Drawing our curtains for the year, 2022, let’s welcome Cho Ndiforchu on the Passion Fruit platform. After having served in the United States Armed Forces as an Aircraft Maintenance Technician and other roles for several years, he was awarded many accolades including the Airman of the Year Award in 2012. Presently owner at the NDI Real Estate Group LLC, Cho made his Television debut, Mid-December, 2021, featuring on “Selling Tampa”, an American Reality Series which aired on the Netflix streaming service. A Cameroonian-American Beau, Real Estate Agent alongside a pleasant persona, Cho made a great impression on the viewers as well as the casting crew who had him on Episodes 1 & 5.
Son of the soil, from the North West Region, Cameroon, Passion Fruit couldn’t help its curiosity as to who this fella is, his drive, his ambition, his respect for his cultural heritage, & and his plans for his community.
Cho Ndiforchu on Passion Fruit:
Passion Fruit: Cho, let’s talk, shall we? We are now on record.
Cho: Oh the interview begun?
Passion Fruit: Welcome to the Passion Fruit platform. We are so happy to have you here. First of all, welcome home. Let’s get right into it. We learn you attended secondary school at P.S.S Mankon, Bamenda, Cameroon, next you are in the U.S.A military. What is this transition? Who are you and what is your story?
Cho: wow… you did your research. You know your history. Cho Ndiforchu is my name. Yes, did attend secondary school at P.S.S Mankon. Left for the States, at 15 years old, after secondary. My dad was based in the U.S. A, had earlier spent holidays here. I was lucky enough to have passed my exams qualifying me for college directly. Joined the U.S.A military eventually. Travelled around the world, been to almost 40 countries. Settled in Florida in 2015, got my license as a Real Estate Agent. Actually own a Real Estate company, and that’s been the grind up until this date.
Passion Fruit: Attended university in between military?
Cho: Sure.
Passion Fruit: Let’s talk about Selling Tampa. How did you end up featuring in the series?
Cho: Actually, it just happened. Colony Reeves happens to be a friend & we are all into Real Estate. Got out there for business as you could see, met the camera crew, lighting & then I was like; ok, let’s keep it rolling.
Passion Fruit: So how did you acquire success?
Cho: Wait! I don’t consider myself successful.
Passion Fruit: You said, you don’t consider yourself successful. How do you define success?
Cho: Maaaan! You know, success for me is… for the longest time, I have had a certain set of goals. And my goals are pretty high, right?! And like any goal, you build your way up, you take it a step at a time. You got it? So I haven’t quite gotten to my ultimate goals yet. People may see your climb, people may see the steps that you are taking & they say you are successful & to me, you know, a lot of people celebrate my steps & rightfully so. I feel like if you do something great, it should be celebrated, not taking that away from anyone. But personally, I don’t think I could fully celebrate until I accomplish my goals.
Passion Fruit: And what are these goals?
Cho: My goals?
Passion Fruit: Yes, Cho… Please!
Cho: Oh Maaaan! Now you getting deep! Chuckles
Passion Fruit: You can tell us on Passion Fruit, we won’t tell anyone. winks
Cho: You won’t tell anyone? burst out laughing… Ehmmm I will tell you one of my goals. One of my really, really big goals has been to establish some kind of platform in Cameroon, in some kind of way involving housing, Real Estate, ‘cause I’m in Real Estate but in the residential Real Estate. Basically, to help low income residence of the country step to better living conditions. Just move the society up, one step at a time.
Passion Fruit: oh it’s your way of giving back to your community?!
Cho: Of course, it’s my way of giving back. I know what I know, & what I’ve studied, & what I do back in the States & I want to equally help people back home take that next step forward. I don’t want my country to be a third world country much longer. I feel like we have a lot of resources, a lot of things to offer, if well applied, we could step out of this, quote on quote, “darkness” of being referred to as a third world country. I feel like the word “third world country” screams we are less than & I absolutely hate that. Huh, by definition, yes, we are a 3rd World Country, I understand that, but when it’s said in conversation, it disgusts me. I’m always like: noooo! My country is not a 3rd World Country & I believe we are so much more. I feel like we need to apply what we have better & use it to our advantage. And I will give that little piece of help in my own little way. A lot of diaspora, a lot of people go overseas, Europe or the States, & you learn a trade or you learn something, you know. You can recreate these things, bring these things back & help the country evolve. So if I can do something in a very, very miniscule way & ten people do that, then a hundred people do that, then a thousand people do that, this country will be out of this 3rd World status in no time. So one of my very big goals is essentially getting the country out of this third world crew. Right now I’m establishing a platform, not yet concrete but I’m still working on it. It’s all about helping to provide the essentials of life.
Passion Fruit: Hummm. What are these essentials of life?
