He was crowned the most outrageous fan of Reese’s and Wawa, then he took it to the next level | We The People

Meet Andrew Athias, “The Reese’s Guy.”

• It’s his jawn: “Everyone has a favorite something, I just happen to be outwardly expressive about it, as a Philadelphian would. When we like something we’re going to tell you about it whether you want to hear it or not.”

• Chewsy moms: “My mom is a big Philly girl. She’s actually upset I’m not ‘The Peanut Chews Guy.’”

Whenever Andrew Athias stared out of his office window at Morgan Stanley headquarters in New York City’s Times Square, his eyes fell on the Hershey’s store across the street.

While Athias didn’t love his job working in information technology for Morgan Stanley’s prime brokerage division, he did love that Hershey’s store because he knew inside were stacks on stacks of his favorite candy — Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups — and racks on racks of Reese’s orange apparel.

A fanboy of Reese’s since his early trick-or-treating days in Northern Liberties, Athias thought nobody could love the candy more than he. So when Reese’s announced a $10,000 fan competition in 2018 to promote its Reese’s Outrageous bar, Athias was certain he’d win.

That is, until he learned of a couple who legally named their daughter Reese E. Cupp.

“That just broke my heart,” said Athias, 27, who now lives in Old City. “I was like, ‘It doesn’t matter what I do, I’ll never win, even though I know I’m the biggest Reese’s fan.'"

But just a week or so later, Athias — who grew up in Philly and Cherry Hill — saw Wawa was running a similar contest, looking for fans of both Reese’s and Wawa.

“This is the first time I ever really felt divine intervention, like God opening the doors saying, ‘Fear not, my child, I have something for you,’" Athias said. “I was like, ‘This is for me and me alone. I need to go above and beyond to win this jawn.’"

Athias, a graduate of the Rochester Institute of Technology, was still living in New York when he and his friend made a music video about Reese’s for the contest in the style of Eminem’s song, “Without Me.”

“Two peanut butter cups go 'round the outside, 'round the outside, ‘round the outside,” Athias sings in the opening.

They filmed the video around Washington Heights but had to travel 20 minutes to New Jersey to get shots of Athias at the closest Wawa, buying Reese’s and dancing the floss in front of the store.

Athias won the contest. His prize: $1,000 worth of Wawa and Reese’s merchandise stuffed in a Wawa cooler.

“That was supposed to be the end of it … but that video got so viral after the contest people were like, ’You should make another one. You love attention,'" Athias, a self-proclaimed “extra extrovert,” said. “I was like ‘Well, yeah, you’re right.'"

Athias changed the display name on all of his social media accounts to “The Reese’s Guy" and created more music videos, dozens of TikTok video shorts, and an untold number of photos and memes about his undying love for Reese’s.

It’s as if he can’t stop. It’s a classic Reese’s conundrum — always wanting more.

“There’s people who constantly tweet and post about their gym workout or their sports obsession, but no one posts about their food obsession like I do,” he said.

While Athias isn’t paid by Reese’s, he said they do sometimes send him free peanut butter cups for his videos. A request for comment to Hershey’s about Athias was not returned.

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Once, Athias said, he told the brand he wanted to do a Christmas video with Reese’s White Peanut Butter Cups.

“I was like, ‘I want it to look like it’s snowing Reese’s,’” he said. “A week later an entire pick-up truck of white Reese’s was sent to my apartment.”

Athias left his steady job at Morgan Stanley and moved back to Philly around September . He spent time hanging with the 4th and Jawn tailgate crew at Eagles games and he’s working as a dog walker for Wag! while pursuing opportunities in social media and marketing.

He’s also been active on dating websites, where he’s open about being The Reese’s Guy.

Among the more obscure Reese’s products Athias owns are an ugly Reese’s Christmas sweater, an adult Reese’s onesie, and a doll of his favorite superhero, Ironman, made out of Reese’s.

Athias, who prefers his Reese’s chilled, said he doesn’t eat the candy every day, but every week, for sure.

“I’m not trying to be The Reese’s Guy who died from diabetes at 28,” he said.

On Halloween, Athias dressed in his Reese’s gear and went “reverse trick-or-treating,” in South Philly, handing out Reese’s to kids, some of whom recognized him from TikTok.

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While Athias’ “super goal” is to be in a Reese’s commercial, he’s just happy that the Wawa and Reese’s contest led him to embrace his sweet alter ego.

“Had they done a Sheetz and Reese’s contest, I would not be The Reese’s Guy," he said.

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