Between the Expert and the Guide with Gregg Gonzales

He was a massage therapist for eighteen years. Thousands of sessions, thousands of bodies — learning to listen with his hands, to find the knot before the person could name it. Then carpal tunnel ended that chapter. And in the uncertain space that followed, Gregg Gonzales wandered into a Starbucks with a former massage client, asked her some questions, and listened. When the hour was over, she said: It's the same thing. You just found a different way to touch people. That was the moment everything shifted. In this conversation, Gregg sits with nOMad founder Phoebe Leona in the space in between — between the expert who needs credentials on the wall and the guide who already has hundreds of transformed lives as proof. Between the person who has everything to say and the one who hasn't yet found the words to say it. We talk about why Gregg walked away from the word coach and toward guide — and why that distinction matters more than it might seem. We explore his CARE model (Curiosity, Attention, Reflection, Expression) and how a single well-placed question can open doors that years of journaling couldn't. We dig into the idea of story excavation — and what it means to be a story doula for someone who swears they have nothing worth saying. We also talk about imposter syndrome, the lost art of true conversation in a world of scrolling and distraction, why speaking your story out loud is often more powerful than writing it down, and what Gregg is building next — including a book of questions he answers himself, a growing Substack, and a retreat container that's been quietly taking shape. Links mentioned: Gregg's website — The Speakeasy Method: thespeakeasymethod.co Gregg on Facebook: The nOMad Collective: thenomadcollective.org If this conversation made you want to sit with a really good question — that's exactly the point. Share it with someone who needs permission to speak.