BEREA, Ohio – Browns tight end Gary Barnidge isn't a diva – he just dates them on TV.

In a locker room that includes All Pros and the most publicized Heisman Trophy winner in recent memory, it's an unheralded reserve with 40 career catches who made two appearances last month on a reality show chronicling the lives of WWE female personalities outside the wrestling ring.

"It was definitely different," said Barnidge, a pro wrestling fan who went on dates with Rosa Mendes and Summer Rae. "I'm not used to having a camera right in my face. You can't eat messy because you have to look decent on camera."

While head-butting, body-slamming, spandex-clad women draw television ratings, Barnidge's eclectic lifestyle might make for more worthwhile programming than "Total Divas."

He leads a humanitarian non-profit organization that introduces kids to football in other nations. He invites local underprivileged children to Browns' games and gives them the cleats off his feet. He takes select fans to movies once a week. He runs outrageous scavenger hunts in which participants have been known to tweet pictures of them pumping 82 cents of gas for a chance to win prizes.

As you might suspect, Barnidge is single with no kids and few commitments outside making his valuable contribution to the team that sits atop the AFC North. The seventh-year pro, along with fellow reserve Jim Dray, has helped the Browns overcome the frequent absence of Pro Bowler Jordan Cameron (concussion) likely to miss his fourth game Sunday.

Browns tight end Gary Barnidge catches a 28-yard pass behind Cincinnati Bengals free safety Reggie Nelson in a 24-3 win last week.

The two tight ends aren't as athletic or dangerous in the seams, but they have supplied solid blocking, while combining for more catches (19) and receiving yards (260) than Cameron, who's also dealing with shoulder problems.

Barnidge has nine receptions, including a 28-yarder that set up a touchdown against the Bengals and a critical fourth-down grab versus the Saints that led to a game-winning field goal.

"Gary has been great," Browns offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan said. "We haven't given him a lot of opportunities in the pass game this year, but every time we have, he's come up big for us. It's been huge plays, and I don't think we would have won that New Orleans game without him."

Barnidge might be backup on the gridiron, but he's nobody's understudy in life. He's earned his celebrity status through hard work, using it to travel the world and make it a more interactive place.

You might find him ringside at WrestleMania with Jerry Lawler or washing the feet of orphans in Brazil. The dimple-cheeked Barnidge has maximized a limited skillset and endless curiosity

"Everything about my life has been stretched thin but I enjoy it," he said. "You enjoy it while you've got it because it can end at any time."

Charitable endeavors

Months before they filmed Barnidge dining with divas downtown at Zocalo Mexican Grille, reality-TV producers could have tagged along with him on a charitable mission to Brazil.

In February, he led an NFL delegation that included Cameron, Browns' All-Pro center Alex Mack, outside linebacker Barkevious Mingo and defensive back Johnson Bademosi on a trip to teach kids football and supply shoes to an orphanage. The journey was the latest project for American Football Without Barriers, an organization co-founded by Barnidge and Jets right tackle Breno Giacomini.

Browns tight end Gary Barnidge took a group of NFL players to Brazil in February to teach kids the game of football through his non-profit organization American Football Without Barriers.

The non-profit's goal is to expose kids to the game while also providing a humanitarian touch. AFWB held a camp in China last offseason and is planning one in Turkey for 2015

"I'd love to do it and I've told him that," said All-Pro left tackle Joe Thomas, who would need to carve out time from a schedule that includes family commitments to a wife and two girls. "I love to travel and I love the mission of spreading football all over the world."

Barnidge and Giacomini developed the concept with another college roommate, Ahmed Awadallah, while attending the University of Louisville. They planned the first clinic for Egypt, but a national revolution in 2012 halted that effort.

AFWB is not only offering instruction, but searching for talent. Unlike basketball and baseball, college football scouts aren't traveling overseas to offer scholarships. Barnidge said one of the kids from the 2013 clinic in China attended a stateside camp hosted by Panthers' running back DeAngelo Williams and drew interest from a Division III program.

