PRETTY TOUGH
How a former hoops player came to be a sought-after trainer to smokin’ hot models
WHEN Christopher Kadima was playing professional basketball in France, the handsome 6-foot-4 shooting guard was approached by a modeling agent who thought the Frenchman could have a career on the catwalk.
It was dabbling in modeling and acting that would cement his future — albeit in an unexpected way. Kadima is now the go-to trainer for some of the industry’s hottest bodies, including Victoria’s Secret Pink’s newest face, Daniela Lopez, and Xenia Deli, who starred in Justin Bieber’s video “What Do You Mean?”
“In Miami I was training myself for the [swimsuit] shows,” says the 26-year-old native of Besançon, in eastern France. “And that’s how I got the idea to train a few of the other models. I thought that it could be a cool idea to combine my former career as a pro athlete with this new modeling and entertainment career.”
In 2013 he moved to New York, where he met Lopez at a catalog shoot where he was assisting the director. (Kadima is also pursuing filmmaking on the side.) She asked him to train her, and she
became his first big client. His reputation and coterie of beauties grew from there.
Lopez says she loves Kadima because he is constantly shaking up their routine with boxing, ab work and high-intensity cardio sessions.
“If I get bored, I will never call you again as a trainer,” says Lopez, a curvy Colombian whose enviable backside has inspired numerous Internet GIFs. “I like to be pushed. Christopher does that.”
Kadima, whose father played pro soccer in France, was always passionate about fitness, even opting to put in extra hours after team practices when he played basketball. And it’s his athletic approach that attracts models.
“Truthfully I think my basketball training is one reason why the models gravitate toward me. They also like the fact that I push them to their limits; the harder it gets, the more they ask for it,” says Kadima, whose Instagram is full of beautiful women boxing and doing basketball-passing drills.
“I really think that working out should be an intense but also a fun experience. I like to mix different sport-training techniques, like basketball, boxing and track, and combine them into one workout. Doing that keeps models excited to train and looking forward to a new type of body soreness.”
The sweat maestro uses the city parks as studios for his one-on-one sessions, and he teaches a boxing fusion class at Aerospace gym in the Flatiron District.
“You can do so many different exercises by only using your body weight, a jump-rope and a resistance band,” says Kadima, who still models.
But it isn’t all beautiful women all the time for Kadima. He has a large group of Wall Street executives who rely on his grueling methods, too.
“Wall Street guys like to train to manage their stress level. Models can be tougher. It’s their job to be fit no matter what,” says Kadima.
The hunky trainer adds that having a roster of lithe mannequins for clients presents its own set of problems — including jealous significant others.
“Some have boyfriends, and that can be an issue at times, though it works out in the long run. Sometimes I even end up training their boyfriends,” says Kadima, who is single but says he would never date a client.
So what kind of woman does he go for?
“As far as girls, I want someone who is genuine and ambitious. I am not too picky about the looks,” says Kadima. “It’s about the personality.”