Kiana Tom was first introduced to a large audience in 1988 with regular appearances on the ESPN sports network program "Body Shaping" -- hosted by Corey Everson. Kiana's commitment to staying fit, experience with weight training, and exotic good looks made her a perfect fit for the instructional fitness show.

As Corey Everson's assistant on "Body Shaping," Kiana began to build a following among the shows regular viewers. Upon Corey Everson's departure from "Body Shaping," Kiana became co-host of the show with Rick Valenti and Kendell Hogan. It did not take long for the executives at ESPN to realize that Kiana was the cast member primarily responsible for the shows relatively good ratings. This realization eventually led to the creation of a fitness show that Kiana Tom would produce and host.

In 1995 "Kiana's Flex Appeal" made its television debut on the recently launched spin off sports network ESPN2. Not long after, "Kiana's Flex Appeal" became the highest rated show on the fledgling network. The popularity of the show "Kiana's Flex Appeal" was not only due to its instructional weight training segments, but also the show encouraged its viewers to make their workouts part of an active lifestyle. In addition, inviting guests, often trainers or body builders, to workout with Kiana pleased many of the regular viewers of the show. But there was no doubt that Kiana was the main attraction. Kiana's popularity led to her hosting yet another fitness show on ESPN2. The program "Too Fit 2 Quit," though less successful than "Kiana's Flex Appeal," also received a favorable response from much of Kiana's growing fan base.

Both "Kiana's Flex Appeal" and "Too Fit 2 Quit" were created and produced by Kiana's company, Kiana Tom Productions Incorporated. Kiana's production company also released its own signature line of products, which included instructional videos, audio tapes, and fitness wear Kiana can be seen in during most episodes of "Kiana's Flex Appeal." Eventually, both "Kiana's Flex Appeal" and "Too Fit 2 Quit" were cancelled. This, however, did not end Kiana Tom's involvement with the ESPN sports network. Kiana Tom was host of several Fitness America Pageants featured on ESPN. Kiana also added host of ESPN's X games to her list of credits.

With Kiana Tom's popularity continuing to grow, the decision was made to take on a new challenge outside of the fitness industry. In 1995, Kiana Tom sought to make a name for herself in hollywood with an appearance on the big screen with the role of "Anastasia" in the movie "Cyber Bandits." This limited role was followed by the much larger co-starring role of "Maggie" in the 1999 release of "Universal Soldier: The Return" starring Jean-Claude Van Damme. Though neither movie achieved box office success, these parts in major motion pictures undoubtedly earned Kiana many more adoring fans.

The aforementioned Kiana Tom Productions in September of 2002 helped promote the book "Kiana's Body Sculpting," which was published by Suburban Meltdown Publication. The book is a fully illustrated workout guide and Kiana acts as the readers personal trainer. Also in 2002, Kiana Tom appeared in a publication of a very different sort. Kiana bared all in the May 2002 issue of the mens magazine Playboy. She appeared on the issues cover as well as in a six picture spread within the magazine.

Perhaps her most noteworthy achievement after over a decade of work within the fitness industry was being awarded the United States Sports Academy Eisenhower Award. A crowning achievement on what has been a lengthy and very successful career as a fitness professional.

Kiana Tom Factoids

Kiana Tom Flex Appeal Video Clips

(Updated: July 21, 2008)
Message board postings from the ESPN classic show Kiana Tom's flex appeal.
Note: Credit goes to contributor "Zion" for posting these clips.

Kiana Tom Flex Appeal Photos