About Martin and his Mission
The Why Behind Foundation You:
Foundation You was founded in 2020 as an evolution from my time as a freelancing therapist, teacher, and coach.
Its mission is to be a place of inspiration and reconnection—a place where you can come to for help, support and guidance with your health challenges.
A place where you can trust that someone is working in service to you and your journey. Where you can be seen and heard even if it’s sometimes vulnerable.
It is a place where every client gets time and is treated with kindness and
Where mastery of our craft as therapists, coaches and teachers is what drives us towards excellence.
It is a movement created to show new ways of operating within the healthcare and wellness industry.
They are questioning old systems and their efficiency and combining different modalities and schools of thought to create a unique and outstanding service for our customers.
We believe in collaboration and building bridges and networks between professionals so that we, as therapists, can focus on what matters most: being in service to our clients without neglecting ourselves.
I believe in working within an industry that allows for constant growth and curiosity, where we can combine art and science to create magic.
A way of working that takes care of our needs as practitioners so that we can be of service to others without burning out.
We practice shining the light on what is not working, what can be changed and that there are better ways to promote health vitality that are working with the Human that is coming to us for support.
Whether it’s serving in our private practice 1on1, leading group workshops and seminars or guiding future practitioners into a systematic and new way of running a business, clinic or practice that takes care of you and your clients.
It is a place to come home. To pause to be curious, to let go of what doesn’t work for you, and to make space to discover what does.
Welcome to Foundation You
Born out of pain and suffering, at the age of 21, Martin was hitting rock bottom. Depressed in chronic pain and utterly exhausted, there was just an emptiness and a desperate, silent cry for help.
Feeling disappointed with medical specialists who didn’t meet him where he was and treated him from a top-down position, he got frustrated with the traditional healthcare system and began to look for solutions.
Soon after, he met his first mentor, Wolfgang Fischer, who not only supported Martin in his healing and getting out of pain but also became his first mentor and teacher in the field of holistic therapy.
Over the next two years, Wolfgang taught Martin a system of working with the body and manual therapy techniques to restore function and mobility and decrease pain.
That was a moment of recognising a deep calling and satisfaction within himself that Martin hadn’t felt in a long time. Being of service and doing something useful with his own hands, as Rudolf Steiner would call it, connecting head, heart and hands. This was an eureka moment that determined the course of Martins’s life forever.
Since then, Martin has grown his knowledge and practical experience for over ten years. Completed a degree in Sports science and several certifications in Manual therapy, myofascial release and trigger point therapy, as well as somatic movement therapy training in Auckland, NZ.
In his last three years, he studied with the CHEK Institute in San Diego, California, founded by Paul Chek. It combines Western medicine and physical therapy with Eastern traditions to craft a holistic system to assess the whole Human and to create highly effective healing programs.
In 2024, Martin is continuing his studies with the Chek Institute in his 4th of 5 years, transitioning into the advanced academy level, where he will deepen his level of understanding and expertise even further to serve his clients in Mangawhai, New Zealand and around the world.
His passion for learning and mastery is ever present, and becoming a father has sparked new heights of motivation to create a future for the generations to come.
If you have read this far, I thank you for your time and wish you health, vitality and a great life. I am looking forward to being of service to you.
Martin, Founder Foundation You
Martins Education/Credentials/Experience:
Work Experience:
Massage Therapy, Rehabilitation, Strength, Conditioning, and Holistic Lifestyle Coaching
Self-Employed Foundation You /Martin Gebhardt Coaching
November 2013 to present (10 years)
Worked for an innovative German rehabilitation manufacturer (Sensosports GmbH), designing and running their group classes and private session,
March 2014 – March 2015
2-year internship with Wolfgang Fischer, a senior manual therapist, training me in therapeutic & and deep tissue massage.
Worked for a busy physiotherapy clinic in Frankfurt, Germany as a rehabilitation & and massage therapist (physio & wellness GmbH),
May 2019 – October 2019
Worked on yoga, sports & and wellness retreats throughout Germany & and Europe
Moving to New Zealand, I supported the management of a wellness & and yoga studio in Titirangi, Auckland as part of a 1-year internship program.
I have been running my massage & and rehabilitation clinic and teaching yoga classes in Mangawhai since 2020
Freelance personal training & massage therapy 2013-today.
Relevant skills:
Deep tissue/sports massage
Integrated movement science & holistic lifestyle coaching
Rehabilitation & sports specific conditioning
C.H.E.K. Golf Performance Specialist (completion November 2022)
Regenerative yoga & movement therapy
Education History:
Integrated Movement Science & Holistic Lifestyle Coaching 2019-2025)
Institution: CHEK Institute, California
SHIN Yoga 500hr Teacher Training 2018
Bachelor of Science, Sports Science
Institution: Goethe University Frankfurt am Main, Germany
Year of Graduation: 2017
Myofascial Triggerpoint Therapy 2016
institution: Internation Triggerpoint Academy
Holistic Chiropractic Intensive 2016
Institution: German Institute for Chiropractic
Hatha Yoga 200 hr Teacher Training 2016
Institution: Yoga Vidya
Unwinding Yoga 80-hour Training 2015
Internship with Wolfgang Fischer, October 2013 – March 2015
Therapeutic & Deep Tissue Massage
Ready to Start Living Your Best Life?
Book a free, non-obligatory call with Martin, and let’s make it happen together.