I discovered Functional Patterns in 2013 at 23 years old. At the time, I was recovering from my second ACL reconstruction. I had suffered the injury playing football. I had torn ligaments in both my knees within 5 years (2007/2012) while also dealing with a torn labrum in my left shoulder (2007) , a herniated disk in my lumbar (2009), and a couple of other places I was dealing with nagging pain. At 23 years old I had my first child but my body was compromised.

At the time I discovered FP, I had a full-time job that required some manual labor and was a part-time personal trainer. My first training certification and personal training job was in 2009 at 19 years old. I had tried many different ways of training yet at 23 years old I still found myself struggling to do simple things like just be able to work.  I needed a bulky knee brace to do simple tasks and my knees would swell up after a few hours of driving, standing, waking, bending over or lifting objects. I was very frustrated to say the least. 

My frustration lead me to search for how to evolve my health. I had this thought in my mind that it was a do or die situation. Caring for my newborn while nursing my second knee injury was a humbling experience. My search lead me to Functional Patterns and Naudi Aguilar. The moment I saw “Human Training System” and “Human Foundations Training” I knew this was different. The more I investigated the more I was amazed. The results , the objective ways of thinking that was being pushed along side with training to respect the foundations of what allow humans to move intrigued me from the start. My spark of interest quickly turned into a burning passion to do everything I could to get my body beyond what I originally thought it was capable of doing. 

My first year of practicing FP I tried to blend in with things that I already knew. Although some of the Fp protocols at the time helped tremendously I felt limited with my ability to incorporate this training system the way I wanted to. After a few months of this I decided to stop what I was doing and solely focus on FP protocols. This took a lot of patience because I was used to the “no pain no gain” mentality. This forced me to slow down and think more. I started to become more aware of my body and it’s dysfunctions. The initial relief I felt from nagging pain seemed to indicate I was headed in the right direction. 

My first certification course was taken in Austin, Texas in 2015. By 2019, I had taken 4 courses: Human Foundations (Austin, Texas), HBS1 (Seattle), HBS2 & HBS3 (Hawaii). These courses equipped me with experience and knowledge to be able to help myself and others. Experiencing these courses with people from all over the world showed me that there is a community growing and motivated me along with my colleagues to build a hub in New Jersey. 

Functional Patterns New Jersey is cultivating a community of problem solvers. We all come from different places and have different circumstances but we all treat the gym as a laboratory where we test assess what we do on a daily basis continuing to learn how to get the body to move and feel better. 

My mission is to lead by example showcasing that training in relation to our biology (standing, walking, running, throwing)  is essential to truly become healthier, move better, and function at a higher capacity as we get older. By using our brain to code our bodies , we are able to become more regenerative and less degenerative. From children , to adults,  and everything in between we will show how thinking and training in this fashion can truly contribute solutions  to problems that not only individuals deal with in society today (physically and mentally etc.) but also how solving problems/dysfunctions in your body can create a net positive gain to society as a whole.