Cho: When we talk about essentials of life, we are talking about necessities of life, we talking about air, water & shelter. Those are the top 3, I believe. I think love is the fourth, I’m not sure.
Passion Fruit: I think it’s the first! Laughs out
Cho: laughs Love is the first? You need air to live, you need water to live, you need shelter!
Passion Fruit: Moving forward, I think we just shot two birds. While revealing what success is to you, you answered what was our next question: what is your purpose? Your answer has been: using your privileges to give back…
Cho: Of course, yeah. And again, that’s the reason why I don’t consider myself successful yet cause I haven’t quite figured that out. I have certain goals, I mean, this is just one of them, ehmmm, that I’m sharing; that I want to do & I haven’t accomplished, I’m taking steps. You ask people & they say: ohh yes! Cho’s successful… & you ask me I’m like: noooo! I’m really not.
Passion Fruit: Because you haven’t …
Cho: I haven’t finished. I haven’t quite hit the nail.
Passion Fruit: ok! We feel like you have achieved… oh yes sir, you have achieved a lot…
( chuckles from Cho)
But there’s a bigger purpose you are looking for in all of it. I bet your big pursuit is finding your: WHY?
And I want to pause from questions & really say this: it’s really amazing having you say all of these & think this way. One of my big purpose on the platform is helping people highlight their Whys. You went to the States at 15, you have the means & resources to forget your homeland but here you are, putting it first place. There’s a lot of kindness, generosity & humanity in that. These are the stories we want to hear.
Cho: I look at it as a duty…
Passion Fruit: nods
Cho: You talked about generosity & kindness, I don’t really look at it like that. It’s a duty, it’s a must. I see others doing amazing too, giving back. I feel like you can be a citizen of the world, I am a citizen of the world. I love working with other people and I love my origin. As a citizen of the world, I love interacting with other people. I learn a lot from other people & places, which enables me to help other people. Being that this is my country, my origin of blood, I want to move it along, further ahead than it is right now. Not just me, but there’s other diasporans who have the opportunity to learn something. Whatever it is, master it & bring it back so we can implement & move out of this funk. So success to me is ongoing, doing my best every day to be better. Learn from people. Obviously you can’t just hijack a system & change it from the norm or status quo. You have to do things slowly, gradually. Change is hard. So it’s not just bringing new things but it’s also finding ways for people to learn from these new things & implement them into their daily activities. You can’t just bring the western world into our system like that in a heartbeat, ‘cause it wouldn’t be easily accepted or absorbed. That’s the difficult part. Why we need a lot of education on it, a lot of exposure. That’s why platforms like yours are fantastic. You are opening up the current country to a lot of perspectives & ways of life. I feel like if people work together, specifically speaking of this place, Cameroon, which is a beautiful country, its people are so great; we will record lots of greatness. I know how many times I have gotten people visit Cameroon & they come back like, it’s so amazing, it’s one of a kind. Sorry, I’m biased, a little here, it’s my pays. chuckles
Passion Fruit: Well, we are proud of you. We are proud of everything you are achieving. We love that you are putting Cameroon on the map. It’s less about you being on a reality series but about your intellect & dreams for our country & continent. You know what, we’ve been so deep, let’s get lighter here. How old is Cho? We saw 32 somewhere but we sayin’: nope nope! Google, why are you lying?
Cho: laughs my age??? You don’t know? You couldn’t figure that out? I mean, you made out the schools I attended, when I did & not my age? 35… 35! Now… But I’m 36 later this year! So I’m in my mid 30s, literally.
Passion Fruit: Soooo… On “Selling Tampa”, they kinda said you are Single? How can you be single & why are you single?
Cho: Oh.. how can I be single?
Passion Fruit: shrugs … We don’t know. Is that true? Were y’all putting up a front? Listen! You & Colony Reeves were getting along a lot…. la la la bats eyelids quickly… We don’t know what happens behind the scenes… We don’t know, we don’t know! We want you to tell us! How Single are you?
Cho: oh my! This is supposed to be an exclusive interview. So you want the truth?
Passion Fruit: Girls! Girls! Don’t you want to know?
Cho: The real truth, the real real… Are you ready? I feel like we need a drum roll or something… Laughs
Passion Fruit: taps on the table severally
Cho: That’s a horrible drum roll but I will take it…ehm, I am Single. Currently dating. When the show aired, I was single & I wasn’t even dating at the time. Right now, I’m still single but I’m dating. But why am I single, I have no idea how to answer that question. I have being moving a lot, I have being traveling a lot. Like I told you, I was in the military before. With that life style, it’s so difficult to maintain a relationship, it really is. Unless you are good at long distance relationships but maintaining a relationship is very tough. I’m single. I focus a lot on work. I’m either working out or traveling or something like that. Yeah, I’m currently dating. I’m like every other person… we are all trying to figure it out. We are all trying to find the One, we are all trying to find love, we are all trying to be with someone who cares about us & be connected to something greater, build a family. Sure, I’m all about family & multiplying & being a family man, that’s right. That’s the way.
