Sophia Kopasakis

With over a decade in the fitness industry and a Bachelor’s degree in Exercise Sciences, I bring a deep and practiced understanding of human movement to my work. I’ve been practicing Functional Patterns for the past five years, specializing in helping clients optimize biomechanics for real-world performance and pain-free living. My foundation as a competitive athlete—first in cross-country and long-distance track in high school, then as a collegiate rower—shaped my relentless pursuit of efficient, powerful, and sustainable movement.

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Today, I also channel that expertise into my work as a professional circus artist, specializing in fire arts. My background in human biomechanics gives me a unique edge in performance artistry, allowing me to move with purpose, precision, and resilience. Whether I’m helping clients realign their gait or refining movement patterns for my own flow, I’m committed to mastery and producing results.

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I chose to work at Cleveland Biomechanics because it’s the only facility in Northeast Ohio that is fully dedicated to the Functional Patterns methodology. After working in various gyms over the last ten years, it’s also the first place I’ve experienced a truly collaborative team environment—one where everyone actively contributes to the greater good of the company. My goal during my time here is to build a full client base and reach a healthy pay rate that allows me to support myself independently. I appreciate how much I continue to learn through team meet-ups and shared growth, and I’m excited to keep building a career rooted in both financial stability and professional excellence.

The moment I started training with Ryan, I realized I had been moving incorrectly almost my entire life.

Even though I had an extensive athletic history, I was struggling very hard at the beginning of my Functional Patterns journey.

The main thing that I struggled with the most was slowing down my movements when I train and slowing down in my life as a whole.

I just didn’t want to stop moving quickly; because moving quickly was what got me gold medals for my entire teenage and adult life.

Another thing that Functional Patterns showed me was my intense desire to always be moving.

Not only did I struggle to slow down, but I never wanted to stop moving or rest properly.

During the week, I would wake up early to get to work, train, and tend to my house chores.

But on the weekends, I would spend hours each night, dancing into the wee hours of the morning.

On top of all that, my diet was completely backwards.

Not only was I moving incorrectly and not giving myself any time to rest at all, but I also wasn’t nourishing myself properly.

Thankfully with Ryan's advice, over time, I picked up the Functional Patterns concepts.

I started eating healthier, training smarter, my body started feeling much better and stronger, but I was still struggling with pain in my feet and ankles.

My breakthrough with my feet and ankles came when I started to rest more and move less.

Why has my body been having so many pain issues over my entire life?

Because I wasn't training my body in an intentional way to correct my imbalances and I could not give up my party life on the weekends or make myself rest properly.

Each weekend I was wrecking my circadian rhythm and stressing out my body further by "having fun."

After years of battling with myself, I have finally gotten to a point where I no longer feel the desire to party as much and I have better ways to train my body properly.

Now, I am almost completely pain-free most of the time, but still have a lot of work ahead of myself.

Functional Patterns, for me, isn't just a journey to change my body, it's a journey to change my lifestyle and mind.

Before Functional Patterns, I was hanging out with the wrong people, in the wrong places, at the wrong times.

I am not saying that you should never have fun.

What I am saying, is, that there are other ways to enjoy your life without having consequences to your health.

Now that I am more conscious of my dysfunctions and better aware of how to fix them, I am better able to enjoy each moment of each day because I am in less pain and more athletically capable.

Another message I would like to offer is understanding the importance of patience and the art of slowing down.

It is not a bad thing to slow down when you train your body.

Being conscious of your biomechanics; this is how you’ll get even stronger and get out of pain.

Think More. Move Less. Get Results.