You know you're not in the North Pole anymore when you come face to face with Santa Claus . . . and he's a ripped hunk.
You're probably in Los Angeles -- at the Beverly Center, to be precise. For six years, the upscale mall near West Hollywood has wooed shoppers with the prospect of getting up close and personal with Hunky Santa, in which Santa is a young, muscled dude with bulging biceps and abs as flat as a gingerbread cookie. (Hunky's stints are Friday through Sunday evenings, when he performs hourly with the Candy Cane Dancers, plus greets and has photos taken with shoppers. "Classic" Santa -- bearded and tubby -- is there during the week).
This year, Eli Wilhide was chosen to depict the jolly guy. The 31-year-old, 6-foot-1, 185-pound Angeleno sports a shaved chest and flawless tan, and on a recent busy weekend, he was practically mobbed by men, women and children who wanted to kiss him, shake his hand, have their picture taken with him or all of the above. His attire is Kris Kringle-meets-Chippendales: red velvet pants, black boots, a red velvet hat and a long, open, fur-trimmed red velvet coat -- sleeveless, of course, the better to show off those biceps.
Wilhide majored in kinesiology and nutrition at the University of Maryland, toured with motivational guru Anthony Robbins for 3 1/2 years as a speaker, and is now pursuing acting. This gig is more than a chance to press the flesh -- he chats with kids about their eating and exercise habits. "If I can make somebody feel better about what they put in their body and help them live longer and have more energy," he says, "that's great."
We sat down with Wilhide recently during a break at the mall to find out just what it takes to pull off Hunky Santa.
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Hunky Santa doesn't look like this by eating cookies and sitting around watching elves make toys. What's your workout routine?
When I want to build muscle and get in top shape, I'll start with 10 to 20 minutes of cardio in the morning. I like to jump rope, because it's so easy and I can do it anywhere. Then I'll eat a breakfast of egg whites, oatmeal and berries, run some errands, and then I'm off to the gym, and I'll be there for about two to three hours. I'll do about a half-hour of cardio, an hour to an hour and a half of weights, and then I'll do more cardio and stretching.
