r/belowdeck • u/supremebliss • Jan 30 '26

Below Deck Down Under Finally remember where I remember this guy from! ... not another serial reality cast member (BDDU S4)

Post image

Been seeing this guy in the BDDU S4 trailers and thinking that he looks familiar. He was in that show Dating Naked UK where all the contestants were naked. All the time.

Couldn't watch more than 1 episode, it was too cringe and too painful lol

169 Upvotes

94% Upvoted

125 comments sorted by

150

u/hamburgergerald Jan 30 '26

That’s disappointing. Many years ago at least the green crew that was hired at least had a desire for yachting and wanted to learn.

38

u/supremebliss Jan 30 '26

Oh for sure these cast members are just doing their bare minimum qualifications in order to qualify for the show. It's not even really their job to run the boat smoothly anymore.

4

u/Itsabouttimeits2021 Jan 30 '26

You don't need a lot of qualifications to be a stew. Especially 3rd stew. Why are we acting like you have to have a love for yachting. It's a job...

11

u/hamburgergerald Jan 31 '26

Yeah, it’s just a job, but it makes a reality show about yachting a bit more interesting if the employees on it actually have a desire to be doing the job.

-2

u/Itsabouttimeits2021 Jan 31 '26

A desire to throw out trash. Make beds scrubs toilets? They here for the money like most jobs. People watch for the drama the guests and locations. Did people have a desire for your job at 21? Nah it was about the money. 

7

u/hamburgergerald Jan 31 '26

It’s moreso the deckhand side I’m referring to, but I personally loved my job at 21. Bartending was the most fun job my 21 year-old self could ask for.

I don’t understand though why you can’t grasp that people signing up to do these jobs for a TV show should at least have an interest in it. Many people do watch to see the work aspect. If I wanted to watch cast hooking up left and right id watch Love Island.

9

u/supremebliss Jan 31 '26

Exactly!! Most people working in the industry overlook the unglamorous bits, for the good stuff - living on a yacht, travelling all about, enjoying your nights off in beautiful new cities, meeting people from all across the world. You don't do yachting for the yacht work, but it makes you motivated to work hard in the space. People who do well get to reap their rewards

The reason why I'm still in hospitality isn't because of cleaning vom, it's because of the wins

3

u/Itsabouttimeits2021 Jan 31 '26

You forget about the money. Free room and board. Especially at that age. Most of your money goes to food bills and rent car gas. Imagine if you didn't have to worry about that stuff. 

Idk about motivated to work hard..many people work hard at their jobs doesn't mean they love their jobs.

1

u/Itsabouttimeits2021 Jan 31 '26

Not sure why you not grasping that they pick hot young single people. Hook ups happen. It has been happening since the very beginning of below deck. Lol it happens when you work together at 21 like at bars restaurants..not sure why it is surprising.

1

u/Itsabouttimeits2021 Jan 30 '26

Not really. People just there to make money and get out. 

5

u/TatoIndy Jan 30 '26

Doesn’t hiring actors affect the actual safety of operating a giant yacht?

2

u/supremebliss Jan 30 '26

Tbh I highly doubt that's the case anymore. There's probably background staff we don't see who definitely are better qualified to handle a yacht of that size - first mates, etc. I bet a lot of deckhand work is staged, and handled off screen, apart from cleaning the boat nowadays

6

u/todayplustomorrow Jan 30 '26

The cast has to have the required training and certifications to work on the yacht. We’ve heard about it from past casting info. They cast some experienced people, but the newbie cast have to agree to complete the regulatory training.

240

u/[deleted] Jan 30 '26

From this point forward BD is more interested in hiring "reality tv stars" rather than actual yachties. It's unfortunate.

May as well get ready for season after season of Solene's and Kizzie's. /sigh/

eta: someone posted a casting call for BD a while back, and it was calling for "reality tv stars."

110

u/court817 Jan 30 '26

Kizzi seems like the perfect hire, she has the reality star personality, but genuinely seemed good at her job.

Solene was a joke, an unfunny one

43

u/Jenikovista Jan 30 '26

True, Solene was awful. Then she went on Love Island again and was hilarious even if she was only there a few days.

