MARYSVILLE — Angie Gooding, professional bodybuilder and owner of Marysville’s INSPIRE Fitness & Training, has a challenge on her hands.

Over the next five months Gooding will attempt to turn King 5 TV personality and ‘Evening Magazine’ host Jim Dever into a swimsuit model, as part of Dever’s ‘Dare Dever’ series, to raise money for autism.

“I’m flattered that Jim thought of me of all the trainers out there,” said Gooding, who met Dever in the summer of 2011.

A spray-tanned Dever will grace a catwalk before 700-800 people, competing against professional models in an event called the Forbidden Fashion Show, on March 31, 2012, wearing a custom-tailored swimsuit designed by Seattle designer Eduardo Khawam, who runs the Metropolitan Fashion Week and, by extension, the Forbidden Fashion Show.

“There’s going to be professional models … and Jim,” Gooding said.

To start, Gooding took Dever’s measurements, tested his strength and discussed the ways in which he could improve his nutrition. Dever has already spent more time on this Dare Dever challenge than any other — his most recent dare, learning to ride a horse over a series of jumps, yielded him all of two hours.

“I’m surprised how easy it is now to walk right by the plate of donuts in the office,” Dever said of his progress. “Angie told me right from the start — it’s not about being a gym rat, it’s 80 percent nutrition.”

As of Nov. 6, four weeks under Gooding’s watch, Dever has lost five pounds.

“I made it clear that McDonald’s hash browns are not a good source of complex carbohydrates and that bags of cookies, even small cookies, aren’t suitable snacks,” Gooding said. “I also scribbled all over him, which I never do with my clients, but heck — it’ll make good TV.”

Dever will have to cut sugar and processed foods from his diet, Gooding said, if he wants to become a swimsuit stud and complete the challenge, and will be subjected to sit-up and push-up tests as his training progresses. Dever will target his core, shoulders, back and arms, doing lots of curls and back presses and planks for the torso and the midriff, leg lifts and sit-ups. Fortunately, KING 5 has a weight room downstairs.

“At the start Jim could do 15 push-ups, but they weren’t necessarily in good form,” Gooding said.

Dever and Gooding use correspondence training to track results — check-ups via email, Facebook and phone. Gooding plans to travel to Seattle every couple of weeks to take new measurements. Updates on Dever’s transformation will appear on Gooding’s blog, http://angiegooding.com, where readers are encouraged to write in their own fitness and wellness goals to make a difference in their own lives.

“I’m very confident,” Dever said, about whether or not his physique will be ready in time for the fashion show. “I make people punch me in the stomach — I think I’m starting to annoy my co-workers.”