Human Garage The Venice Origins

Chapter 1: The Quiet Beginning – 2013

In the sun-soaked streets of Venice, California, something quietly powerful began to take shape in 2013.

The original Human Garage logo — Mind/Body Repair & Alignment.

While some public narratives simplify or compress the early timeline, the origins were far more hands-on and clinically grounded.

It started in a small garage apartment on Doreen Lane and later grew into a clinic on Washington Boulevard, a place where chronic pain met hands-on healing, and where two very different paths briefly converged to create the early foundation of what would later become Human Garage. Joseph Gonzalez arrived with deep clinical roots. By 2010, he had earned his Certified Personal Trainer credential through the National Federation of Professional Trainers, laying the groundwork for his career path. By 2013, he completed degrees in Sports & Rehabilitation Therapy and Exercise Science from Fremont College. In 2018 receiving his masters in kinesiology. In the early days he served as Lead Neuromuscular Therapist at the Rubenstein Method Wellness Center in Orange County and Beverly Hills, delivering precise neuromuscular calibration and structural realignment to clients seeking lasting relief.

The Rubenstein Meeting – The Posture Realization (2013)

The Rubenstein Wellness Center operated as a one-stop wellness ecosystem. It housed acupuncturists, chiropractors, neuromuscular specialists, physical therapists, and foot specialists. Joseph was the youngest practitioner in the room, the least experienced at that time, surrounded by professionals with fifteen or more years in their respective disciplines.

The vision of the center was integration.

During one evening meeting, the team gathered to brainstorm how to make the model more cohesive and effective. A common agreement emerged, Chronic pain and disease stem from

• Posture

• Stress.

• Inflammation.

In that specific order.

Yet when the conversation turned to posture, fragmentation appeared:

The foot specialist insisted it all begins at the feet. The acupuncturist emphasized chi and energetic blockages. The chiropractor focused on spinal integrity and nervous system communication. The neuromuscular and physical therapy perspective centered on the interaction between muscles and nerves. Each discipline held its own truths, yet none could unify the framework.

Therefore, unable to reconcile the postural model, the team pivoted toward managing stress and inflammation as primary treatment angles. The assumption was that by controlling stress and inflammatory responses through their respective modalities, chronic pain could be reduced.

That meeting altered Joseph’s trajectory. He left with a different realization. They were all correct. The question was not who was right, but how the pieces interconnect.

• How does chiropractic align with acupuncture?

• How does foot mechanics influence spinal integrity?

• How does neuromuscular recalibration integrate with systemic stress response?

• How does it all come together to support posture?

Those questions became the seed.

Branching off – the beginning of Posture treatment programs

That exploration deepened in 2014, when Joseph began his own practice.  Joseph began evolving his neuromuscular applications with postural integration concepts. During that period, the earliest versions of what would later be called “Posture Correction Therapy” began to take shape. It was young, immature, and still forming, but It became the signature treatment inside the early Human Garage clinic. And Gonzalez, its creator, was still refining its language and architecture. Over the years, that understanding matured.

Now, in 2026, the understanding is clear: posture is the structural expression of the nervous system, fascial tension distribution, foot-ground interface, spinal integrity, stress physiology, and inflammatory load. When alignment improves, systemic harmony follows. This integrative understanding became the backbone of Posture Lab LA — a model capable of creating rapid structural shifts that support the body’s holistic ecosystem.

What we know of Garry

https://www.justice.gov/archive/usao/cac/Pressroom/pr2008/131.html

Two years for drug ring – Los Angeles Times

Garry Lineham’s journey had begun in an entrepreneur from a family of business builders, he spotted “holes” in systems early, making his first million in retail by age 20, scaling thirteen companies (some to multi-million valuations in under five years), and applying open-source, collaborative principles to everything from tech to telecom. Then, as a  competitive bodybuilder in the 1980s, he suffered a career-altering injury under a heavy squat, compounded by repeated concussions. The result was more than two decades of chronic pain and dysfunction, pain so severe he was bedridden at times, addicted to adrenaline and sedation, crying on the floor in agony, and eventually losing the ability to even use a computer. After spending millions on therapeutic modalities with only temporary relief, he grew frustrated and took matters into his own hands, eventually seeking clinical help.

