Jeremy Jackson has morphed from that little kid on Baywatch to a smokin’ hot bear – but the journey in between inspires the most.
Tell us about your involvement with the Imperfectly Perfect campaign.
Jeremy Jackson: A few years back, Glenn Marsden reached out and asked if I could do a photo shoot for his campaign, and he was so cordial and kind. Normally, I don’t enjoy photo shoots, but he proposed something different. It was about people remembering the most emotional and hardest times in their lives. He wanted to capture the faces of mental health. That struck a chord in my heart. In those early stages, I became the face of the campaign, which was an honour.
“Gay clubs are like what clubs used to be, where everybody dances and has a great time.”
Can you tell us a bit about your own mental health struggles?
I’ve been in recovery from drug and alcohol addiction for many years, and I believe that drug addiction is an issue of mental health. It’s not an issue of moral code or willpower, but rather something deep in the mind that makes people do things they don’t want to do. For me, it’s been a pleasure to speak out, on an education level, about alcohol and drug addiction, body dysmorphia, depression, guilt, shame and all the things that I’ve struggled with.
How did your struggles develop?
It’s my understanding and belief that alcoholism and drug addiction is a disease from within the mind. It develops like any disease with symptoms like craving and desire to do more, like mixing drugs and alcohol. Some people drink and get away with it, but for me, something went off in my mind. I wanted to do it all the time. As a kid, I experimented smoking a little pot with friends, and I’d have a drink of beer behind my parent’s back. It was all innocent, but it got its hooks into me. The disease of alcoholism is chronic, fatal and progressive. It never goes away, and I know many people who have died. I tried to still be an actor and do the best I could on Baywatch, but I couldn’t control it. It had me in its grip.
Jeremy now runs Jeremy Jackson Fitness
Many men struggle with mental health, including a large proportion of the LGBTIQ+ community. What’s your advice for people to get out of the dark hole?
First and foremost, my knowledge, support and friendship are available to any who contact me on Instagram or Facebook, where I have an open channel to help. Connection is a vital key. We are disconnected from others when we feel alone and ashamed. When we’re keeping secrets, we feel like outcasts, and the only people we can tell what we’re going through are the people doing the same thing. The key to a lot of my growth has been surrounding myself with people who are doing well in life.
And working out has played a great part?
Fitness has been a huge part of my meditation to become the best version of me. I truly believe there’s a freefall approach to life that involves refining and sharpening your mind. It’s about treating your body like a warrior, the mind like a philosopher and spirit like a sage. I call it the ‘tribrid’ approach. The discipline of getting to the gym every day proves to me that I can make myself stronger. I feed my spirit through breathwork and even music. That’s the Jeremy Jackson fitness approach, which is incorporated into The Balanced Man retreat I help run. We do seven days in Costa Rica, stretching at five AM, journaling, meditating, sitting eye to eye and heart to heart in deep conversations and discovery. We also surf, shoot bows and arrows, and have waterfall hikes through the jungle. It’s helped a lot of people transform.
“I ended up pulling my shorts down, with no underwear on, and running around naked!”
You’re an associate producer of the new documentary After Baywatch: Moment in the Sun. What are your memories of being on the show?
It was a huge part of my life. I always wanted to be a performer. I loved singing, dancing, and acting and I got onto the number-one show in the world. I surfed every day and hung out with my Knight Rider idol, David Hasselhoff. I also recorded two albums with some top-ten hits and travelled the world. Fulfilling my dream was a very cool thing.
Jeremy also co-runs The Balanced Man retreat
What do you hope people will take away from the doco?
I think they’ll get a much deeper look into the hearts and lives of the cast. It’s not a promotional fluff piece to bring the spotlight back to something that was. It’s a humanitarian piece on how the cast is more like the viewers than they realise. People always see buffed, bronzed bodies on the beach, but the truth is we are just human like everyone else.
Have you been out clubbing with your gay mates?
Are you kidding? I’m an attention whore! I’m like the forbidden fruit at those clubs! In L.A., the club scene is very stuffy with the bottle service and bullshit of who’s who. It’s a big show, but then you go around the corner to the West Hollywood clubs like The Abbey, and it’s a bunch of people laughing, singing, sweating and having fun. Gay clubs are like what clubs used to be, where everybody dances and has a great time.
And gay guys would love you because you’re a hot bear.
Oh, I have heard that term and I’ll take it!
What’s your irresistible burn-the-floor song?
I love Nineties hip-hop and old-school House. I do love to dance! It has to be Get Low with the Ying Yang Twins…“To the window to the wall!”
Who’s your favourite music diva?
I love Fiona Apple and her song Criminal. I’m also a big fan of Tori Amos and Tina Turner. Many don’t realise that Milla Jovovich is also a badass singer. My buddy Mark Holden from Australian Idol produced her music as well as mine.
Jeremy with the original cast of Baywatch, which is featured in the documentary After Baywatch: Moment In The Sun
Gay for a day – who would be your celebrity bromance?
Let the bidding war begin! (Laughing) It’s usually guys that I’m jealous of. I’ll say Brad Pitt as Tyler Durden.
What’s your favourite holiday destination in the USA?
Austin, Texas. It has amazing people, weather and coffee. The standout is their barbeques! There’s a great nightlife with parties on the lakes and watering holes, including paddle boarding.
Do you have a grooming tip for us?
Yes, I’m coming out with my own men’s beard balm! It’s called Primal Putty and is a blend of raw beeswax, beef tallow, white chocolate butter, diatomaceous earth and tobacco extract. All natural ingredients and very hydrating for the beard.
What’s the most memorable wardrobe malfunction you’ve had?
One time, on the set of Baywatch I was in the makeup trailer with a bunch of fireworks in my back pocket. This was the fourth of July, and I was about fourteen. Some of the fireworks were the kind you throw at the ground to explode, and as I jumped up from the chair, they ignited! There was smoke coming from my fucking ass! My pants caught on fire, and I burnt my ass and thigh. I ended up pulling my shorts down, with no underwear on, and running around naked!
Here’s an interesting question for an ex-Baywatch star – on the beach are you boardies or Speedos?
If I’m jumping in the ocean, I like the army-style shorter shorts, but if I’m laying out in the sun or going to a pool party, it’s Speedos for sure.
Are you a briefs, boxer briefs or a commando guy?
Trunk cut with the cock sleeve in the front. The pouch!
For more visit: jeremyjacksonfitness.com
Follow Jeremy on Instagram @jeremyjacksonfitness
The original cast of Baywatch – once the most popular show in the world
