The Truth About HGTV's Albie Mushaney

If you're familiar with "House Hunters," then the name Albie Mushaney might ring a bell. While the show has been around for two decades, the realtor is expanding the show to include some holiday cheer. Albie Mushaney's new show "House Hunters Ho Ho Home", which premieres on December 13, combines the house hunting every HGTV-lover loves mixed with pure Christmas joy, just like the name sounds. 

This isn't the first time that the realtor has combined his love of house hunting with his Santa Claus lookalike abilities, either. According to HGTV, he also had a show called "You'll Be Home For Christmas" where he and his "swelves" renovated houses. That stands for swollen elves, if you didn't pick up on that. Basically, this man has found a way to combine all of his talents in the most unique way.

If ever there was a man of many talents, it's Mushaney. You might know him from his on-screen, home-renovation talents, but it turns out that his job title includes a few more dashes than that. Believe it or not, Mushaney is known by many as the world's strongest Santa. Yes, you read that correctly. Here's the truth about Mushaney, so you can see the many facets that the man has to offer.

The world is filled with hyphenated job titles. After all, it's 2021 which means that you can be just about anything that you want to be. Well, Albie Mushaney has decided that he wants to be a realtor-Santa impersonator-strongman. Those aren't just separate, seasonal jobs, either. According Cinemaholic, the HGTV show "You'll Be Home For Christmas" combined all his talents by having him finding and renovating houses while dressed like Santa Claus. Honestly, if this isn't the most committed man to his brand, then we're not sure who is.

Mushaney even has his own strongman Instagram account called Big Bad Santa. When he's not finding and renovating homes, he's doing weight competitions, and even does some competitions dressed like Santa. He trades his traditional Santa belt for a weightlifting belt, according to Instagram, which a great way to combine two of his passions. 

According to Distractify, Mushaney's wife also helps with his hobbies by dressing up as Mrs. Claus with him throughout the year. The publication also states that his two holiday specials weren't the only times that he's worn the suit on HGTV either. It's safe to say that this is a man of many passions, and he's not afraid to combine them all.

It turns out that Albie Mushaney is just staying true to his roots when it comes to his love for strength-training. According to The Cinemaholic, Mushaney was born in Salem, Oregon and was named the strongest high school student in the state. The publication reports that he was involved in powerlifting competitions all throughout the '90s before winning the Oregon State Championship and moving on to strongman competitions. 

It wasn't all a smooth transition though. According to his Instagram, Mushaney then took a break from strongmen competitions and gained some weight before getting back into it.

"I used to be the guy who wore a shirt in the pool. At 415 pounds I had it in my head that a shirt somehow hid the fact that I was a blob of sh*t. Plus a wet shirt clinging to my 'curves' wasn't especially attractive either. Fast forward 6 years to now and at 305 pounds I take my shirt off as often as I can. Not because I feel like I look good but because of what I've been able to do with this fat," his Instagram post says.

Not every real estate broker can say that they have this much going for them, and his many facets sure do make a great HGTV show.