Fabio Visits Whole Foods in Hinsdale

There were lots of double takes going on in the aisles of Whole Foods in Hinsdale Friday.

Fabio Lanzoni, the famous model, spokesman and TV personality, spoke to shoppers and fans at the grocery store during the afternoon as part of his tour around the Midwest to promote Healthy Planet Nutrition, his line of protein supplements.

He arrived at Whole Foods just after 12:30 p.m. and was scheduled to stay until 3 p.m.

There was a steady stream of shoppers and fans near the front of the store hovering around Lanzoni, who spoke at length about his protein supplement that according to its website is meant to help build lean muscle, strengthen the immune system and delay the aging process.

Of course, the Italian model famous for being featured on countless romance-novel covers and in countless I Can't Believe It's Not Butter ads, stopped to take the occasional picture and sign autographs.

Shopper Matt Andersson of Oak Brook got his picture taken with Lanzoni and a few signed Healthy Planet bottles, as well. He said Lanzoni was a great spokesperson for his product. 

And seeing Fabio talk supplements at Whole Foods?

"Not bizarre at all," Andersson said. "I think it's very natural."

Clarendon Hills resident Lucy Arenberg was also among those on hand. The owner of Juicy Lucy's organic juice company said she heard Lanzoni was going to be visiting Friday morning, and as someone in the health-product business, she is always interested in learning about supplements like Healthy Planet.

"He was the real deal," she said, also impressed by Lanzoni's presentation, saying he and his product seemed like "the real deal."

But again, seeing Fabio at Whole Foods?

"I was amazed at how good he looks," Arenberg said. 

There are plenty of ways to keep up on Hinsdale-Clarendon Hills news:

• Sign up for our daily email newsletter

• Like us on Facebook