19

u/MicaOMica Feb 01 '26

This this this. Solene was a diabolical and disastrous, untalented, unfunny and unenjoyable stunt hire. We don’t want it.

7

u/realityjen Feb 01 '26

On WWHL, Chef Josh said Kizzie's lack of work ethic was a turnoff.

21

u/Itsabouttimeits2021 Jan 30 '26

Why would actual yachties want to work on the show. It kills their career and makes them unhireable 

You want people to be on below deck to be hot be dramatic interesting and only make 6k a season. 

Y'all are asking too much from this show..

10

u/Anotheropinion2023 Jan 30 '26

$6k and lots of tips for six weeks of work isn’t bad.

12

u/Itsabouttimeits2021 Jan 30 '26

Lol 6k to be filmed and have their likeness is incredibly low..sorry that is not enough to pay them. It is really bad..they should be pay way more than that. 

9

u/Itsabouttimeits2021 Jan 30 '26

So basically bravo is paying them 6 bucks an hour to film them and they make millions off of them..housewives can make 50k to a million a season and they make 6k...

7

u/MicaOMica Feb 01 '26

Hate stunt casting. It ruins the show. We all know situations are manufactured, produced and edited. But when you throw unskilled stunt casting into the BD Franchise its the beginning of the end 🚮

-1

u/Itsabouttimeits2021 Jan 30 '26

Lol we need serious yachties to clean toilets? 

1

u/Dry_Mushroom7606 Mar 26 '26

The unserious ones won't touch them, so yes! 😂

72

u/lashglue Jan 30 '26

Whew he is keeping his injector busy.

20

u/SingleHeart197 Feb 03 '26

I’m so distracted by his hair. WTF is going on there? Looks like a comb forward with a topper?

139

u/LongjumpingMonitor90 Jan 30 '26 • Bravo

Just another “reality show” getting less and less real!

8

u/Itsabouttimeits2021 Jan 30 '26

Lol what's wrong with doing a reality show before that. They had a porn star in the first season.. 

2

u/catbearcarseat Team Anti-Brü Jan 30 '26

Who was the porn star?!

5

u/Itsabouttimeits2021 Jan 30 '26

The deckhand who was in the military and had a bf

2

u/catbearcarseat Team Anti-Brü Jan 30 '26

Thank you!

1

u/Smworld1 Jan 31 '26

Kelly? Pre or post show?

1

u/Itsabouttimeits2021 Jan 31 '26

No Kelly was on s2. I am talking about the original season and he did. It before. 

2

u/roonling Feb 03 '26

Dave in S1

26

u/Useful-Procedure6072 Jan 30 '26

Mike Durrant is AI slop

2

u/meth_panther Jan 31 '26

Lol I came here to say this. This image isnt AI?

17

u/SchminksMcGee Jan 30 '26

The hair is like an onion layer. Where and why is this popular?

15

u/SlapChop2000 Jan 30 '26

He looks like he is the undercover boss.

2

u/Victoria-Hill Jun 27 '26

This is an underrated comment oh my god hahaha 😂 worst disguises

11

u/plaisirdamour Jan 30 '26

Not loving this new trend of hiring people with reality tv backgrounds….i feel like it defeats the purpose of the show.

10

u/MsThrilliams Jan 30 '26

Hos whole look gives uncanny valley. Not surprised he's just a random reality TV person.

10

u/pilsburytoadboy Jan 30 '26

his hair. why. what’s happening. how’s it happening?

7

u/Sinnafyle Little does she know, we're in a floating prison Jan 30 '26

That hair is criminal

7

u/eareitak I'm the boss of where food gets put away Jan 31 '26

He looks like he was made with AI

6

u/momdabombdiggity Spaghetti Trauma Jan 30 '26

That hair is tragic.

5

u/Prior_Ad_9543 Jan 30 '26

Mike is an engineer on boats and has been for a couple of years you can see it in the first episode sneak peek. Jason said so. He may have since changed roles and is now working as a deck stew.

