KADITANE GOMIS
Kadi is studying for a technical degree in Marketing Techniques in Annecy and is a member of the French Freestyle Skiing Team; he therefore combines top-level sport with marketing. But when you step inside his home, you’ll be surprised to discover the soul of an artist with a bit of a geeky streak.
Kaditane Gomis has his own studio on the ground floor of the family home. To be honest, an ordinary room wouldn’t have been big enough for our freestyle ski champion to fit all his world… and his gear in.
So, to get to know him better, we had a good rummage in his cupboards!
Faction Prodigy 1 skis. Where it all starts!
A skier without skis is like a tartiflette without Reblochon cheese – it makes no sense! Kaditane has been part of the Faction Skis team for three winters and the Prodigy 1 is his favourite design. A responsive, precise park ski with a flexible tip and tail for the best switching, carving and buttering moves.
A sound studio
Born into a family of artists, little Kadi got into music at an early age. With a father who’s a ski instructor but also a djembe teacher and a mother who teaches dance, he has rhythm in his blood. After trying his hand at the drums, Kadi finally started producing sounds from the computer in his bedroom. Among other things, he produced the video for a collaboration between Footlocker and Salomon. And soon, three of his compositions will provide the soundtrack for videos for the Arc’teryx brand.
Oakley products… if you want them, they’re yours!
Sunglasses, stacks of shoes still in their boxes, clothes and accessories – it’s easy to see why the team at the Oakley store in Annecy call Kadi’s bedroom ‘The Boutique’. You’ll find everything here, well almost! A brand ambassador since 2020, Kadi explains: “Since I took part in the Lausanne 2020 Winter Youth Olympic Games, the team has been sending me products to wear and to create content with. I have no constraints and am free to do what I like. This allows me to give free rein to my creativity and create images with original clothing and accessories all year round”.
A bronze medal at the SFR Freestyle Tour 2017
This wonderful souvenir from the podium has pride of place in a corner of his bedroom at home. At the time, La Clusaz was hosting a stage of the SFR Freestyle Tour and, at the tender age of 14, Kaditane came third in the kids’ category. He’s come a long way since then! Most of his trophies are carefully and proudly kept by his parents, but some of his prizes have a special place in the corner of his bedroom.
Manga and drawings.
Drawings of familiar faces sit proudly above Kadi’s desk. Nami, Roronoa Zoro, Usopp, Sanji… the entire crew of Luffy, the hero of the One Piece manga series, are there! He explains that he sketched all this during his video-call lessons during the Covid-19 pandemic lockdown. “I’m a skier, but I’m also a geek” he tells us. And it’s true that if you look on the shelves in his studio, you’ll find manga and figurines of all kinds everywhere.
A mini Alpina totem
which has been in his bag ever since he visited the Swiss watchmaker. A sort of lucky charm that almost never leaves him, this souvenir of a visit to his sponsor is never far from Kaditane. “I always have a watch on my wrist, but this little piece of engraved wood follows me everywhere. I don’t know why, but it’s become a habit to carry it in my bag all the time” he says.
A pair of headphones.
If there’s one thing that follows him around all winter in his ski sessions, it’s his headphones. “Wired headphones are the best way to make sure you don’t lose them while skiing on the slopes or in the snow park” he explains.
