‘I’ve been chasing this for a long time’
Kitchener man hopes to be Canada’s next super model
It takes work — a lot of work — to look this good.
Kujtim Tremkolli has a strict food and exercise regimen that he follows without fail.
He commits to seven to eight hours’ sleep each night.
“I’ve been chasing this for a long time,” said Tremkolli. “I’m focused 110 per cent on this.”
The 27-year-old Kitchener man is on a mission and hopes his steadfast determination will win him a place in SuperModel Canada 2018.
He cleared one hurdle this month when he was chosen as one of the top 100 participants at facebook.com/ Supermodelcanada.
The next stage is the top 30 females and top 30 males which is decided online via Facebook with one like equalling one vote. Voting ends Saturday.
Winners will spend three days in Toronto in May where other agencies in the modelling industry will be on hand.
“I hope to be a GQ (men’s magazine) model in five years,” said Tremkolli, who’s confident he has a chance of winning.
“I’m taking baby steps. One day at a time,” he said.
Tremkolli and his family emigrated from Albania. His uncle, who lived in Kitchener, sponsored his family and they moved here when he was nine to get away from the civil unrest in his homeland.
Tremkolli went to Eastwood Collegiate Institute and graduated from Cameron Heights Collegiate Institute.
Ten years ago, Tremkolli got involved in modelling when he took classes with a Cambridge model agency.
Tremkolli has been told his chiseled facial features, including a defined jawline and cheekbones, contribute to a unique look.
He learned the particulars around the proper walk, how to stand and applying makeup.
“It was unfamiliar territory,” chuckles Tremkolli.
He’s been in a few fashion shows along the way, but this national contest is his first serious attempt at breaking into the competitive modelling world.
Tremkolli said he’s been working toward this goal for about two years even when his mother thought he was crazy and his father, who works in construction, suggested he was wasting his time.
“In Balkan families, you’re supposed to get married, get a career, have kids. They don’t want you chasing your dreams,” said Tremkolli, who works shift work at a Guelph factory.
But when Tremkolli found out he made the top 100 in an email at 3 a.m., he woke up his mother.
“I was jumping up and down. I had to tell her,” he said. “She gave me a big hug and she was in tears.”
Now, his parents are pumped about the contest.
“They are asking me every hour how many votes I have,” he said.
Tremkolli, who lives with his parents, has stayed away from his mother’s cooking and any favourite Balkan treats. He sticks to lean protein such as chicken and salmon, lots of greens, nuts, avocado, some fruit and protein shakes after his workouts. And most importantly, he’s alcohol-free these days.
He goes to the gym six days a week, swims twice a week and runs three times a week.
“I’m focusing on my core. They don’t want a big belly,” said Tremkolli, who gained 30 pounds, most of it muscle, to his 161-pound, six-foot frame.
It’s a delicate balance gaining muscle but not looking bulky, he said.
“It’s preparation and discipline. Your body is your temple.”