BOYFRIEND IN A BOX

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The concept of Boyfriend in-a-Box seemed pretty simple ... and a little goofy.

"It was a novelty gift that provided all the evidence of a boyfriend without the hassle of a real guy," creator Cathy Hamilton explains. "There were photos from him and greeting cards and pink memos of 'while you were out,' so you could carry out the ruse of an imaginary boyfriend."

The $ 14.95 item debuted in 1997 and ran for several years, selling about 200,000 units in the process.

"It was considered a moderate success in the gift industry," says Hamilton, a Lawrence Journal-World employee.
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Though his smiling mug is plastered on thousands of new Boyfriend in-a-Box gift sets as ``Skater Skye,'' eighth-grader Dylan Hilpman isn't too worried about girls mobbing him.

OK, there was the one ``little stalker girl'' who followed him around West Junior High School, calling him by his Boyfriend in-a-Box name.

But Hilpman, 14, is taking it all in stride.

``It's not that great of a picture,'' he said modestly.

Hilpman and five other young men posed for the teen edition of Cathy Hamilton's Boyfriend in-a-Box gag gift. Skater Skye joins All-American Alex, Brainy Brett, Collegiate Cole, Joey Jock and Rockin' Ricky as the new dream dates for teen-agers everywhere.

The stat sheet for Skylar ``Skye'' Paul, who's supposed to be a 14-year-old from Portland, Ore., describes him as an ``extreme risk taker, extroverted in a laid-back way, loyal to his friends, philosophical and poetic.''

Skater Skye's motto is ``live large.''

He likes to do all things board -- on sidewalk, sea and ski slope.

Though his smiling mug is plastered on thousands of new Boyfriend in-a-Box gift sets as ``Skater Skye,'' eighth-grader Dylan Hilpman isn't too worried about girls mobbing him.

OK, there was the one ``little stalker girl'' who followed him around West Junior High School, calling him by his Boyfriend in-a-Box name.

But Hilpman, 14, is taking it all in stride.

``It's not that great of a picture,'' he said modestly.

Hilpman and five other young men posed for the teen edition of Cathy Hamilton's Boyfriend in-a-Box gag gift. Skater Skye joins All-American Alex, Brainy Brett, Collegiate Cole, Joey Jock and Rockin' Ricky as the new dream dates for teen-agers everywhere.

The stat sheet for Skylar ``Skye'' Paul, who's supposed to be a 14-year-old from Portland, Ore., describes him as an ``extreme risk taker, extroverted in a laid-back way, loyal to his friends, philosophical and poetic.''

Skater Skye's motto is ``live large.''

He likes to do all things board -- on sidewalk, sea and ski slope.
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Andalusia
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Just like the mobsters in Quentin Tarantino's movie ``Reservoir Dogs,'' who were assigned such nicknames as ``Mr. Pink'' and ``Mr. White,'' Hilpman didn't get a say about which Boyfriend in-a-Box character he got to be.

Hilpman admits he's not much like Skater Skye.

``I guess I dress like that, but I'm not exactly a skater. I guess I hang out more with the acting people at school,'' he said.

Hamilton went to the most trouble for Hilpman, taking him to a hairstylist to dress up his tresses. It was winter, and his blond hair had faded, a little too dull for someone named Skater Skye. So a stylist stuck a cap on his head, threaded his hair through it and brightened his mop.

``That was kind of cool, except the chlorine kind of went to my head a little while,'' Hilpman said with a laugh.

Like the other models for the teen edition, Hilpman was surprised Hamilton chose him.``I think it's an interesting idea. It's kinda funny. I hope girls don't take it too seriously,'' he said.

`Just for the fun'

Nathan McClain, the face behind Collegiate Cole, was meeting with Hamilton, a fellow Sunflower Cablevision employee, and Sunflower's news director one day when all of a sudden, Hamilton gave him a funny look, he said.

He had a hunch what it was about.

After the meeting, Hamilton asked McClain, a senior at Kansas University, if he would pose for Boyfriend in-a-Box. Though he didn't know much about it, he accepted the invitation.

``I did it just for the fun of it,'' McClain said.

McClain plans to give the samples of his Boyfriend in-a-Box to relatives. He doesn't have a serious girlfriend per se, but the woman he dates ``thinks it's hilarious. My friends think it's funny.''
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McClain said he isn't a thing like Collegiate Cole, who is into fraternity life.

``I thought that was pretty funny,'' McClain said.

All in the family

Dru Hull, Hamilton's Brainy Brett, wouldn't mind scoring other modeling gigs. Hull's sister, Lydia, has a modeling contract and appeared on the cover of Seventeen magazine's November issue.

Hamilton thought of Hull for Brainy Brett -- ``intelligent and serious but with a sharp wit'' -- after Hull's aunt showed her his senior picture.

An 18-year-old who graduated recently from Lawrence High School, Hull said modeling for Boyfriend in-a-Box was a good opportunity.

``It comes with some publicity,'' he said.

Hull's girlfriend ``thinks it's OK, I guess,'' and Hull's friends have been giving him a hard time.

Like Brainy Brett, Hull makes good grades. He plans to attend either KU or Oklahoma Christian College.

Alex Neighbors, Rockin' Ricky, said being included in Boyfriend in-a-Box made him feel good about himself.

``I was much obliged,'' the 16-year-old said. ``I was surprised she picked me. My friends think it was pretty neat.''

Neighbors said he didn't care which character he portrayed.

``I was just happy to be doing it,'' the fresh-faced Free State High School sophomore said.

Though he's not going out of his way to find them, Neighbors also wouldn't mind more modeling jobs. ``One thing I'm hoping this thing will get me is an extra in a movie or something like that,'' he said.

Hamilton paid each model for the teen edition $ 100 and paid for any expenses associated with the shoots.