OPERATIONS MANAGER

Lejla Nel

I was born in the Netherlands and lived there until late 2024. I’m originally Bosnian, meaning I speak Dutch, Bosnian, and English. I moved to Austin, Texas, in 2024 after a great opportunity presented itself to work at Functional Patterns Texas.

Growing up, I’ve always been interested in sports and movement. As a kid, I played tennis and badminton. Eventually, as a teenager, I traded sports for dancing. This switch was mainly triggered by my love for music, which has been present my entire life. In 2014, I started developing an interest in fitness and strength training. My initial goal was to lose fat and gain muscle. After six years of strength training, I noticed discomfort in my back and chest. I could only walk for 10 minutes without feeling a very uncomfortable burning sensation and tightness on the right side of my back. Since I was only 23 years old, I figured this wasn’t normal, and I needed to change something to solve this problem. Since I was experiencing discomfort and pain in different areas of my body, I stopped working out and started looking for solutions. I tried physical therapy and osteopathy. After doing this for a while, I didn’t notice any improvements. It was getting worse instead.

In 2021, I encountered Functional Patterns. After investing in the Functional Patterns online courses, I immediately quit traditional fitness training. I knew that to solve my problems, I had to change my behavior. Six weeks in, I started noticing progress. I could now walk longer than 10 minutes without feeling the discomfort I experienced before. The transition to being pain-free was smooth and fast.

It’s safe to say that Functional Patterns improved my life. With my bachelor’s degree in HR, the perfect opportunity was presented when Functional Patterns Texas was looking for an Operations Manager. My values aligned perfectly with the company's mission: change people’s lives.