Jack Osbourne is leading a team of British celebrities in an adventure race. Photo / Dean Purcell
Former TV bad boy Jack Osbourne is leading a team of British celebrities in an adventure race on the Coromandel Peninsula today.
Osbourne kicked his teenage addiction to drugs and alcohol about three years ago and is now a trim, super-fit UK TV presenter.
The son of heavy-metal
legend Ozzy Osbourne and his wife Sharon, Osbourne found fame in 2002 as a rebellious teen on the reality TV series The Osbournes.
This year he's teamed up with actress-supermodel Jodie Kidd, comedian-actor John Thomson and ex-Busted band member Matt Willis to visit New Zealand and film events for his ITV2 show, Jack Osbourne: Adrenaline Junkie.
The team and a production crew have visited Fox Glacier and Queenstown, and today are competing against 31 other teams in a 12-hour race based in Tucks Bay, just outside Coromandel town.
The one-off event is a rerun of Adventure Racing Coromandel's annual 12/24-hour Adventure Race held in March.
It involves sea kayaking, mountain biking, hill, bush and river running, trekking, navigation and rifle shooting, rope work and mine exploration and some "high adrenaline factor" mystery activities.
It's Osbourne's third trip to New Zealand. "I love coming here, especially with filming. Everyone is so laid-back. It's no secret that New Zealand is visually stunning for the camera and there's so much you can actually do. You can get a lot done in a short time."
He said he had never imagined he would be involved in the sort of life he has now. "When I was a kid I didn't think I'd be doing this, for sure. I get to travel the world with a bunch of really good friends and do a lot of crazy things."
