Reporter's Note: When I first met Momo at his gym, he showed up with a masculinity we expected of a coach. But as I got to know him later through the interviews and the filming of the details in his daily life, I became more and more impressed by his self-discipline, his amiability, his consideration towards other people and cultures, and his drive for self-betterment. Then I realized these are the qualities of an inspirational and international person, and it explains why he is so popular with his students here in China.

Below is a transcript of the interview with Momo. 

"China is my home away from home"

Question: What brought you to China?

Verlin Momo Kountchou: When I came in 2008 for the Olympic Games, we were invited because I used to work with the national ballot of my country in the Ministry of Culture. So I really liked the way the Olympic Games opening ceremony was organized. Zhang Yimou took so much time to blend the traditional elements with the modern elements. And I was doing the same direction as choreographer and stage director. So I chose to come to China to do more of that. It's really awesome.

In 2009 I came back to China as an international student. I studied a little bit of Chinese in Beijing Language and Culture University. And then I moved to Beijing Normal University, where I studied my bachelors in choreography and stage directing, and the masters in movie directing.

There's this similarity between Cameroon and China, and it's more about how people interact between each other, more about the cultures. Let's say, for example, when I was studying dance and choreography at Beijing Normal University, we went through a lot of Chinese minority traditional dances. There is the Yizu dance where they wave their heads and hair from side to side, and they use traditional instruments made from the trunk of a tree. Back home we have almost the same. So imagine so similar we can be. It's very interesting, and that's maybe something that made me stop here in China, because I feel like I'm more connected to the traditions here than I can be connected anywhere else in the world. It's kind of home away from home.

"My life here in China is filled of love"

Question: What's your life here like? Do you miss home?

Verlin Momo Kountchou: I cannot say I don't feel far from family. There are some time when I feel lonely. But the good thing is we have technology. I can have a video call with them, and another good thing is that my daily life here is filled of love. There are just so much love around me, from friends and from people who follow me to work out. I have a lot of students, a lot of members following me from Beijing, and from Shanghai, and we have been making something very special. I have a lot of classes in a week, and I'll end up in one week meeting around 500 to 700 people that I work out with. It's a huge number, and it just means that we have that same language together, that we understand a language, we can communicate with each other.

"I want to be a bridge between China and Africa"

Question: Having lived in China for more than a decade, has your perception of China changed over the years? Likewise do people's perception of Africa here surprise you?

Verlin Momo Kountchou: Before I arrived here, I used to see China more in movies of Jackie Chan and Jet Li. And these movies will show a China that has very traditional old style buildings, and bikes everywhere, like old bikes, not the new Mobike and all. But people's lives here have changed tremendously. Likewise Africa has been progressing a lot, but people here have the stereotype that Africa is poor. If they visit Africa, they will understand it's not totally true. There are some parts like this, but some parts are developed. When people are not exposed to a culture, there can be stereotypes like this. So I really love the fact that bridges are being built between countries, to get people to embrace each other, to get people to understand each other.

Question: Do you see yourself as a bridge?

Verlin Momo Kountchou: I  definitely see myself as a bridge. I want to be at least a good piece of the bridge, if not the best.