As a handsome Baywatcher, looking good in those famously tight swimsuits was just as important as patrolling the Los Angeles coastline for swimmers in distress.
Now, David Chokachi, who played Cody Madison on the hit series, has revealed his secret for combating “shrinkage” while filming in icy water with minimal clothing in a new documentary series, After Baywatch: Moment In The Sun.
The 56-year-old TV star joined a celebrity cast host to open up about what it was really like working on the iconic TV series and thought about how exposed the men felt wearing nothing but tight swimming trunks.
“The problem was that it was often 6:30 in the morning and freezing, and you think, ‘OK, get in the water.’ The shrinkage is ridiculous,” he said.
‘I had my own technique. I basically tried to grab a little towel or jacket and hide under it, and I did a little personal commotion.
Baywatch hunk David Chokachi opens up about how he dealt with the pressure to look good in the show’s famously revealing swimwear in a new documentary series
After Baywatch: Moment In The Sun, David, who played Cody from 1995 to 1999, looks back on how exposed the men felt when they wore tight swimming trunks
‘Then there will be some circulation and you can present yourself a little better.’
The Hollywood star explained that he had often asked to wear shorts instead, but the producers were not happy with that.
He recalled the conversations, saying, “I said, ‘Can’t I just wear the red trunks?’ And they said, ‘No, because the lifeguards wear trunks, because they’re more effective in the water.’”
David first appeared in the popular beach series in 1995 as a replacement for lead actor David Charvet, but he left in 1999.
One of the many topics the cast discussed in the four-part docuseries was the pressure on the male cast to look good.
Carmen Electra, who played Lani McKenzie, said, “I think Baywatch was ahead of its time because the men were on screen and the men looked attractive.”
Alexandra Paul – who played Lt. Stephanie Holden – explained how the men on the show had just as much pressure to look good as the women.
“Men can be sexualized just as much as women and Chokachi is a perfect example of that in the opening credits,” she said. “He comes out of the water and his muscles are sticking out and he throws his head back and in slow motion you see his dick in his suit and it was hot.”
The season six premiere opened with David’s character enjoying a swim in his blue underwear, while the camera lingered on his enviable body
David explained: ‘I had my own technique. I basically tried to find a little towel or jacket and hide under it and I did a little bit of personal padding’
The season six premiere opened with David’s character swimming in his blue underwear as the camera continued to focus on his enviable body.
David explained that he often asked to wear shorts, but the producers weren’t happy with that
The clip was subsequently used in the opening titles of every subsequent episode.
Kelly Packard, who played April Giminski, added: “On the show, the men had to wear almost nothing and there was little left to the imagination.”
David explained that the Baywatch look was extremely popular at the time.
“In the ’90s, you saw a lot of these guys who looked super muscular and had big bellies and liked to wear underwear,” he said.
Recalling the day he auditioned for his role, he recalled, “As soon as I walked through the door, I was like, ‘You’re Cody Madison. You’re the guy we’ve been looking for for months.’”
It didn’t take long for the actor to realize that keeping his appearance in tip-top shape would work to his advantage so he could better perform the series.
He continues: ‘I found out early on in the series that the fitter you are, the more episodes they’re going to write for you, the more fans you’re going to get and the more money you’re going to make.
“It was kind of a self-fulfilling thing, so I just embraced it. I wanted to be super super fit and I made sure I was.”
Elsewhere in the documentary, actor Jeremy Jackson admitted it wasn’t easy growing up as a teenager on a set where the cast wore so little clothing.
The series originally aired from 1989 to 1999, before being renamed Baywatch Hawaii from 1999 to 2001, starring Jason Momoa (pictured left in 2000)
The four-part docuseries After Baywatch: Moment In The Sun will be available to stream on Hulu from August 28
The former child star played the role of David Hasselhoff’s son Hobie Buchannon, starting when he was eight years old.
By the time he hit puberty, the actor admitted that he took advantage of the fact that he often shared a trailer with female stars such as Pamela Anderson.
“I would sneak into their trailers on set after they were done filming and smell their swimsuits,” the star said. “Let’s just say I smelled everyone in Baywatch.”
Jeremy previously spoke about his on-set antics during a 2011 interview with Howard Stern, in which he admitted to pleasuring himself by smelling Pamela’s iconic red swimsuit.
He said, ‘All the girls’ Playboys were there… you flip through a few of them and you start thinking, “How can I make this experience even better?”
After Baywatch: Moment In The Sun is ‘a nostalgic and insightful exploration of Baywatch, the cultural phenomenon that defined an era, and an unprecedented look at the stars who brought the world’s most famous lifeguards to life.
‘Through dozens of new cast interviews and never-before-seen footage, this docuseries reveals how the show codified the mythology of California beach culture, defined beauty standards for a generation, and capitalized on the idiom ‘sex sells.’
After Baywatch: Moment In The Sun is available on Hulu
