David "Puck" Rainey

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David "Puck" Rainey (born July 18, 1968 in San Francisco, California, United States^[1]) appeared on The Real World: San Francisco in 1994. A bicycle messenger during the show's shooting, he became notorious as the second Real World cast member ever to be evicted from the house, due to his increasingly antagonistic relationship with his housemates, most notably AIDS educator Pedro Zamora.

1 On The Real World: San Francisco
2 After The Real World
3 Personal life
4 Influence
5 References
6 External links

[edit] On The Real World: San Francisco

On The Real World, Rainey was an eccentric center of attention. In the season premiere he arrived at the house last because he was detained by police for a traffic incident. He incurred many minor injuries while bike riding, and kept photos of them, which he showed to his housemates. In addition to his messenger duties, he enjoyed other bike-related activities, such as Critical Mass. Rainey clashed with his roommates over his hygiene,^[2], as when Pedro Zamora complained that he used his finger to scoop peanut butter from a jar after he had used that finger to pick his nose. His roommate Mohammed Bilal complained Rainey tended to not change his socks, but merely cover his feet with more socks to mask the smell, which Bilal contended did not work. His housemates also complained of his lack of consideration for others, and his need to control every situation and conversation,^[3] as when cartoonist Judd Winick returned from a trip in which he met with producers to adapt his comic strip into a TV show and felt frustrated when Rainey began talking about a flatulent woman he sat next to. Winick, who is Jewish, was also offended at Rainey's wearing of a T-shirt that depicted four guns arranged in the shape of a swastika, and his refusal to accede to Winick's request not to wear the shirt.^[4]

One of Rainey's closest relationships in the house was with Rachel Campos. Having many tattoos, Rainey accompanied Campos to a San Francisco tattoo parlor because she wanted to "break out" of her conservative image and get a tattoo. Although their relationship became romantic when they kissed on two occasions, it eventually dissolved when, during a heated argument, he revealed this to the other housemates despite having promised her he would not. Although the others were not surprised at this revelation, Campos saw it as a betrayal of trust.^[5]

Rainey's most contentious relationship was with Zamora. Rainey denigrated Zamora's career as an AIDS educator and mocked his Cuban accent. Winick described Rainey as "obnoxious and homophobic". Zamora, who had AIDS himself, distanced himself from Rainey, and thereby from the other housemates, fearing the stress of his relationship with Rainey was affecting his health.^[6] When he threatened to move out, the other housemates voted to evict Rainey. Rainey would later appear in subsequent episodes in which he met with former housemates Corey Murphy, Campos, and Winick, but their friendships typically ended in conflict and arguments. In the season finale he phoned Campos right before she left the house, and accused her of harboring ill feelings towards him out of jealousy over his subsequent relationships with other women.

[edit] After The Real World

Rainey has appeared in numerous TV commercials, on the show MTV Cribs, and the Battle of the Sexes. He also had a small appearance in Eminem's video for "Without Me." He is now a photographer, manages a motorcycle shop in downtown Los Angeles, and also runs a custom granite business in Fremont, California.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Personal life

Rainey and his wife, Betty, were married in 2002 and have two sons, Bogart (born 2002) and Rocco (born 2006). An August 15, 2006, People magazine article appeared after Rocco was born.^[7]