Given the day, it seems only appropriate that the man who once proudly wore day-glo glitter pants has re-emerged with a totally new image.

While still performing as Vanilla Ice, Rob Van Winkle has long since lost the shiny duds, two-tone pom- padour and stra- tegically shaved eyebrow.

Now his look and sound are hard-core rap-rock. Think tattoos and piercings. Think scraggly goatee. Think backward baseball cap

You know, Fred Durst.

But he insists the new Vanilla Ice is not another prefab creation.

“It happened over time,” Van Winkle said during a recent phone interview from the road in Georgia. “I did a record with Ross Robinson who produced Korn, Limp Bizkit, Slipknot. That crowd embraced me. I was chosen by them and I’ve been catering to them.”

Nor is he running from his white-boy-rapper past.

“It’s really not about a name, an image or a gimmick now. It’s just about the music” he said. “Everybody knows me as that — the impact was huge. Why would I want to change it? I’m not running or hiding or anything.”

He wasn’t always as comfortable with his past, though.

In 1990, Vanilla Ice burst onto the rap scene as one of its first great white hopes. His album “To the Extreme” crossed over to mainstream audiences and sold 17 million copies.

It also spawned the smash hits “Ice Ice baby” (which became the first rap single to hit No. 1, thanks in large part to a stolen bass line from the David Bowie/Queen song “Under Pressure”) and “Play That Funky Music.”

But the bigger the star, the harder the smackdown.

After invented “gangsta” back stories were exposed and his feature-film star vehicle, “Cool As Ice,” flopped, Vanilla Ice became a pop-culture punch line.

There was a drug-fueled suicide attempt and violent outbursts on national TV (during taping for an MTV special, he famously went after his “Ice Ice Baby” video with a baseball bat).

Still, the entertainment industry — like the fashion world — has a way of recycling its trends.

In 2002, Vanilla Ice appeared on the celebrity reality series “The Surreal Life.” Earlier this year, he spent time on the UK reality series “The Farm” (“The Simple Life” crossed with “Survivor” crossed with “The Surreal Life).

VH1 just finished filming the special “The Remaking of Vanilla Ice.” It chronicles his new sound and image, showing footage of recording sessions for his new album and his recent tour. It should air early next year.

Married and the father of two young girls, Van Winkle seems at ease with his new self. “We are who we are because of who we were,” he said.

He still tours regularly, with more than 200 shows booked this year.

Here’s more on the Iceman.

Q: What do you think, looking back on your Iceman days — was the lampooning unfair?

A: No, not at all. I dug my own grave on that one. I didn’t know the consequences. It was all growing pains. I hated on it as well. I never wanted to be a novelty act. I was the first rapper to ever cross over. I was the guinea pig.

Q: What have you learned about the music industry?

A: The industry is pretty much screwed up. It’s all about the money. There is no compassion for artists. It got to the point now where they embrace artificial music with other people writing, other people producing, other people choreographing — just a pretty face. But people are starting to catch on to all of that and not embrace that anymore. I don’t think there will be any more boy bands, I think it’s over. I’m glad I wasn’t a boy band.

Q: On your Web site, you mention hitting bottom. What brought you back?

A: Therapy. Therapy, without a doubt. I had a weekend that lasted a couple years. I’m glad to be beyond that. Now I’ve got a reason to live, besides myself. Myself wasn’t worth living for. I wouldn’t wish that life on anybody. But I’m happy now for the first time and I wouldn’t trade my life with anyone.

Q: How would you describe your current sound? Where did it come from?

A: My current sound is a fusion. I grew up on Roger Troutman and the Funkadelic. Later I got into break dancing with Turbo and “Breakin’.” Now it’s System of a Down and Slipknot. You create something you can’t label. Some people call it skate rock.

Q: Who tends to be your audience now?

A: It’s a mix, totally. For the most part, it’s a subculture following. They are aware of “Ice Ice Baby,” but more aware of what I’m doing now. Other people who come don’t have a clue of what I’m doing now.

Q: Do you think you have much in common with white rappers of today, like Eminem?

A: You’d need to ask him that. I was the first one out of the box. It’s obvious he knows who I am. He says it in every record he makes. It’s about time another white boy had some success; there are a lot of white talented rappers.

Q: Why did you go on reality shows like “Surreal Life” and recently “The Farm”?

A: Oh, man, it’s an adventure. Doesn’t everybody want to do that? How many people when “Survivor” came out said, “Man, I want to do that.” Mine have all been with celebrities. What a great time hanging out with Ron Jeremy, my hero.

Q: What can people expect from the show.

A: Everything they don’t. Expect the unexpected. They’ll hear my new stuff and be fully entertained. You see how much fun we have. We have live drums, a DJ, full band.

Q: But can people still expect to hear a little “Ice Ice Baby?”

A: We play it — we play a different version of it, though. You’ll recognize it. We’ll take them back to the old school for a minute.

Modbee