Christian Fauria is a natural.

Photo by Shannon Power

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Put him in a skirt and he curtsies like a ballerina, then laughs at himself.

It’s easy to forget that Christian used to catch touchdowns for the Patriots (and Seattle and Carolina) not long ago because his personality is so well suited to his new gig: coanchor of Dirty Water TV, a show about area nightlife. Christian has appeared as a football commentator since leaving the NFL, but enjoys the give-and-take with cohost Jennifer Manley on the show (on NESN at 11:30pm every other Saturday and on YouTube) and getting out to meet people in their favorite watering holes, like The Greatest Bar, shown here.

“I wanted to branch out and be myself,” he says. “We go into a different bar every Wednesday to tape, and every neighborhood has a different personality. It’s not like California where everything is cookie-cutter. People have roots here and I like that.”

How does it feel to wear a skirt? “I’m comfortable with my femininity.”