He’s known from Brazil to the United States as Treinador Kaká, a charismatic and passionate trainer who’s transforming bodies, inside and out. He and his partner Carolina Marvila are Florida-based coaches that help their clients achieve their own form of personal fitness success. Marvila shared that Kaká has helped many clients throughout his years of service, ranging from the everyday general population to people with real health issues. Kaka has also earned a reputation among competitive physique athletes of all levels.
“He’s worked for over 20 years with a lot of people and has been very successful in helping change the shape of their bodies,” she said. “He has no specific audience. If they need help, he helps them.”
Those who knew Kaká as a child would not have predicted how his life would turn out. Growing up in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, he was raised by two parents with a serious alcohol habit, exposing him to childhood domestic violence. Kaká said that stories like his were common in his part of the world, and there wasn’t much that could be done about it.
“I grew up in the slums. There wasn’t a lot of support. I was an orphan with live parents.”
Even as young as eight years old, Kaká was working to feed himself. As rough as that seems, he did get strength from it, which helped him see a way out for himself – through the military. Service could have been a positive escape from his troubles, and he could have created a sustainable career. However, he failed the physical test to enter service.
“That was when I started working out,” he said. “The guy that gave me the test I failed said that a man is just a man if he can carry his own weight.”
Sometimes the greatest blessings can come from the biggest disappointments, and that would turn out to be the case for him. While working to get in better shape so he could test again, he developed a passion for working out and learning more about fitness. He opted to pursue the goal of becoming a personal trainer instead. That meant he had to go to school and complete courses. As tough as it was, he knew it was his only shot at reaching his goal.
“It was already hard to make it with a degree. Imagine how it is without one.”
He finished college and changed his physique as well. While he thought about redemption with the Army test, he opted to let that go and pursue his destiny.
“I wanted to go back to the Army just to show them that I could do it, but I changed my mind and continued on my new path,” he said with a laugh.
Besides working to get other people in shape, Kaká also went on to compete in bodybuilding shows. After ten years, that career would be cut short, but his efforts as a trainer were only just beginning. He even trained his daughter as young as seven years old to show working out was safe for kids. After they relocated to the United States, she would start competing in bodybuilding shows as a teenager. Despite criticism on social media, she won four shows in the amateur ranks but was unable to go for pro status due to her age.
Even though his daughter shifted to other endeavors, Kaká’s passion for training and coaching was growing. The kid with a troubled background was becoming a success story that inspired others. Today, Kaká and Marvila are based in Pompano Beach, Florida and are both working with numerous clients to get in shape. They provide their services both in-person and online, and their business is growing. His programming is unique to each client, and that will be the same with his expansion of services. He is working on the English version of his services to go along with those he already has in Portuguese.
“The female program was just launched, and we are about to launch the male and home workout plans as well.”
Kaká has seen fitness and bodybuilding evolve in his home country and has paid attention to the increase of Brazilian athletes in the bodybuilding world, which makes him proud. Olympia President Dan Solomon has seen the growth in Brazil for himself when he traveled there promoting the sport of bodybuilding, and he has noticed Kaká and Marvila’s efforts as well. Solomon explains, “These are the kind of people who make the fitness community special. Those who have learned lessons the hard way and use those lessons to inspire and educate others.”
Kaká will keep making fitness a priority for himself and others, but he also intends to continue serving as a beacon of light for those that are facing darkness, as he faced during his younger years.
“You have to really want and believe you can get out, but you can do it.”
You can follow Kaká on Instagram under his Brazilian (@treinadorkaka) and English (@treinadorkaka.us) profiles .
For more information on his app and services, go to www.treinadorkaka.us .
Marvila can be found on Instagram @karolfit.