This is where Joseph and Garry met in early 2013. Joseph was the Lead Neuromuscular Therapist at the Rubenstein Wellness Center and worked closely with Dr. Rubenstein. When Dr. Rubenstein was unavailable to treat Garry’s chronic pain, Joseph stepped in to perform the Rubenstein Method. Garry required frequent and consistent treatment due to the severity and complexity of his condition.

Chapter 2: From The Rubinstein Center to Garage – The Private Sessions

When the Rubenstein Wellness Center closed in mid-2013, the connection between Garry and Joseph continued. Later that year, Garry, still in pain and searching for answers, began seeing Joseph privately. Joseph had opened his own practice and treated Garry three to five sessions per week, initially at Joseph’s home. As Garry showed improvement, sessions transitioned to Garry’s garage apartment on Doreen Lane in Venice, California.

The foundational work during this phase was intensive, in-person neuromuscular treatment. Gonzalez applied and refined his neuromuscular and structural techniques, methods were systematically developed through years of training and hands-on experience long before Human Garage existed, contrary to later narratives. Photos from 2013–2014 document these early sessions, as quiet moments of progress inside a simple Venice garage.

Through 2014, Joseph continued working with Garry, further evolving the methods while documenting posture screens and assessments. Emails from October 2014 reflect this clinical documentation. By late 2014, Garry’s longstanding chronic back pain had significantly improved during this intensive period of treatment.

Joseph Gonzalez with Brandon Routh — June 9, 2015, during the early private-session era.

Joseph Gonzalez commented,

• “That’s when I knew , if these techniques worked for treating Garry’s pain, after twenty-plus years of hell, then we were onto something massive! Garry wasn’t just a client, he was the walking proof. A complex case like his? If it worked here, it could work anywhere — for athletes, for everyday people, for anyone trapped in traumatic or postural dysfunction. That moment lit the fire of inspiration, this wasn’t just therapy anymore. I had discovered a system.”

Unlike the stories shared in today’s time:

According to Nod Magazine (May 13, 2025),

• Garry had begun exploring basic movement and breathing concepts encountered during incarceration. However, Nod Magazine later noted he possessed “no license to practice” and “zero credentials” in bodywork. http://thenodmag.com/content/meet-human-garage-garry-lineham-trauma-healing-online-messiah

In a September 30, 2017 Ben Greenfield podcast interview,

• Garry publicly credited an early partner named “Joseph Gonzalez” for helping solve the problem of the body reverting after initial relief and for collaborating on refining techniques during the garage/apartment phase — directly acknowledging Joseph’s clinical role in that period. https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/ben-greenfield-life/id283908977?i=1000392905317

While some stories frame this as a lone pain-to-healer journey, the reality was a systematic, clinician-led process: Garry as client, Joseph Gonzalez as the expert applying proven neuromuscular techniques until relief finally stuck.

Further confirmation came in a February 24, 2024 podcast appearance on Essentials: Therapy, Trauma, where Garry described the origin of Human Garage:

• “We have this new protocol called a posture correction protocol that was created by my partner back then, Joseph Gonzalez… And we did it on him [a client]. He, for the first time after surgery, had pain relief… and he happened to be a hairstylist for all the celebrities… we’re talking Katie Lotz… which led to Brandon Routh… to all the celebrities started coming to this garage in Venice to get treatment. And that’s how the Human Garage started.” https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/evolve-with-pete-evans/id1574439999?i=1000646734499

In a June 28, 2024 episode of “Healing with Coherence” (Secrets of Fascia with Garry Lineham), Garry again described the origins:

• “It started as helping people in our garage… in Venice, California… working with another guy named Joseph Gonzalez in my garage… And that was the origin of the therapy… based around releasing restrictions in the body.” He noted they treated celebrities from apartments before moving to a commercial space . https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/secrets-of-fascia-with-garry-lineham-and-human-garage/id1707370609?i=1000660578598