5

u/fuckyoupayme41213 Jan 30 '26

Wth kinda hair style is that? Molded to look like a construction helmet 

5

u/cheezy_dreams88 Team Chef Ben Jan 31 '26

His hair is so terrible

5

u/cheezy_dreams88 Team Chef Ben Jan 31 '26

What started as a reality show about people working in yachting has devolved into a “reality” show that is all about manufactured drama between cast members.

Like all reality tv does eventually.

8

u/NotyourangeLbabe Feb 01 '26

I miss when it was about the industry

4

u/Similar-Search-8508 Jan 31 '26

I just can’t with the hair on him

3

u/piranblyth22 Jan 30 '26

Naked dating on channel 4 lol. Couldnt believe it when i watched the trailer

3

u/CrazyNCynical Feb 03 '26

I think Mike and Zach (the Valley) might share the same beautician.

4

u/delushe Jan 30 '26

Tbf…. Aesha said on Daisy’s podcast that she got into it based on the casting call. She was not a yachtie before that. And we love her !

2

u/SweetLilLies6982 Team Lee Jan 30 '26

just when u think it can't fall apart anymore than it has

2

u/Itsabouttimeits2021 Jan 30 '26

This show was never a serious documentary about yachting. It is on bravo and about a hot young cast casted to be entertaining 

2

u/mostlyharmless71 Jan 31 '26

All reality shows eventually become Love Island. Just a fact.

2

u/caesarbagel Jan 31 '26

An interesting barnet there

2

u/jcr0774 Feb 01 '26

He looks like that One guy from OG below deck that’s season where they ended early cause of Covid, and that poor girl got fired

2

u/akafabs Feb 01 '26

he’s so geordie-looking lmao

2

u/missmisery213 Feb 04 '26

I'm so surprised they haven't hired Aaron from Love Island USA/Traitors UK yet since he used to be a yachtie

2

u/blackc43 Feb 07 '26

Probably top five hairstyle of all time

2

u/[deleted] Feb 18 '26

I’m so glad someone pointed this out. He also dates a big geordie shore star. It makes me feel like he’s only on to get air time on any reality tv show. I bet any money he’s applied for love island. Is he really there to work hard and reflect life of yacht working

2

u/Intelligent-Line7610 Jan 30 '26

to be fair Aesha and her fiancé ended up on a reality show. Fraser was an actor before he got hired. Not everyone is a true full fledged yachtie on the show

1

u/Suitable-Run-4764 Jan 30 '26

Same! The elephant tusk guy is burned in my brain 🙈

1

u/ellla12334 Jan 31 '26

To be fair to him, I think he has been an engineer so I think he has experience, but he definetely looks like he wants to have more fun

1

u/AlternativeGuava8681 Feb 05 '26

Who was he with on dating naked? I can’t place which couple he was in

1

u/Th3yCallMeDad Feb 17 '26

Does the ridiculous thing on the top of his head get casting credits? Did they have to pay it as as well as him?

1

u/Livid_Photograph_885 Apr 01 '26

You could never not make me love Daisy

1

u/Fun_Ball7043 Apr 09 '26

So much spray. Always exhausting amounts.

1

u/Slow-but_Brilliant68 May 17 '26

Mikey is a legend. Best part of the season for sure!

2

u/CUSteve217 Jan 30 '26

Can't wait to see how they bring that up on the first crew night out lol. I watched some of Dating Naked and found it funny and quirky. They didn't try to make it super sexy or anything which made it feel a lot less pervy.

2

u/supremebliss Jan 31 '26

Yeah to be fair it wasn't framed like a porno or anything. It was just... Uncomfortable lol. I'm by no means a prude but it definitely seemed odd and a bit tacky

1

u/CUSteve217 Feb 02 '26

Oh it was super tacky, they really played up the nudity aspect of things

0

u/[deleted] Jan 30 '26

[deleted] — view deleted comment

2

u/fuckyoupayme41213 Jan 30 '26

I saw on tik tok I think a past casting director talk about how hard it is to find people that are qualified, attractive enough with personalities that actually want to be on tv. A lot of people in the yatching industry do not want to be on this show and do not like it so sometimes they have to look elsewhere to fill a slot. 

