The Tanning Butler
“Tanning butler” Leo de la Hoz, 22, provides a refreshing Evian mist and sunblock for overheated tourists like Jacqueline Kerik of New Jersey at the Ritz-Carlton South Beach in Miami Beach. (David Adame / For the Los Angeles Times)
Stacey Martin of Gardena, a security manager on a girls getaway with friends, is delighted to be tended to by De la Hoz. A friend sent her husband a cellphone photo of herself getting similarly pampered, along with the message Miss You Lots! (David Adame / For the Los Angeles Times)
Tourists urge De la Hoz to take off his shirt (perhaps because they know the $29.50 shirts are the hotel gift shops best-seller and in high demand; why else would they ask?). He declines. (David Adame / For the Los Angeles Times)
De la Hoz applies sunblock to Chip Rivers of Seattle. The tanning butler sought the $30-an-hour job because it doesnt conflict with his paramedic training and the pay is more reliable than modeling stints. (David Adame / For the Los Angeles Times)
De la Hoz is armed with an easy charm and a holster of sunscreen in three levels of SPF. He got the job after a casting call. Actress Vivica Fox helped judge. (David Adame / For the Los Angeles Times)