Today we’d like to introduce you to Christopher Kadima.
Christopher, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I was born and raised in France, in a small town close to the borders of Switzerland. My mother is French and my father is from the Congo in Africa. I grew up around nature which was pretty cool as a kid because I’ve got to discover a lot of awesome things. I was always out, wandering around rivers, lacks, animals and forests.
My dad was a soccer player, so I was introduced to sport and fitness at a very young age. We used to wake up in the middle of the night to watch the Chicago Bulls of Michael Jordan playing. Unconsciously I was falling in love for the game of basketball. I had already done many sports before starting to play basketball such as soccer, track, swimming, karate and boxing. Basketball was the sport I really enjoyed playing. After graduating from high school I’ve got in contact with a college in Texas to continue my schooling and basketball career. I moved to the US at 19 years old. It was a bit difficult to be alone and so far away from home. It definitely made me become mature faster. I had to learn a new culture and language very fast. Unfortunately, I’ve got injured after a year and half of playing basketball in Texas and decided to end my basketball career.
Besides sport, I was always a big movie fan. Steven Spielberg, Christopher Nolan, and Luc Besson were some of my favorites directors. So I moved to New York City to go to film school to learn film directing and producing. It was a whole new experience. New York is a very energetic city with so many things to do. I really enjoyed New York tho it was really expensive so I had to figure out a way to make more money. That’s when personal training came into place. I wanted something I would enjoy doing and coaching seemed like the perfect idea. So I started to educate myself about the career of a personal trainer. I’ve got my certifications and worked with experienced trainers. It was really exciting to start my own business and share my knowledge of sport and fitness with my clients.
I lived in the big apple for three years, but there was still one city I wanted to discover and it was Los Angeles. So I made my way to the city of angels in 2016 and didn’t leave since. I continue my career as a personal trainer here as well as my passion for film making.
Has it been a smooth road?
It was not a smooth road. The first difficulty was to learn how to speak English. And I had to learn very fast if I wanted to have a chance to make the basketball team. Unfortunately, I didn’t make the team the first semester because my English wasn’t good enough yet to understand the coaches and the plays.
I was far away from home. I didn’t get to go home for two years the first time I came to Texas. I spent most of the holidays alone while the other students were going home to their families
When I arrive in Nyc I was still an international student. Which means I could only work part-time on campus for the minimum wage. The school and life there was very expensive. I was struggling. Sometimes I had to sleep wherever I could, on people couches, basements and if I was able to save some extra money I would get an air b n b for a few nights.
I could have go back to France and lived in better conditions or at least have a full-time job, but I was not a quitter and I knew if I continued to work hard things would get better. Giving up was not an option no matter how bad the situation would be.
We’d love to hear more about your work.
I’m a fitness a personal trainer. My job is to not only help people get into better shape but it is also to help them become stronger mentally and to help them understanding how to make better life choices when it comes to health. Working out is more than just having a good looking body. It’s a lifestyle that makes the body better from the inside out. It’s understanding how this complex vessel that we live in everyday works and operates.
I feel proud when I see that my work is helping my clients to become more confident, change bad habits and break limits they never thought they could.
I’m here to educate my clients to the best of my abilities, motivate them and hopefully have a positive impact on their lives.
I would say that what sets me apart from some other trainers is that I’m aware I do not know it all, therefore, I’m consistently challenging myself to learn more. If I don’t know the answer I will say I don’t know and I will go look for it as soon as possible. I’m not afraid to refer my clients to other health professionals if I feel that what they need might be beyond my scope of knowledge.
How do you think the industry will change over the next decade?
The fitness industry in growing rapidly. The internet makes information easy to access for anyone who wishes to begin a new health journey. There is also more awareness of the importance of exercising and eating healthy than there was before. Everything is accessible with a few clicks which is a good thing but it also means that one needs to know how to filter relevant information versus scams. Social media is a big factor as well. We see more and more “fitness social media influencers” which can be a good thing when the influencers make the effort to educate themselves about fitness before educate others but not so good when it is the other way around.
We live in an era where a lot of things are being done from home via streaming and apps; home cinema, home food delivery and so on. Fitness streaming classes and fitness apps are a big trend right now. They are usually cost-efficient and easy to access from home. In-person group classes such as boot camps, cross-fit, outdoor mud parkour, Pilates are also growing fast.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.kadimafit.com
- Email: kadimafit@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/christopher.kadima/?hl=en
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/christopher.kadima1/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/chriskadima?lang=en
Image Credit:
Bee Alyssa Trofort
jussi grznar
luke wooden
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