As the heartthrob of Baywatch, looking good in those famously tight swim trunks was arguably as imperative as patrolling the Los Angeles coastline for swimmers in distress.
Now David Chokachi, who played Cody Madison on the hit show, has revealed his secret to combating the “shrinkage” while filming in freezing cold water in minimal clothing in the new documentary series, After Baywatch: Moment In The Sun.
The 56-year-old TV star joined a group of celebrities to speak candidly about what it was really like working on the iconic TV series and He reflected on how exposed men felt when wearing only tight swim trunks.
“The problem is that it’s often 6:30 in the morning and it’s freezing cold, and you’re like, ‘OK, just get in the water.’ The shrinkage is ridiculous,” he said.
‘I had my own technique. Basically, I would try to find a little towel or jacket and hide under it and do a little personal makeup on myself.
Baywatch heartthrob David Chokachi opens up about how he handled the pressure to look good in the show’s famously revealing swimsuits in a new docuseries
Following Baywatch: Moment In The Sun, David, who played Cody from 1995 to 1999, reflects on how exposed men felt wearing tight swim trunks.
‘So a little circulation was created and you were able to represent yourself a little better.’
The Hollywood heartthrob explained that he often asked to wear shorts, but producers were not happy with his request.
Recalling the conversations, she said: “I said to them, ‘Can’t I just wear red trunks?’ And they said, ‘No, because lifeguards wear Speedo-type trunks because they’re more effective in the water.'”
David first joined the popular beach drama in 1995 as a replacement for main cast member David Charvet, before retiring in 1999.
Among the many topics discussed by the cast in the four-part documentary series 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 there and they looked attractive.”
Alexandra Paul, who played Lieutenant Stephanie Holden, explained how the men on the show were under as much pressure as the women to look good.
“Men can be sexualized just as much as women and Chokachi is a perfect example of that in the opening credits,” she said. “He’s coming out of the water and his muscles are bulging out, he throws his head back and in slow motion you can see his penis inside his suit and it was hot.”
The season six premiere began with David’s character enjoying a swim in blue boxers as the camera focused on his enviable physique.
David explained: “I had my own technique. Basically, I would try to find a little towel or jacket and I would hide under it and do a little personal makeup on myself.”
The season six premiere began with David’s character enjoying a swim in blue boxers as the camera focused on his enviable physique.
David explained that he often asked to wear shorts, but the producers weren’t happy with that.
The clip was then used in the opening credits of each subsequent episode.
Kelly Packard, who played April Giminski, added: “On the show, the men had to wear practically nothing and there was little left to the imagination.”
David explained that the Baywatch look was exceptionally popular at the time.
“The ’90s were full of guys who were super muscled, had six-pack abs, and just wore underwear,” he said.
Recalling the day he auditioned for his role, he recalled: “As soon as I walked in the door I was like, ‘You’re Cody Madison. You’re the guy we’ve been looking for for months.'”
And it didn’t take long for the actor to realize that keeping his appearance in tip-top physical condition would work to his advantage on the show.
He continued: ‘I found out early on in the show that the fitter you are, the more episodes they’ll write for you, the more fans you’ll have and the more money you’ll make.
“It was like a goal that fulfilled itself, so I just accepted it. I wanted to be in really, really good shape and I made sure I was.”
Elsewhere in the documentary, actor Jeremy Jackson admitted that growing up on a set where the cast wore such minimalist clothing was not easy during his teenage years.
The series originally aired from 1989 to 1999 before being remade as Baywatch Hawaii from 1999 to 2001, starring Jason Momoa (pictured left in 2000).
The four-part docuseries After Baywatch: Moment In The Sun begins streaming on Hulu starting August 28
The former child star played David Hasselhoff’s on-screen son, Hobie Buchannon, from the age of eight.
As he reached his teens, the actor admitted that he used to take advantage of the fact that he often shared a trailer with female stars like Pamela Anderson.
“I would sneak into their trailers on set after they finished filming and smell their bathing suits,” the star said. “Let’s just say I’ve smelled every single person on Baywatch.”
Jeremy previously spoke out about his on-set antics during a 2011 interview with Howard Stern in which he admitted to pleasuring himself while sniffing Pamela’s iconic red swimsuit.
He said: ‘There were all the Playboy magazines for girls… you flip through some of them and you start to think, “How can I make this experience 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 captured the mythology of California beach culture, set standards of physical beauty for an entire generation, and capitalized on the adage ‘sex sells.’
After Baywatch: Moment In The Sun is available on Hulu
