An influencer and his pals were forced to use boards to protect themselves from a sudden sandstorm.

Nick Falke, 26, and friends decided to have day out at Great Sand Dunes National Park, Colorado, USA, in July when they were caught by a change in the weather.

Dramatic footage shows the topless fitness influencer hiding behind his sandboard as the wind whipped past him at 50mph.

Another one of Nick’s friends carefully hopped alongside the sand dune where they were perched and put his board next to him to try and create a bigger barrier.

Nick said: “The sand was extremely painful when hitting my skin. I had no shirt on and it felt like thousands of tiny pins were pricking my skin all over.

“We took cover behind the boards we had and that helped out a lot, but the sand was everywhere so we were breathing it in and it was stinging our lungs as well.

“After a few minutes it died down and we were able to start heading back out of the sand dunes. We were all terrified from the experience.

“We had no idea the sandstorm was coming. We were having a great time exploring then out of nowhere the wind picked up. It must have been 50mph winds.”