"We want to get kids looked at by colleges here," Barnidge said. "We're trying break that mold."

The AFWB trips also include visits to orphanages, where the NFL players cleanse the feet of children before fitting them with new shoes through a partnership with Samaritan's Feet.

Barnidge also works with Ohio Guidestone, plying kids there with 10 tickets to every Browns' home game and taking them on a Christmas shopping spree. After each contest, the tight end presents his cleats to one select child on the field.

"We have such a big forum and we can impact a lot of people and it's not going to last forever," he said. "I want to impact a lot of people and help a lot of people because that's what it's about."

A great feeling giving my shoes away after games to children to raise awareness for @Samaritans_Feet @MannyOhonme pic.twitter.com/rI9KB96Ww8 — Gary Barnidge (@garybarnidge) November 3, 2014

Interactive player

A reality show with Gary Barnidge would include a cast of thousands. He makes new acquaintances through online contests he runs.

Barnidge is a movie aficionado whose personal collection includes 3,200 films. During the season, he treats 10 select fans each week to a night out at a local cinema for correctly answering a trivia question posted to his Twitter account. He took the latest group of winners to see Dumb and Dumber To on Thursday night.

Barnidge wants to eventually find work in the film industry. He's building a new house in his native Florida and it features a pair of 30-by-30 rooms reserved for a media center and his collection of horror-show memorabilia. (His favorites include Halloween, Nightmare on Elm Street and Tales From the Crypt).

A football player who makes his living catching passes over the middle isn't easily spooked.

"I grew up watching horror movies and it stuck with me," Barnidge said. "I don't get scared of movies, but they give you an opportunity to get a jump when you watch them."

His most creative contests are scavenger hunts he operates during the holidays and for WrestleMania, which he attends annually with Williams, his former Panthers teammate.

A year ago, his prizes included: an Xbox One, PS4, a $300 gift card to the shop of the winner's choice and an autographed game-worn jersey. Participants needed to complete 14 tasks with visual evidence. They ranged from pictures of a person wearing the same outfit as a store mannequin to providing a receipt for 82 cents of gas. (Barnidge wears No. 82.)

The tight end was asked if his mother, Tena, ever wonders when her 29-year-old son might settle down.

"She doesn't mind at all," Barnidge said smiling. "She knows I want to travel the world and help people. Her philosophy is, 'You'll be ready when you're ready.'"

Wrestling with success

If only Barnidge played for an NFL owner whose wife works in the reality-show business. She might see a football player whose life has many interesting threads outside the Berea training facility.

His father, Brian, started taking him to wrestling shows as a child. His favorite grappler remains Shawn Michaels, but since joining the team in 2013, he's befriended Lawler, a longtime Browns fan, and Parma native Michael Mizanin (The Miz).

Lawler, who dabbles in art, drew a portrait of horror icon Lon Chaney for Barnidge. It will hang from a wall in his new home.

Using his insider connections, the Browns tight end attended a WrestleMania after-hours party in New Orleans this spring where he met the WWE divas. It led to his TV show appearances.

Dates with Rosa Mendes and Summer Rae could end with a kiss or a face full of steel chair. Barnidge isn't revealing the details in part because additional footage might be aired on upcoming episodes.

He gave teammates advanced warning of his October cameos. The topic produced smiles around the locker room.

"My wife really enjoys watching it, watching it because she knows Gary now," Dray said. "It's pretty funny to rewind and watch him on these dates."

Life unscripted remains the best reality television and the Browns (6-3) are providing it. The club ranks 13th in total offense despite the drug suspension to receiver Josh Gordon and the injuries to Cameron.

Barnidge and Dray have played bit parts in the Browns surprising run to first place.

"They are kind of the unsung heroes on the offense and that's probably the way they like it," Thomas said. "They are blue-collar, hard-working guys who do anything asked of them. They lay their bodies on the line for this team."

Just imagine what a trip to the playoffs might be worth. Maybe a couple more dates with divas and a boffo scavenger hunt for Browns fans seeking tickets.