Baywatch star David Hasselhoff tells how he got his nickname in Sydney

Baywatch star — and author — David Hasselhoff tells the story of how he was christened The Hoff during a trip to Sydney 15 years ago.

David Hasselhoff credits Australia for gifting him the nickname of The Hoff.

“The Hoff is a part of my life that was actually invented in Australia,” the legendary Hollywood star told Confidential while promoting his new audiobook, Up Against The Wall.

“I was down in Australia and I picked up Missy Higgins at the ARIAs, she jumped all over me and they were all wearing Hoff masks and when I was jogging around Sydney Harbour, people stopped their cars and called out to me as The Hoff.”

Celebrity David Hasselhoff got his famous nickname The Hoff in Australia. Picture: Tommaso Boddi/Getty Images

That was in 2005 when Hasselhoff and Gretel Killeen presented Higgins with the album of the year award for The Sound of White.

“It was like the night of the living dead,” the actor and singer said. “It was really weird. It was awesome, actually it was a hoffsome experience.

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“The Hoff is not David Hasselhoff but it is part of David Hasselhoff’s life.”

The former Baywatch star, who is now 66, has been a regular visitor Down Under for decades.

In 2017 it was revealed he invested in a luxury beachfront property on the island of Gili Meno, near Bali.

Hasselhoff and Shawn Weatherly in Baywatch season one.

Unfortunately buying into the tropical retreat hasn’t been easy, with Indonesia hit by a string of natural disasters.

“I keep trying to build a resort in Bali and it keeps getting hammered with earthquakes and tsunamis,” he said. “Every time I want to zip over there to see the resort and see how it is coming along, we get hammered with some sort of natural disaster.”

David Hasselhoff’s audio book Up Against The Wall.

Hasselhoff’s new book is released through Audible and is a mixture of fact and fiction.

Set in Germany in 1989, the central character is CIA Agent Nick Harper who is mistaken for American star Hasselhoff.

Hasselhoff of course enjoyed major success in Germany thanks to his chart topping hit of that year, Looking for Freedom.

He’s hoping the book will be picked up and made into a TV series.

“The only way it would work is if we did it like The Notebook and I am in the corner narrating,” he explained. “It could be a cool series because it is so fricking funny in the beginning.”

Originally published as Baywatch star David Hasselhoff tells how he got his nickname in Sydney