About Us

Hi, I’m Vanja Vukas, the founder of Functional Body Savage. I am also a Faculty of Sports and Physical Education student and someone who deeply values movement and exercise culture.

Since I was 7, I knew nothing but training as I was regularly practicing basketball up to two or three times a day. I started as a basketball player in a small city called Sombor, Serbia. It wasn’t easy at the start, but with hard work and dedication, I managed to progress and move up the ladder.

When I was 14, I was invited to play for a Hungarian basketball club called Ratgeber Academy.

At the start, I wasn’t entirely sure what to think about the invitation as I was still young. I also never really thought that much about leaving the country. Part of it was a thought of seeing the loved one less often, so the choice was as hard as it gets, at least from the perspective of a 14-year-old.

Long story short, I decided to take a leap of faith and test myself to see if I have the potential to become a professional basketball player. I stayed in Hungary for 4 years, and in my fifth year, something extraordinary happened.

I got invited by the first league team to be their backup point guard, which was actually crazy since I was still very young. Also, the first point guard already played in the Euro Cup, and he could’ve practically been my dad. Everything was like a dream, and I was so proud that my hard-invested time finally paid off.

COVID-19 quickly spread throughout the entire country, and I was basically in a cage, unable to leave the city without getting penalized or sent home.

All I was left with were my thoughts.

Vanja Vukas

My enemies…

I quickly realized I was lying to myself for half of my life.

I realized I was never supposed to become a basketball player.

In my mind, that simply wasn’t my mission and opportunity to impact the world the way I was supposed to. 

The world didn’t need another basketball player. 

I decided to come back home.

Depressed.

Devastated.

Medicated.

Judged.

Crushed.

Meaningless.

My whole world was destroyed. I realized that something I built for 12 years straight for EVERY SINGLE DAY

has died….

Images of young Vanja as a basketball player

This was the end. It seemed to me there wasn’t a light at the end of my tunnel. Well, that wasn’t even the hardest part. 

The majority of people I knew, who supposedly I was good with, left me. 

So much about their pure intentions.

The only people who decided to stay were my closest family members and my best friend.

So, for the following 12 months, I walked the streets feeling like a ghost. I was continually stopped on the streets by all the people I knew, asking me why I was there. Why am I not in Hungary playing basketball?

One of the hardest things I experienced was getting asked the same questions and living through the same trauma every single day, over and over again, for an entire year….

When the summer began, I needed to make a choice. I was either gonna start working or pursue a college degree. I chose the latter. Just before the end of 2022, I felt something was boiling inside me.

An idea long forgotten.

A dream never pursued.

The call I was waiting for, my Northstar, and the new-found meaning.

I decided to finally create a website for all the people who would like to change their lives through exercise and movement.

Functional Body Savage was born.

I was driven to make this work. I realized it was my mission to create the highest-quality content in the fitness space. I was ready to serve.

How Functional Body Savage Came to Life​

Images of Vanja doing various exercises

As someone deeply immersed in the world of ideas and foolish idealism, I contemplated the place on the internet where strength meets function and purpose. 

However, except for a few places I found online, I couldn’t find a place where I would learn how to exercise with a specific purpose in mind.

So, one day, I decided to create such a place.

If I couldn’t find it I better create it, I thought so.

Functional Body Savage came to life because one man had an idea to share his knowledge about movement and exercising with the world so people can live healthier and more meaningful lives.

I remember it like it was yesterday.

Just before New Year’s Eve, I made a vow.

A vow to my destiny, a newly found and uncovered meaning of life.

I gave myself a promise to immediately after I finish the celebration of New Year’s Eve, I start building the website.

And that’s how it all started. In just a couple of days, my website was live and running.

What Inspired Us?

The inspiration behind Functional Body Savage was simple.

It is to educate as many people as we can about living a meaningful and healthy lifestyle.

However, the thing that truly inspired me to start Functional Body Savage was a story.

It is a story so powerful yet terrifying that I am not going to share it today.

When I was a kid, I loved listening to stories. Stories are powerful. They convey hidden meanings and offer you unique steps you can take to improve your life and make it more fulfilling and meaningful.

Why did we stop listening to such stories as we grew older?

What changed so we gave up on these ancient pieces of practical knowledge?

Well, the future of this blog promises to uncover exactly that.

Since we are probably still in the beginning stages of developing Functional Body Savage, I aim to diversify its current trajectory by offering something unique to the market.

Powerful stories and inspirations that will help you live better, be healthier, and experience every piece of this unique living experience.

We aim to forge capable human beings equipped with ancient knowledge of exercise and movement. All we are asking for is to learn and transform every single day. Don’t stop. Keep learning and growing.

In turn, we promise to make you physically and mentally equipped with knowledge to transform your life once and for all.

Our Goal

Our goal is to transform every single one of our readers into physically and mentally more capable human beings.

While this is definitely not an easy task, our team promises to do everything so this goal becomes a reality. We offer exercise guides, practical and effective workouts, programs, consulting, coaching, equipment reviews, and much more.

Living a healthier life is a marathon.

All you need to do is sacrifice short-term gratification for a better, healthier, and more meaningful future.

I know it is hard. 

But nothing is more meaningful and better than that.

Images of Vanja working out

Why You Should Trust Us at Functional Body Savage

At Functional Body Savage, we aim to approach every subject from a unique angle that is always scientifically backed but still offers a unique subjective experience.

We promise only to offer unbiased reviews and honest opinions on workouts, exercises, training philosophies, and much more.

We are dedicated to sharing only that which can be useful and improve the lives of our readers and followers. Nothing is better and more meaningful than helping another human being in the face of adversities, whatever they may be.

We promise to thoroughly research, test, and unbiasedly evaluate and review every single piece of equipment and different products you may learn about on our website. 

The goal is simple. 

It is to help you become a better version of yourself by only spending your hard-earned energy, time, and money on something that can actually transform your life.