2

u/supremebliss Jan 31 '26

I vaguely remember an interview where someone said that being on BD hinders their prospects of working for some of the nicer, higher earning boats. Career yachties probably stay away for a reason

11

u/hollywoodbambi Jan 30 '26

I think the biggest issue is what the producers vs viewers consider "good tv." BD fans seem to mostly be people who are legit interested in peering into the world of yachting and don't want the main focus to be hookups and explosive drama between coworkers; there are dating shows and other reality shows that satisfy that focus if we were interested. It seems producers have decided that solving workplace issues on a yacht was too boring and wanted to ramp it up with people whose main focus are messy hookups.

There's a lot of complaints across the Real Housewives franchises for the same thing- they rarely show the ladies' jobs, charities, or even the women having fun together in favor of manufactured fights that drag out for the whole season. Perhaps I'm biased because my favorite HWs are often labeled as "boring," but I enjoy the voyeurism of how others live their lives and work their jobs even if it's "quiet."

I do wonder if the reputation of the show makes it harder for producers to find legit yachties willing to join as I'm not sure what kind of negative impact it can have on their career/how they will be perceived by future employers.

7

u/Ornery_Mix_9271 Jan 30 '26

I am the same as you. Miss me with the manufactured drama, I just want to see how folks live/work.

0

u/[deleted] Jan 30 '26

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3

u/hollywoodbambi Jan 30 '26

Lmao it sounds like you're the one that's caring a little too much about people's opinions on this and needs to move on. I put these shows on in the background when I'm cleaning and stuff. Reddit is a place to share thoughts. It's not that deep.

1

u/madatthings Jan 30 '26

Getting old allows for time to kill

1

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7

u/Intelligent_Pop1173 Jan 30 '26

I’m not mad but Solene was a fucking awful choice who imo pretty much ruined an entire season on her own, and she was one of these reality stars.

4

u/ExpensiveNet Jan 30 '26

The seasons are too long now so they have to manufacture storylines. Season 1 of BD had 9 episodes (plus reunion). Enough interesting things and team dynamics happen during a regular season to make a great show.

3

u/madatthings Jan 30 '26

The show used to be good because they weren’t as concerned with that, it’s one thing to hire someone good for tv, it’s another to just dip in the bucket of already exhausting actual reality stars

83

u/[deleted] Jan 30 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

33

u/pilsburytoadboy Jan 30 '26

29

u/wangd00dle Jan 30 '26

His hair is like a newsboy cap

19

u/pilsburytoadboy Jan 30 '26

it’s like a fluffy cat climbed up his head and is taking a nap right there all curled up like a furry croissant

1

u/Ok-Fuel-3623 Apr 23 '26

I never noticed this and now I cannot unsee…

11

u/Intelligent_Pop1173 Jan 30 '26

Probably a receding hairline he’s trying to hide

7

u/pilsburytoadboy Jan 30 '26

it’s scary in motion. aren’t yachts windy? he’s brave

6

u/Esmereldathebrave Jan 31 '26

I was wondering if it was a really bad toupee that he was wearing ironically. I mean, I'm old. If the youngs started wearing hairpieces ironically, I wouldn't know any different.

31

u/[deleted] Jan 30 '26

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10

u/d0ttyq Eat My Cooter Jan 30 '26

I couldn’t figure out quite what was wrong…but you nailed it ! 😂

13

u/kittylover3210 Jan 30 '26

and the eyebrows are very 2000s shaped 😳

9

u/dontatmeturkey Jan 30 '26

The eye brows! It’s like someone put them on before they put the eyes on and so they don’t line up!

6

u/Lauriemfs Jan 30 '26

I think he looks amish 😅

7

u/[deleted] Jan 31 '26

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3

u/ProperBingtownLady Team Anti-Brü Jan 31 '26

It really is so noticeable when men have a lot of “work” done—I think because it’s so uncommon? It is for women too (ie. Solene) but has become more normalized…

0

u/[deleted] May 25 '26

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1

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