In a June 24, 2025 DTL podcast episode, Garry once more credited the origins:

• “the posture correction therapy… his name Joseph Gonzalez… that’s what we started the Human Garage with.” He described it as a clinical mash-up of modalities for neuromuscular recalibration that became the core method, before the partnership ended over differing visions for growth. https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/be-that-life-experience-with-mary-cristine/id1699199302?i=1000714362114

Contrast that with Garry’s own words in Nod Magazine:

• “I’m not someone who prays, but I told God I would help people get rid of their own pains if he helped me with mine… one day, like divine intervention, the door to his dark solitary confinement room opened… An old man got pushed inside. He was a neurologist who became a chiropractor and, for the next 14 months, 24 hours a day, Lineham learnt everything from him.” Yet the real work ,session after session, was clinician-led, not solitary enlightenment.

• He later claimed expertise from “touching 100,000 bodies” and “learning on the job,” despite Nod Magazine noting “no known medical credentials.”

• And the founding? “Human Garage was born as a clinic… co-founded by Lineham along with Cynthia Leavoy, Jason Van Blerk and Aisha Rodrique.”

Completely omitting the Venice core: Joseph Gonzalez (licensed expert) and Garry Lineham (client).

Chapter 3: The Clinic Era – Growth & Fracture

By 2015, the work transitioned from residential sessions into a dedicated clinic space at 2903 W. Washington Blvd, now known as Abbot Kinney Blvd in Venice, California, above the well known Scopa restaurant. Human Garage was now formally established by Joseph Gonzalez (owner and founder) and Garry Lineham(owner and founder).

Inside the original Venice space — the founding team on the treatment table.

Joseph was publicly recognized as Co-Founder. Business cards listed him as “Master Motion Mechanic, Co-Founder,” complete with an official Human Garage email and direct contact number (physical evidence of my role from the founding years).

From 2015 to 2017, Joseph led the clinical direction, authoring training manuals to standardize methods, educating practitioners, and overseeing the therapeutic framework as the clinic expanded. Timestamped photos from those years show Joseph's unique presence treating clients, leading sessions, and capturing the rhythm of the Venice clinic.

Joseph Gonzalez's original Human Garage card: 'Master Motion Mechanic, Co-founder' — July 16, 2015.

Co-founder cards on display at the Venice clinic — Garry Lineham, Joseph Gonzalez, and team.

While some public accounts emphasize branding, viral growth, or social media reach, the internal structure during these years was built on clinical systems, documentation, and standardized training protocols.

Garry focused on operations, marketing, and expansion. The partnership worked well during its growth phase. Garry oversaw business development and outreach, while Joseph directed the internal clinical systems and therapeutic innovation. Additional speakers were brought in to expand educational offerings.

At its peak (2016), Human Garage employed approximately 25 + team members. This includes our lab testing personnel, chiropractors, trainers, nutritionists, massage therapists, and motion mechanics. The term “Motion Mechanic” reflected the philosophy of analyzing human movement and biomechanics through observation and assessment.

The clinic served high-profile clients including Ben Affleck, Jennifer Garner, Brandon Routh, Caity Lotz, Lauren Cohan, members of the band, Tool, professional athletes, and Olympic athletes. It became widely recognized within the Venice wellness community. Photos from the period document client visits and partnerships, including Kevin Reilly of Turner Broadcasting and collaborations supported by partners such as Suja.

Garry Lineham, Brandon Routh, and Joseph Gonzalez at the Washington Blvd. clinic — April 21, 2016.

The core Human Garage team — building the method together.

Joseph Gonzalez outside the Venice studio during the clinic era.

Contemporary social post from the Venice era — 'Balancing Body and Mind: the Human Garage Story.'

In late 2016 and early 2017, financial discrepancies began to surface. Funds were no longer visible in the accounts. Payroll checks, including Joseph’s, bounced….twice. At the time, the clinic had no significant overhead relative to its revenue.

It made no sense!

In 2014 Both founders had agreed to draw $4,000 per month, with the remaining funds reinvested into growth. Yet despite increasing revenue, the accounts appeared depleted.