Passion Fruit: So ladies, he’s still trying to figure it out, don’t give up!
So I bet you will be leaving Cameroon soon?
Cho: Sure! I will be leaving soon. Get back to working on my ultimate goals & I still have a lot of work to do.
Passion Fruit: And what’s your obsession with working out? Military?
Cho: Absolutely not! Absolutely not. I wouldn’t say obsession & again I wouldn’t say obsession. Here’s my body building story. I use to play soccer, football right up to military. Hurt my knee, did rehab, had to repair my knee at the gym, paired up with a coach, started working out, enjoyed it, got good at it, was kind of a therapy. Coach referred me to a body building competition, thought it was a good way to have fun & lose laughs. Ended up winning at the show & like anything else, when you win, you get even more interested in it. Took it more seriously, won a lot of other shows. So I didn’t choose it, it stuck with me. In 2019, I got my pro card, a professional card from a professional federation called IFBB pro. So now I’m considered a pro bodybuilder. Working out is a lifestyle for me. Helps me focus, it helps me de-stress, it boost confidence & keeps me fit & healthy too.
Passion Fruit: Yeah now I know a lot about you. I was going to ask, having been out so long, do you have friends here you still connect with? Friends from school days?
Cho: I have a lot of friends I connect with. And even more, with Facebook & Instagram.
Passion Fruit: Cho, we know you are a celebrity now. But you don’t follow us on Instagram. Can you follow us too, so we feel like we have a celebrity on our timeline?
Cho: laughs… I am a celebrity now? I don’t follow you? Oh… Shame on me! I’m gonna say this on the mic: shame on me! How come you didn’t text me & say: by the way, why aren’t you following Miss Passion Fruit?
Passion Fruit: Then I was testing waters, trying to get you on the platform. Wasn’t trying to push too many buttons. Now I can confidently say, follow us right now! chuckles
Cho: You know what’s funny? I’m not big on social media. I don’t get stuck on it.
Passion Fruit: Conservative, much?
Cho: Yeah. Kind of. I enjoy moments so much that I forget to take pictures. My friends & I love going to South America. We did Portugal, New Year, though. I remember I was having so much fun & at the end, I was like, snap! No pictures to show!
Passion Fruit: Well, now that you are a celebrity, we want to see you in fancy places. Superficial right?! But we don’t care. We want to see a little bit into your day to day life, and that and that…
Cho: I’m not that guy who would only hang out in fancy places…
Passion Fruit: You know, that could actually be a good thing, because, not giving out too much information, makes us want to know more… giving us the Jay Z & Beyoncé vibe, huh?! Intriguing…
giggles
And the thing is, that doesn’t alter working with Passion Fruit. The good news is, we are not chasing popularity, we are after people with vision & a sense of purpose.
But Cho you cannot say you’re not fancy; we saw you at the pool… winks
Cho: Oh I think I am someone who loves quality, and I am not referring to materialistic stuff, I mean quality in life. And there is none better than spending time with other humans. And instead of fancy restaurants, I will choose the most simplistic, never talked about places which often offer the most delicious menu. We find the most beauty in the most basic things. Had one of my best experiences in Spain, Barcelona. I also did Tchop et Yamo here in Douala, the other day, ate some puff-puff and beans. It was a good experience but I still didn’t get the appeal of the streets.
Passion Fruit: We talked over cocktail & I might run late for work tomorrow. Hopefully you will employ us, if we do. We are super glad we had you on the platform. There’s a way all of our questions of you interconnected into your responses so we didn’t even have to ask again. So what are your last words for Passion Fruit?
Cho: Ehmmm thank you for having me, thank you for the interview, I appreciate what you do for the culture. I think that shedding light on stories, from far & wide, and bringing them together, can be a helping hand to show how influential we could all be. If people can listen to this and to other outlets, they can see the little they contribute, can help transform our country, change our environment. I applaud you for putting these stories out, I applaud you for demonstrating that things are possible, if you believe in them and take necessary steps in creating a life we want for self, family and others. So thanks, it’s been my honour.
Passion Fruit: Thank You so much for the props and thank you again for chatting to us. It was the most insightful conversation. Thank you for being transparent. Hope to have you again. Wish you all the best in your future endeavours and safe travels back home and the United States.
You can catch Cho Ndiforchu on his social media platforms:
Instagram: https://instagram.com/ndiforchu_ifbbpro?utm_medium=copy_link
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cho.ndiforchu
Postscript:
Waiter pops up with the bills
Passion Fruit: Are we splitting Bills?
Cho: No, noooo! I got this!
Passion Fruit: (in pidgin English) if you be try say YES, I for tell you say na pays we dey…
Loud Laughter
