Roddy Nesbitt wears many faces.

His alias, Rowdy Piper stars in an energetic, workout-inspired video for CrossFit Riddim, the artist’s first soca track. Fittingly, it was shot on location at Derek Bobby Hurdle’s CrossFit gym.

Produced by “local guys”, Shane Woodley and Donald Robinson of Near Future Records, the video brings dance moves and innuendo typical of a soca or dancehall track.

Rowdy said the song generated a “decent buzz” when they released it last year. Through that they were encouraged to bring their video proposal to the Bermuda Arts Council, who “generously granted some support”.

“Derek G [Simmons] is the producer of the track or riddim and offered me the challenge of writing a soca song to it,” he said.

The hip-hop artist got comfortable doing soca covers with band Devils Isles Audio. He said it gave him the confidence to try his hand at the fairly formulaic genre.

“It’s definitely encouraged me to open to other genres. Growing up in Bermuda I’ve always had a love for soca music, so sure I’ll give it another shot. This has also shown me that I don’t have to be so siloed in hip-hop and can branch out with my talent and not be afraid to tackle anything.

“With the band we already do alternative, rock and reggae dancehall, so I’m already dabbling in all of those.

“Needless to say that an original in any of those directions is possible in the future.”

He laughs when asked about the suggestive lyrics: “I try to keep it topical. And use a lot of puns around the different exercises. With soca and Caribbean music in general, it tends to be a little nuanced there and sometimes it’s more hidden than other times.

“It was definitely meant to be a fun, aggressive dance track that also gave some dance instructions that encourage participation.

“It’s kind of typical with soca and dancehall music these days, just to make it fun and engaging.”

Very comfortable on the stage, he has performed in several plays, including an upcoming one, Enough is Enough. Nadanja and Nishanthi Bailey are also in the Patricia Nesbitt comedy, which opens at City Hall on Thursday.

“It’s just another alias because I play a stuffy, nerdy, gynecologist in the play,” he said. “Definitely a departure from Rowdy Piper.”

He described it as “hilarious”.

“Being on stage in either capacity is fun to me. Also working with a cool support cast that I’m proud to be a part of.”

He is equally comfortable in front of the camera.

“Since I enjoy being on stage and enjoy performing, the video didn’t really phase me.

“It was par for the course. Keep your eyes to the front, don’t get distracted by all the action in the background,” he added, laughing. Chelsea Smith provided the distracting talent.

The band has been performing together for five years.

They travelled with Chewstick to Toronto, headlined at Bermuda Heroes Weekend and perform regularly at Blue Waters Anglers Club in Hamilton.

“Right now we are in the planning and saving stage.

“With summer it’s the time here for us to gather our resources and build our repertoire while we plan for bigger things,” he said.

Jumping from a hip-hop artist on video to a nerdy virgin on stage, is no mean feat.

“I work in insurance in my regular life,” Rowdy confesses.

“When I’m not tearing up stages I’m tearing my hair out trying to get insurance policies together. It’s not the worst thing.

“It’s not very rock star. It’s far from it, in fact. Very Clark Kent — and that works for me. It works out because I can have the best of both worlds. I can have a responsible and fruitful career while enjoying my passion.”

Rowdy Piper’s CrossFit Riddim is available on iTunes and soundcloud.