If I go a week without going on the sunbeds, I start to feel anxious.
I use baby oil, so I cook myself.
I had scabbing all over my shoulders.
I'm literally cooking.
I'm like a piece of meat in a frying pan.
I don't know if I can go on a sunbed again now.
You have made me feel physically sick.
Whenever you go to a tanning salon,
they always suggest 7 to 10 minutes.
You're quite daring to say 12.
I'm allowed to go on for about 15, 18 minutes at a time now.
I don't use sun cream. I use baby oil, so I cook myself.
The worst burning incident I've ever had
would probably be when I went on holiday
and I had scabbing all over my shoulders.
I was screaming while applying aloe vera. It was really bad.
The reason I take short cuts when I'm tanning
is because I want that ultimate tan.
I have a favourite sunbed, and we call it Satan.
He's just a lot more powerful and a lot stronger than others.
I've never seen anyone walk out of that sunbed and not look like
they've literally been burnt.
I think Instagram does play a role
because you see people who are in good shape,
they've got a nice tan, so it makes you think,
"I want to look like him."
I think a natural tan's better because I think there's a stigma
around using fake tan when you're a guy.
I see a lot of people with the spray tan. It's really obvious.
If you look natural, you feel natural.
If you're wearing fake tans and stuff like that,
you've been found out.
I recently started injecting myself with tanning injections
about three to four times a week.
I get them online, which is a bit risky
cos you have no idea what's in them.
I think I've tried not to research into them
because I don't want to be scared about what I'm actually
putting into my body.
I tend to take one of them pictures every single time I go on a sunbed.
You do realise when you're tanning that it does take an effect on you
but what's one freckle to the fact my whole body is brown?
I don't reckon I do care about the risks,
otherwise I wouldn't go on as much.
I think I just put it to the back of my mind
and I'm one of them people who think,
"It's never going to happen to me."
Hi. I'm Gemma. Are you OK?
I've just been listening to your story
and I just wanted to tell you the story behind my scar.
Two years ago, I was diagnosed with stage 3 melanoma,
which is the deadliest form of skin cancer.
I was very much like you. I went on the sunbeds all the time,
especially if I had a holiday coming up or a special occasion,
and this all came about because of that, basically.
I had a mole on the side of my face and because of the sunbed use,
it turned into cancer.
And this picture is me coming round from my operation
where they literally took all of the lymph nodes from the left
side of my neck,
leaving me with that horseshoe scar, which runs right from the back
of behind my ear, down and up my throat.
I was told that I had a 50-50 chance of survival.
I'm only two years in remission,
so I still have those odds against me.
So you don't know if... Unfortunately, I have no idea
if I have cancer at the moment.
I'm really shocked.
It's such a shame that we think we need to have a tan
to look good, and, actually,
you're potentially at risk of losing your life...
You're going to make me cry. Sorry.
..for having a tan...is really upsetting.
I think in terms of education,
having this conversation is really important.
I've never met anyone that suffered in the way that you have suffered.
The only thing that stood out to me most was the fact that you said
that tanning was your thing, you don't do anything else that's bad.
I'm presuming you don't smoke, or anything else like that,
and I just think, why don't you smoke?
I guess I don't smoke because I know the risks
and I know people that have been affected from it.
It's affected me, to be honest with you. It has.
It's made a difference.
So I heard that you were talking about tanning injections
and I'm not going to lie.
It made me feel physically sick.
The thought of injecting something...
Actually going one step further and injecting?
That you've got no idea... What's in it. ..what it is.
Now I'm going to stop them completely
and I'm going to wean myself off the sunbeds.
I think listening to your story has made me
want to go and get one mole in particular checked.
I've got a mole on my leg what's appeared, and it's raised
and I've just been putting it off
and just burying my head in the sand, really,
thinking... Just go and get it checked.
It could be nothing. This is what I say to everyone.
It could be nothing. Get it removed.
Ask for a second opinion if you're not sure.
Yeah. It's better to be safe than sorry. Exactly. It's your life.
I just wish that someone had maybe said this to me back then.
Thank you so much for coming today.
Oh, you're welcome.
I know it must have been hard, but, yeah,
you've made an impact on my life now
and you've changed my tanning habits.