun on social media, explaining it was his response to “woke anti-sunners” who tell him he “needs to wear sunscreen”.

When the post attracted criticism, he doubled down, sharing a second nude image alongside a lengthy post that concluded: “Now ditch that sun cream and go sun your f**kin genitals.”

But experts have warned Mr Driskell’s advice was “dangerous” adding it “spreads misinformation” about sun exposure to his huge audience.

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“It’s irresponsible to spread misinformation about sun exposure not being able to kill you,” Dr Shreya Andric, a skin health and disease specialist, told news.com.au.

“Skin cancers are the most common type of cancer that we see in Australia, making up 80 per cent of all newly diagnosed cancers, and UV exposure is directly responsible for this.”

The NSW-based dermatologist said while vitamin D is essential for good health, deliberately avoiding sunscreen wasn’t the correct way to get it.

“Vitamin D absorption from the sun is maxed out after 10 minutes and most people receive their daily intake incidentally through exposure from the hands and other exposed areas,” she said.

“You are much better off taking a vitamin D supplement daily than exposing your skin to the sun for this reason.”

In his posts, the US-born fitness coach argued there were bigger health issues to worry about, such as issues within diet and nutrition industry that he said contributes to other more common killers.

“When woke anti-sunners who stuff their faces with Oreos (but, they’re vegan Dave) and fuel themselves with processed Froot Loops tell me I need to wear sunscreen and be careful of too much sun… he wrote.

“Look to nature. Sunshine isn’t gonna kill you. Refined sugar, seed oils, and processed chemicals posing as food will however.”

He added the hashtags “only tans,” “sun your balls” and “eat food without labels” to the end of the post, that was liked by more than 5500 people.

In the comments section, some joked “no one likes a burnt sausage” alongside outspoken critics who pointed out “the sun can unfortunately kill you”.

“This is extremely misinformed! Wanna see the scar from the melanoma I just got cut out of my back?” one woman wrote.

“Skin cancer is real and not caused by what you eat… This post seems ignorant,” another said.

While one said: “Saying not to wear sunscreen is poor advice. Sunshine actually can kill you too fyi. It’s called heat stroke and sun stroke.”

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Pharmaceutical scientist Hannah English echoed this sentiment, explaining damage is caused by two different types of UV radiation reaching our skin – UVA and UVB.

“UVB is higher energy, and can warp the shape of our DNA, she told news.com.au.

“UVA can penetrate glass, and penetrates more deeply into skin where it generates free radicals, damages cell membranes, and even causes DNA strand to break.”

Ms English, who uses her Instagram page to raise SPF awareness, said both types of UV radiation “accumulate over time with continued sun exposure”.

“In the short term, this means painful sunburn, but in the long term we see things like impairment to the structure of the skin, sun spots, damage to blood vessels, and wrinkles,” she said.

“Think about the difference in the appearance and structure of your skin in sun-exposed areas like hands, compared to somewhere like the stomach, which sees less sun.”

Ms English added there was “little to no evidence that sunscreen use affects vitamin D levels”, advising anyone who is concerned they’re not getting enough to talk to their doctor.

“You can supplement low vitamin D, but you can’t undo sun damage,” she said.

Despite the backlash, Mr Driskell doubled down on his remarks, sharing a second post on Instagram on Thursday.

“To clarify. I didn’t say stand outside in the sun for 12 hours a day without seeking shelter,” he wrote.

“My point was to shift the mindset. Sunlight is not the killer. There are many facets we forget to look at most importantly but most easily avoided is diet. Because you are f**kin lazy! Stop it.”

He went on to talk about his belief in “eating real foods, from real sources – cutting out processed foods, seed oils, refined sugars, etc” before concluding his lengthy post with: “Now ditch that sun cream and go sun your f**kin genitals”.

News.com.au has contacted Mr Driskell for further comment.

Why sunscreen is so important

Wearing sunscreen daily is proven to reduce the risk of skin cancer which accounts for around 80 per of newly diagnosed cancers in Australia, Cancer Council states.

Two-in-three Australians are expected to be diagnosed with a form of skin cancer by age 70 and an estimated 16,000 people will be diagnosed with melanoma – the most serious form of skin cancer – this year alone. Of those, an estimated 1300 Australians will die.

How to apply sunscreen

Dr Andric said it’s important to choose a sunscreen that is broad spectrum, meaning it protects against both UVA and UVB.

“You also want to choose one that is minimum SPF30+. The sun protection factor (SPF) is calculated based on clinical trials whereby the ‘correct’ amount of sunscreen is applied (approx. 1 teaspoon for each arm, leg, body front, body back, and face – including neck and ears),” she said.

“Sunscreen should be applied to sun exposed areas – especially the face, neck, chest – daily.

“It should also be reapplied every two hours, irrespective of whether the product states it is water resistant.

“Swimming, sport, sweating and towel drying can reduce the effectiveness of the product and so should always be reapplied after these activities.”

Continue the conversation @RebekahScanlan | rebekah.scanlan@news.com.au