Former “Baywatch” hunk David Chokachi’s career has taken a dive — but not in a bad way!
The Plymouth homey, who can rock a Speedo better than Michael Phelps, will compete with other “Baywatch” alums, NFL bad boy Terrell Owens, pro surfer Bethany Hamilton and many more Greg Louganis-wannabes in Fox TV’s “Stars in Danger: The High Dive” on Wednesday.
“First thing you have to know is that it’s not a reality show because that’s the last thing I wanted to do,” Chokachi, 44, told the Track. “It’s an athletic competition — it’s all real, there’s nothing fabricated or scripted.
“There’s training from professionals so we wouldn’t be doing a belly flop instead of a one-and-a-half off the 5-meter board,” said the enthusiastic contestant, who only had eight days to train.
But there was some drama in this European knockoff show. David, an avid surfer and swimmer, said he smacked the water so badly during one dive he emerged from the pool at the Greensboro (N.C.) Aquatic Center with a black eye and broken blood vessels. Ouch. His “Baywatch” buddy Alexandra Paul was treated for a concussion.
And then there’s surfer gal Hamilton, who competed hard despite the fact that she previously lost her arm in a shark attack.
“That’s some unbelievable, inspirational footage right there,” said David, who when he’s not diving, hosts specials for Spike TV and has a few indie movies in the can.
Flamboyant NFL veteran T.O., no surprise, provided the comedy, said Chokachi. Owens didn’t always bother to show up for practice, “but is so ripped he’d nail it anyway,” he added.
Also on Dave’s dive team: “Jersey Shore” alum JWoww, “Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” sibs Kim and Kyle Richards and actor Antonio Sabato Jr.
BTW, Fox isn’t the only network looking at diving as a ratings springboard. ABC will air “Celebrity Splash,” another unscripted Euro TV knockoff, with five-time Olympic gold medalist Louganis in the spring.
File Under: Ratings Dive?
Drop dimes to trackgals@bostonherald.com and 617-619-6376. Follow @TrackGals, @GayleFee and @LauraRaposa on Twitter!
