The former MTV firebrand has resurfaced, and fans are doing a double take. David Puck Rainey, best known for his headline-grabbing stint on The Real World, looks worlds away from his 1990s rebel image as he returns to the spotlight three decades on.
In newly shared TikTok clips, David appeared relaxed and at home in his kitchen, sporting a casual T-shirt and a tongue-in-cheek apron emblazoned with the slogan: "Don’t worry, I can do this — I watched a YouTube."
With his long hair pulled back and a noticeably calmer demeanor, the reality star chatted directly to the camera while chopping, seasoning and cooking from scratch, offering a glimpse into his slower, more grounded lifestyle today.
The former reality star recently launched his own farm-to-table cooking series on TikTok under the username @PuckCooks, and the response has been swift.
Since starting the account last month, he’s shared a slew of videos showing him preparing everything from simple home-cooked meals to more experimental dishes using fresh ingredients, a far cry from his bad boy reputation.
Already, the channel has racked up around 15,000 followers, with several videos pulling in hundreds of thousands of views, proof that curiosity around David’s unexpected comeback is running high.
For longtime fans, it’s a fascinating evolution; for newer viewers, it’s an introduction to a reality TV icon reinvented for a new era.
David was known for his appearance on The Real World: San Francisco in 1994 where he was known for his notorious antics and fighting with other cast members.
He was eventually voted off and faded out of the spotlight until he was arrested in 2011 when he was charged with domestic violence.
In 2013 he announced he had fathered four other children with other women apart from the three children he shares with his wife Betty Garcia.
"I'm not into the fluffy, sterile part of life," he told PEOPLE in 1994. "I think everyone should act a little crazy."
In a 2013 interview with MTV News, David revealed he was already living on a farm "off the grid," where he spent his days raising chickens and growing his own vegetables, a back-to-basics existence that now feels like a natural precursor to his latest farm-to-table TikTok venture.