MEET YOUR TRAINER
At Metrics Fitness Lab, we believe your movement shouldn't be a liability. Our founder's journey from a career-ending injury to pain-free athleticism is the blueprint for everything we do.
IKE STEPHENS
FOUNDER & MASTER TRAINER
For years, basketball was more than just a game, it was a passion that defined my life. Growing up on the courts of the Frank Brown Recreation Center, I lived by a "push through" mentality, ignoring knee discomfort to meet the high expectations of coaches and peers. However, the years of accumulated injury eventually caught up with me. At just 24 years old, despite being a personal trainer with a deep understanding of fitness, I found himself unable to walk up the stairs to my own apartment after a torn meniscus.
​
Following a series of unsuccessful surgeries, specialist appointments, and grueling physical therapy, I was left with excruciating pain and a bleak prognosis. Experts told me my movement would always be limited and that I would have to abandon the sports I loved.​
​​​
“I want you to know, I’ve been where you’re standing...
It is possible to heal your dysfunctions and get out of pain.”
​The search for answers led me to the Functional Patterns (FP) methodology, founded by Naudi Aguilar. While the FP approach challenged everything I had previously learned about traditional fitness, the results were undeniable. By focusing on fascia and movement slings rather than isolated muscle training, I finally saw the life-changing results that surgery and traditional therapy couldn't provide.
​
Today, as a certified Functional Patterns practitioner at Metrics Fitness Lab, I use my personal journey of recovery to help others who feel stuck in the same cycle of pain and skepticism. When a client arrives frustrated by wasted time and money, I connect with them through my own experience, often saying, “I want you to know, I’ve been where you’re standing... It is possible to heal your dysfunctions and get out of pain.”​​​
By training intentionally to correct imbalances in my own body at Metrics Fitness Lab, I reclaimed my life outside of it. Now over 30, I am back on the court at the Rec Center, moving more efficiently and powerfully than I did in my early twenties. I am living proof that with the right methodology and a willingness to change ingrained habits, a pain-free life is within reach.
​
As I tell everyone looking to reclaim their own movement: "When I train with intention and focus on my biomechanics, I’m living my best, pain-free life — and you can too."
"When I train with intention and focus on my biomechanics, I’m living my best, pain-free life — and you can too."
CERTIFICATIONS
Functional Patterns — Human Biomechanics Specialist Level 1 (HBS1)
Human Biomechanics Institute — Mentorship Program (current participant)
GOATA Movement Coach
NASM Certified Personal Trainer (CPT)
NASM Corrective Exercise Specialist (CES)
NASM Weight Loss Specialist (WLS)
NASM Senior Fitness Specialist (SFS)
NASM Neuromuscular Stretching Specialist
NASM Group Fitness Specialist
CPR Certified (current)
FITOUR Certified Personal Trainer (nationally recognized)