When Joel Lueb opened the doors to DSF Werks in 2019, he wasn’t just building a garage — he was building a bridge.
Rooted in a love for cars and a deep commitment to community, the Signal Hill-based nonprofit is part mentorship hub, part creative incubator and fully devoted to supporting Long Beach youth — especially those aging out of the foster care system.
Lueb, who also helms the Long Beach-based print production firm Bigger Dot, launched DSF Werks after he and his wife had spent nearly a decade fostering children.
“At a certain point that wasn’t something that we could continue to do,” he explained. “But through that whole process...we just saw that there was a lot of need for youth that were emancipating out of the system.”
That need — made especially urgent by statistics showing that more than half of foster youth are either homeless or incarcerated within two years of aging out — inspired Lueb to imagine something different.
“Not necessarily a change in the system,” he clarified, “but hopefully helping individuals to have a different outcome.”
The result was DSF Werks, a Signal Hill-based garage and mentorship space that has grown into something larger than Lueb originally imagined.
“We have a facility that’s 3,200 square feet. It has three lifts. It’s a full-time facility dedicated to this work,” he said. “We work on everything from classic cars from the 50s and 60s to early 2000s...the focus is mechanical restoration and customization.”
But DSF Werks isn’t just about cars — it’s about community and storytelling. That’s where the nonprofit’s second focus comes in: media arts.
“If we were just kind of wrenching in a dark garage and nobody knew what we were doing, that wouldn’t work too well,” Lueb said.
To that end, the organization also hosts workshops in photography, videography, editing, and social media. Youth work alongside professional creatives to document the work being done, building both technical skills and confidence in the process.
A cornerstone of the organization’s mission is its Motor Mondays program — an open garage night.
“It's a beautiful multi-generational reflection of our larger community of Long Beach,” he said. “And so we have different ages, we have different ethnicities…it’s just a wonderful mix of people that's very reflective of our city. We wrench on cars, we share a meal, we have good conversation.”
“It has grown in the last year from probably 5 to 10 people that show up on a Monday night to 30 to 40 people consistently,” Lueb added.
The organization’s full-time apprenticeship program, which pays young adults between 18 and 24 to develop their skills over the course of a year, is another core element.
“So far, we’ve had two people come through that program,” Lueb said, noting that while DSF Werks prioritizes serving emancipated foster youth, they welcome others as well — including those who are simply underserved or lacking consistent family support.
What ties all of this together is Lueb’s belief in relationship-building as the key to long-term success — something that applies equally to his nonprofit and his print production business.
“We’re not just about productivity,” he said. “It truly is [special] to have an environment where people are at their best, where they’re loving what they’re doing.” At Bigger Dot, which he founded in 2005, Lueb and his team specialize in large-scale print and production projects for major cultural institutions such as the LA Philharmonic, Center Theatre Group and the LA Opera.
The two ventures may seem worlds apart — high-end print and nonprofit car restoration — but for Lueb, the throughline is clear.
“We want an outcome that is beautiful, but it’s hard, and life is hard,” he said. “So learning how to overcome those challenges...that’s what we’re trying to teach these young people, too.”
Lueb, who was born at Community Hospital in Long Beach and now lives in the California Heights neighborhood, has deep roots in the city. Though he spent his childhood in the Netherlands, he returned to Long Beach in 1987 and has called it home ever since.
“I’m a Long Beach boy,” he said with a smile.
And though Bigger Dot technically resides in Signal Hill, Lueb often looks out his office window and sees Long Beach stretching beyond. It’s a fitting metaphor for his broader view on leadership and service.
“For any leader, the most important thing is understanding that they are first and foremost serving the people in their organization,” he said. “Without an attitude of serving, you’re not going to have people that are wanting to follow you.”
That philosophy extends to every volunteer and apprentice at DSF Werks.
“People are giving of their time. The last thing they want is to feel like they’re being used for a purpose. They’re looking for fulfillment,” he said. “So how can we serve the volunteers that are giving up their time?”
For Joel Lueb, leadership isn’t about control. It’s about connection — whether that’s over a shared project, a shared meal, or a shared vision of a better, more inclusive Long Beach.
"We just saw that there was a lot of need for youth that were emancipating out of the system.”
“We want an outcome that is beautiful, but it’s hard, and life is hard. So learning how to overcome those challenges...that’s what we’re trying to teach these young people, too.”