One of the most memorable names in the adult industry, literally, almost certainly
belongs to Zdenka Podkapova. In an industry where most stars
opt for the simplest aliases possible, a star with possibly one of the most complicated
names opted not change hers. As a result, her identity stayed intact and her popularity
took off thanks to not blending into the crowd with a forgettable name.
Her career in adult entertainment started off the back of a notable career
in gymnastics in her earlier years. Indeed, so talented a gymnast was she that
she managed a 10 year professional career in the sport, representing the Czech
national team over the course of 5 consecutive years, and winning her national
championship 4 times. By her own admission, she wasn’t the best gymnast
in the world – but that might be very harsh on her own part. Gymnastics
in eastern Europe are of a VERY high standard. Her accomplishments were exceptional.
As the end of her career approached in the sport, Zdenka Podkapova
the gymnast was left wondering what she would be doing next. It looked like
that it would be Zdenka Podkapova the economist as she finished
college with qualifications on the subject, but she was left unsure of her future
when she was approached by a photographer called Christophe Mourte
at 18 who showed interest in her as a potential model. Although initially rejecting
his offer, she contacted him after she had finished her educational commitments
and subsequently completed her first shoot in October 1996.
In some ways, the move was a pioneering one. Many gymnasts from eastern Europe
have seen the opportunity to make lots of money away from their sport in nude
photography – their flexibility and slim beauty has made them very popular with
photographers and photography sites from the former Eastern Bloc. If you asked
some of them, they are likely to say that Zdenka Podkapova
was, to a greater or lesser extent, an inspiration for them.
It seemed unlikely that her gymnastics career could blossom once she passed
18 anyway. She had become naturally busty – those things can get in the
way when you’re swinging around a pommel horse! So she threw herself full-time
into a nude modelling career with the same photographer who had approached her
as an 18 year old, shooting many different galleries and videos for Mourte for
around 2 years until she grew increasingly confident in her ability to rise
to an international stage. However, she still continues to work with him today.
She completed her first shoots for the US version of Penthouse
in April 1998, and was immediately named their Pet Of The Month.
3 years later she was to conclude an extremely successful period of a working
relationship with the magazine when she was named Pet Of The Year,
confirming her rise to an internationally lusted after pin-up. Thereafter, she
became hugely popular as a covergirl for all manner of magazines of different
themes, but the timing of her rise couldn’t be better.
All manner of internet sites clambered for her services and she found herself
as one of the first eastern European girls to make a real splash as a ‘gun for
hire’ model, appearing on the sites of all manner of companies and photographers
looking to populate their pages with models from the Continent. The start-up
of all manner of sites in this vein came along at just the right time for Zdenka.
Soon, it wouldn’t be long before more mainstream magazines come knocking.
Front, Esquire and Maxim all featured her
as covergirls, and not just in the editions published in her home nation either.
The clear boundaries she
