It all went down in the DM! We first met our newest Kali crew member through instagram. She reached out to us expressing how she appreciated the message and direction of our brand. In the early months it was nice to know we were really connecting to some of you and above else someone was "getting us”! After getting to know one of Prevail's boxing trainers, we knew we had to profile Leila for the blog because she is the perfect representation of the type of ladies that inspire our brand! She’s not only a beautiful “warrior princess”as she puts it, but she’s getting ready to flex her law degree to help make a difference in people’s lives. Move over Olivia Benson you got nothing on our girl!
Name / Where you live now / Where you're originally from:
Leila Leilani Meimandi - Currently living in Los Angeles. Originally from the San Fernando Valley. Hawaii is my second home!
How did you get into boxing?
Well growing up as a cop’s daughter was definitely my crash course into self-defense. My dad was adamant about my sister and I knowing how to defend ourselves, whether it was putting in hours at the dojo or backyard boxing with my Senseis/cop uncles. I was put into martial arts at a young age and instantly fell in love with both sparring and the bow staff. I ended up practicing martial arts all the way through high school/early college. In the past year, I have been focused on learning everything I can about the technical aspects of boxing. It’s been a fun experience learning to incorporate my years of high school sports and martial arts into my very own boxing style.
Where do you work?
Prevail Los Angeles. (Go check this place out if anyone is ever in West Hollywood. It's a great fast paced boxing style workout.)
How did you become a trainer at Prevail?
I had been working out at Prevail for about a month and was addicted to Prevail’s killer workout and sense of community. I remember telling a couple of my friends that I thought it would be pretty cool to be a trainer at Prevail but quickly laughed off the far fetched idea. I was a full time law student and the notion adding anything else to my schedule sounded crazy. Then one random day, I was scrolling through the Prevail website and saw a new post for “Trainers Assistant”. After some encouragement from my friends and soon to be coworkers I applied for the position figuring I had nothing to lose. Within a few short weeks I had interviewed, ran a mock workout, and the rest is perfect match history. I’ve never been so incredibly busy yet happy as can be.
You recently received your law degree, congratulations! What made you want to choose Law as your career path?
Thank you. Growing up I was always extremely talkative and used my quick mouth to get myself in and out of trouble. I think I chose law because I realized I should probably use this power for good not evil. No but in all seriousness, I have always known two things about myself: 1. Being an older sister, I am naturally hardwired to protect others and 2. That I derive a lot of enjoyment and energy from connecting with people.
The law allows me to fuse my personable side with my protective nature. When I interact with people and listen to their various stories, I realize that my law degree gives me the power to not just listen but to actually make some type of meaningful difference in their life. And trust me.. there is no greater joy than knowing you’ve alleviated someone’s suffering or helped someone get what they want when they didn’t have a voice all because you were their advocate.
Seems like you'll be really busy now that you are a law grad. What or who is your daily motivator? What keeps you motivated?
My daily motivation comes from my family. My dad instilled in me the importance of family and of knowing “who you are and where you come from” in order to be successful in life. My mom is the motivation behind my smile. She taught me the power of a smile and the importance in treating each and every person with kindness and respect.
As far as what motivates me, I am motivated by the desire to become a better version of myself each and every day by always staying challenged. We only have one life to live so I intend on exhausting every talent and gift I was given. I am also motivated by the desire to be an energetic source of encouragement, inspiration, and motivation. If my words of encouragement can make one client leave their workout feeling better about themselves, then I have done my job right. If one person’s day was made a little bit better after interacting with me, then my day has been meaningful.
Kali Active finds inspiration from strong ladies like yourself. What was it about the brand that made you want to connect with us?
The thing that made me feel an instant connection to the Kali Active brand was the brand’s celebration of the new generation of woman. A woman that is diverse whether it is in her ethnicity, her interests, or her passions. The phrase that you’ll often hear me use is “Warrior Princess”. Kali Active celebrates this “Warrior Princess” of a woman, a woman who is strong, intelligent, and athletic without needing to compromise any sense of femininity, beauty, or grace. I am excited and humbled to be a part of this movement.