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David Chokachi is in the best shape of his life thanks, in part, to an unconventional routine.
Chokachi, 58, wanted to “make a statement” when he returned to the “Baywatch” set nearly 30 years after he first appeared on-screen as beloved lifeguard Cody Madison.
After climbing out of a dark place following an arduous recovery process due to Achilles tendon ruptures, Chokachi said that he “found a higher operating system” within, and became hyper-focused on optimizing his brain chemistry to benefit both mental and physical health.
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“I’m up at 3.30 in the morning every day and ready to go. My body’s like, ‘It’s time to go,’ and everybody thinks I’m insane, but it’s my dream window of time, I love it,” Chokachi told Fox News Digital.
He cited neuroscientist Andrew Huberman’s approach to health as an influence on his own routine and noted that former Navy SEAL DJ Shipley also helped shape his mindset.
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Shipley “found this program of stacking micro wins, which are the little things you do, but you do them every day, and you recognize them, like, ‘OK, that was a win,'” Chokachi said.
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“The easiest win you can do in a day is get up early, like, really early – I mean it doesn’t have to be 3:30, but if you’re getting up before other people are, and you’re being productive, subconsciously you start to — your brain starts going, your body starts going, ‘I am a badass,’ you know? And it works, I’m telling you,” Chokachi said.
In the pursuit of personal challenges, Chokachi doubled down with prepping to be on-screen once again playing a role that made him a global superstar.
“With ‘Baywatch,’ I realized, on the original, the more fit I was, the more stories they’d write for me, the more episodes I’d be in … not that money is everything, but you want your character to take off,” he said. “I’ve always been into fitness because I grew up playing sports my whole life.
“So I did the same thing on this, but I like doubled down because I was the original coming into this new cast and I wanted to make a statement and I made a statement.”
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Chokachi said he trained twice a day for six months before stepping on set.
“And I showed up on set and when it was time to take my shirt off … we were shooting a rescue and people were just like, ‘Oh my God. Dude, what have you … how old are you?'” he recalled. “They just, they can’t believe it.”
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“I have an ice plunge and a sauna, and that’s usually how I start my day,” Chokachi said. “That alone burns a lot of … brown fat, which is the fat we want to get rid of at the fastest rate by being cold, and ice plunge is really good … it’s a positive stressor on your brain.”
He added, “So I do that routine, and by the time I’ve already done that, I’m like, I’m off to the races, like, and I just go.”
According to the National Institutes of Health, brown fat actually helps the body generate heat by burning calories when exposed to cold temperatures, though research has not established cold plunges as an effective weight-loss method.
“Baywatch” first aired in 1989 and ran for a decade before its last episode in 1999, followed by two seasons of “Baywatch: Hawaii.” The show became the most widely viewed TV series in the world, with an estimated weekly audience of more than 1.1 billion viewers across 142 countries in 1996, according to Guinness World Records.
While Chokachi may have felt he was at his physical peak back then, he said he’s “way more fit” now than ever before.
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“I have a leaner fitness,” he said. “I used to just bang weights and run back then, so I was a little beefier. And now I live like … I don’t go out, I don’t party … I’m not obsessed about diet, but I don’t drink or do anything.”
He added, “I’m not that diligent, but I do do everything in a day that has gotten me to where I’m at now. And the crazy thing is, it not only helped my fitness level, I feel like I’m doing the best work as an actor I’ve ever done in 30 years of being an actor, which is wild.”
Chokachi’s next personal challenge will be at the 3rd annual Malibu Moves race, where he plans to complete a 5k carrying a 45-pound weighted backpack, an activity known as “rucking.” The effort will also serve as a qualifying test for his local community fire brigade.
“It’s an awesome day,” Chokachi said of the local event held at Zuma Beach. “I’ve never lived in a place where there’s such a real presence of community like Malibu, and, the people … they go out of their way to help each other. I love being of service.”
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Whether working with Wings of Rescue to help transport dogs at risk of euthanasia because of shelter overcrowding or volunteering with the brigade to keep his community safe, Chokachi is grateful to be living well and helping others along the way.
“I want to maximize my time on this planet,” he said. “I want to make this planet a better place than it was when I’m gone. I want my daughter to learn from what I’m doing.”
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