July 1, 2020, 10:03 am | Read time: 5 minutes
It would be too easy to start a text about Fernanda Brandão by describing how radiant her smile is and how much sympathy she receives because of it. The smile suits Fernanda, the entertainer, and it builds a bridge to everyone in the audience. But in conversation, the 37-year-old also uses it to skip small talk and dive deeper into discussions. For example, about how she believes body and mind can be harmonized. Fernanda Brandão has a clear idea about this.
I first met Fernanda Brandão in 2018 in a small, secluded area at the FIBO in Cologne. Fernanda was there for a sports equipment manufacturer, with the beats from dozens of booths booming through the plywood walls. Not an ideal place for an interview, but it was the only option available. The topic was supposed to be the secret of her toned body—a question I somewhat dislike because it provokes superficial answers. You have this and that fitness routine, train so many times, do these exercises, pay attention to this and that in your diet, and of course, discipline is always a topic. But who wants to read the 375,000th interview with an overly ambitious celebrity recounting their gym routine?
Also interesting: When does exercise become an addiction?
She admires people who shine from within
However, that’s not what happens when I ask Fernanda Brandão my question. In that quarter-hour at the FIBO in Cologne, amid half-full coffee cups, boxes of clothes, and a hectic rotating management, the conversation becomes surprisingly spiritual. We sit in front of a large makeup mirror—a perfect setup for a discussion about her appearance!—but Fernanda quickly makes it clear that she finds excessive ambition in appearances troubling. She prefers to talk about her body as a “temple” and “house” that she wants to “keep healthy.” To achieve this, she has intensely studied various meditation methods. She speaks admiringly of people who “confidently embrace themselves and their bodies, shine from within, and simply possess a zest for life.”
Schedule, Trainers, Experts: All Info on FITBOOK Move Jam 2020
Beautiful Legs: 10-Minute Workout With Fernanda Brandão
10 Minutes of Yoga and Pilates with Fernanda Brandão
Singer, Host, Fitness Ace: Multitalent Fernanda Brandão
Fernanda Brandão was born in 1983 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and emigrated to Germany with her mother at the age of nine. As the offspring of an artistic family, she received singing and dance lessons early on and pushed into the public eye as a teenager. Whether as a professional dancer in music videos for ’90s artists like Coolio and Shaggy or in the 2000s as a singer of the successful Latin pop trio “Hot Banditoz.” Later, Fernanda Brandão took on small roles in TV series and occasionally hosted. Her appearance as a judge on DSDS in 2011 significantly increased her fame. Afterward, she worked as a World Cup correspondent for ARD during the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil.
Anyone who has paid close attention in recent years would have noticed: Almost every time Fernanda Brandão appeared on TV, it was about physical fitness. Whether as a participant in sports game shows like “Fort Boyard,” “Promi Darts WM,” “Deutschland tanzt,” or in the “Schlag den Star” duel (which she lost to Sophia Thomalla, by the way). You could say this athletic path was also predestined: Fernanda Brandão was Germany’s youngest licensed fitness trainer at 16.
Against this backdrop, she developed her own workout concepts in recent years. After “Ginga by Fernanda Brandão,” a challenging full-body workout with Capoeira elements, she discovered the art of slowing down in 2019: With “Roots by Fernanda Brandão,” the fitness role model takes a quieter approach to training: a kind of precise mindfulness training for body, mind, and soul. It includes movement sequences from yoga, Pilates, physiotherapy, mobility training, and meditation.
The Greatest Adventure of Her Life
“Roots” holds a deeper meaning for the 37-year-old Brazilian of indigenous descent in the fifth generation. After her grandfather’s death in 2015 (“that’s when I understood the meaning of life with every cell of my body”), Fernanda Brandão embarked on a journey back to her roots. She traveled to the Amazon with the mission to support the indigenous people and learn about living in harmony with nature. She describes the shamanic healing rituals she experienced there as an “inner journey” that made her more mindful of her environment. “Afterward, I always felt infinite love, compassion, and gratitude. My well-being increased.”
FITBOOK Move Jam 2020 – Stretch-Relax Workout with Fernanda Brandão
After what she calls the greatest adventure of her life, Fernanda Brandão developed “Roots.” It aligns with her idea of training that enhances one’s awareness of the body and thereby “restores the connection between body and mind.”
I know what you’re thinking: body and mind in harmony, whew, that sounds quite advanced, perhaps even lofty, like something a Zen master might achieve after years of practice. I once had the fortune to meet a Zen master. His name is Haemin Sunim, a Korean Zen monk, and if you wish, you can read the story here. When I recall my first meeting with Fernanda Brandão, the noise, the excited hustle around her, I must say: She’s not far from the calm of a Zen master. This woman seems to be at peace with herself. And that’s a state we all wish for. And this Saturday at the FITBOOK Move Jam 2020, you’ll have the first opportunity for it!