If you doubt he exists, or stopped believing altogether, there's a Santa in Atlanta who just might restore your faith in something bigger than a man in a red suit.

For 15 years, Santa Rick — last name Claus, naturally, has been Santa Claus. Every button, belt, and boot, from the smallest detail to the most enduring mysteries, is a master class in Santa-ology.

"Santa has to have a house in every city so that he can check the naughty or nice list, and here you see my office," Rick says, gesturing around an office that looks less like a workshop and more like a corporate outpost on the North Pole.

Santa Rick presides over a Santa syndicate, the National Santa Agency — the other NSA.

He even has the explanation for one of Christmas' most enduring questions: How can there be more than one Santa in one place at one time?

"These are true Claus family members," he said.

Santas are all related.

While deliveries are coordinated at the North Pole, where elves still do most of the heavy lifting, this Atlanta Santa is preparing for the big day.

"You have no idea how hard it is to be me," he said.

A holiday touch-up for Saint Nick

Sometimes when Santa needs a little help, he heads over to the 313 Salon in Marietta.

"It's a difficult job. You have to get everywhere, underneath. None of it can be overlooked," salon co-owner Marion Crowel said.

"Even the eyebrows," co-owner Tony Lacey adds.

"We have to primp and prepare ourselves. We have more hair products, and we have to do all these things — even if we have a white beard," Rick said.

Yes, it's hard being Santa, but for Rick, it was a lot harder becoming Santa.

A life-changing moment of realization

In 2011, both of Santa Rick's parents died within 18 days. Rick, who is Jewish, and as is tradition in a display of grief, did not shave for 30 days and grew a bushy, white beard.

"And I was at Home Depot. This little boy — he was probably about 6 or 7 — and called me Santa. And I had my epiphany that I had to be a Claus member all year long. And this little boy, he changed my life," he said.

Since that day, Rick has never stopped being Santa — even while battling cancer — not once, but twice.

"And I think it helps me be very empathetic," he said.

His own mortality has made the meaning of the man behind the suit something pretty extraordinary.

"Imagination and hope, in my opinion, are the cornerstone of humanity, and what the Claus family and Christmas bring out in this world," Rick said.

Imagination and hope: Gifts too big to fit down a chimney or under a tree.