Kristopher Davis, 36, had never been on an airplane until he bought a one-way ticket to Los Angeles in 2019, hoping to launch his fitness modeling career.

“I was ready for something new and different because I felt like I wasn’t growing anymore,” Davis says. “My dad told me I needed to call my cousin in California, so I did. When I left, I didn’t have anything. I slept on my cousin’s floor for six months.”

After a year in California with few leads, COVID-19 hit the world, and that’s when things started to take off for him.

“My mom and everyone were calling me, telling me I needed to come home because the world is falling apart and people are dying,” he says. “But I hadn’t been there long enough to see how it could manifest.”

Davis started sending his social media posts to brands, and hundreds of emails later, a brand responded. They sent him a clothing package to shoot in, which Davis says he had no idea how to do at the time. He figured it out, the brand loved the content, and he became an ambassador.

“From there, that door opened up another door which opened up another,” he says. “And eventually I got a call from Fashion Nova.”

Now Davis is a successful fitness model, splitting his time between work in LA and Memphis. This path has allowed Davis to combine two passions. Growing up, he always loved fashion and putting outfits together, as well as staying active with sports. Davis played baseball and basketball and was a high school track star.

He never intentionally worked out or followed a structured plan, though, until his twenties, when he was looking for a new, positive environment to plant himself, and joined ATC Fitness. Early in his journey, he was inspired by his friend’s physique and wanted to emulate it.

“He’d always show up in a tank top and shorts with his quads and big arms,” Davis says. “I really admired him. I noticed the respect he got, and I wanted that.”

Shortly after, he crossed paths with a bodybuilder preparing for competition, and they became workout partners. This gave Davis a strong foundation for creating disciplined, structured workouts.

He’s been doing the same routine ever since: fasted cardio in the morning and weight training in the afternoon six times a week.

“I don’t do super heavy weights, and I don’t exercise all day long,” Davis says. “My workouts are modest. I’m just consistent.”

His diet is also consistent: he follows a very specific, nutrient-dense, high-protein meal plan, but he does allow a treat on the weekend.

“I eat for performance and results,” Davis says. “I can’t take a vacation from the goal. So I’ve figured out how to treat myself without going too far off the plan.”

He also starts his day with 100 push-ups, gets 10,000 steps a day, and regularly does contrast therapy.

Davis believes in caring for his whole self, including his mind. So he makes time to slow down and do things like walking in nature and listening to the birds.

“That’s helped me more than anything,” he says. “Mindset is key. The better you do internally, the better the external world will manifest for you.”

Davis, also a certified personal trainer and transformational specialist, owns an online coaching business, Active Lifestyle Coaching. He approaches his client’s journeys like he does his own.

“I don’t even like being called a personal trainer,” Davis says. “That doesn’t really paint the whole picture. I help change a person’s mind long before their body changes. We work from the inside out.”

Connect with Davis on his social media accounts at @kristopherdavis_ to follow his journey or learn more about his coaching services.

 

By Maya Smith
Photo by Josh Clark