Concerned, Joseph requested access to review the financial accounts but was denied by Garry. This marked the beginning of a significant internal fracture. Emails from 2017, retained by Joseph, document the beginning of buyout discussions after payroll checks bounced twice despite growing revenue. These issues were not isolated. Former team members later reported similar experiences with missed paydays, handwritten checks that still deducted taxes, personal tax losses in the thousands, resulting debt, and IRS audits, leading some to cut ties despite positive initial experiences.

• What former human garage employees had to say:

This experience was deeply painful and traumatic. Years of effort, sacrifice, and belief in a shared mission felt shattered. The vision of changing lives through innovative wellness systems felt sudenly disrupted.

Chapter 4: Closure & New Beginnings

By 2019, the Venice clinic had permanently closed. California Franchise Tax Board records show suspension during 2017–2019, consistent with the wind-down of the entity.

By 2019 the Venice clinic was permanently closed — the story continued forward as Posture Lab LA.

In early 2018, Joseph felt called to return to Venice. After a long period of healing, reflection, and regrouping, former clients began reaching out requesting his services. He resumed work at the original Washington Boulevard location, renting space at Hot Yoga LA.

The new chapter

Initially, the idea of “Human Garage 2.0” crossed his mind, but he chose not to revisit the past. Rather than compete with evolving public narratives, he chose to build forward. The experiences had impacted not only him, but many others as well. Instead, he founded Next Level Holistic Healing, a name reflecting personal growth, healing, and forward movement. As Next Level expanded, so did Joseph’s systems and understanding. The evolution was both professional and personal. Over time, the framework matured into something more precise, data-informed, and scalable. This led to the emergence of Posture Lab LA.

Posture Lab LA represents a focused message: posture integrity as the foundation of preventative care and human resilience. In an era of rapid technological advancement and increasing health decline at younger ages, structural alignment and neuromuscular integrity become central to long-term wellbeing.

The mission is not defined by popularity, followers, or sales , but by creating systems that endure, educate, and serve for generations and generations. Posture Lab LA stands as the next chapter, a vision grounded in clinical experience, innovation, forward thinking,  and preventative care. A way to Live Long. Love Well.

Final message from our founder

This is the true , behind the scenes, chronological timeline of the Human Garage story.  No Filters.

#Let’s spread the truth

“ I dedicate this to everyone who believed in me and supported me, in both the good times and the difficult ones. I would not be where I am today without all of you. Let us continue to spread love across the world. When we do, the universe has no choice but to respond.”

– Joseph Gonzalez

References & Sources

• Ben Greenfield Podcast with Garry Lineham (released September 30, 2017): Transcript and audio available at bengreenfieldlife.com (search "Human Garage"). https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/ben-greenfield-life/id283908977?i=1000392905317
• Nod Magazine profile on Garry Lineham (May 13, 2025): http://thenodmag.com/content/meet-human-garage-garry-lineham-trauma-healing-online-messiah
• Essentials: Therapy, Trauma podcast with Garry Lineham (February 24, 2024): innerspace (search episode title for full audio/transcript). https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/evolve-with-pete-evans/id1574439999?i=1000646734499
• DTL podcast with Garry Lineham (June 24, 2025): https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/be-that-life-experience-with-mary-cristine/id1699199302?i=1000714362114
• Gravity Podcast episode G05 with Garry Lineham (January 13, 2020): https://thegravitypodcast.com/g05-garry-lineham
• Secrets of Fascia with Garry Lineham and Human Garage: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/secrets-of-fascia-with-garry-lineham-and-human-garage/id1707370609?i=1000660578598
• California Franchise Tax Board public records (Human Garage entity status 2017–2019): ftb.ca.gov (search suspended entities).
• U.S. Department of Justice press release (2008): https://www.justice.gov/archive/usao/cac/Pressroom/pr2008/131.html — "Two years for drug ring" (Los Angeles Times).
• Personal photos and business cards (2013–2018): provided by Joseph Gonzalez (Doreen Lane sessions, clinic interiors, team groups, co-founder card from July 16, 2015).