http://www.latimes.com/features/health/la-he-santa8-2008dec08,0,6616876.storyA big hit at the mall, this Kris Kringle comes with killer abs and a message about exercising and watching the milk and cookies.By Jeannine Stein
December 8, 2008
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