Living on God’s Timing ft. Pacemaker Chené | Coffeez for Closers with Joe Shalaby

So go all the way back to the beginning. I was born with a second degree AP heart murmur. Pretty basic now, but at the time when I was born 1998, it was very rare to see an infant. You had to have a pacemaker installed in your heart at the age of 16. 16. Welcome to another episode of Coffee's. Tell the audience what is your company all about and what was the intention behind PACE Fitness and kind of like the vision for it. Okay, so to begin, I started out as just a basic personal trainer. You know, once you have done that for a little bit, you kind of question what is the actual goal? Cause after a while you meet a lot of people who have different areas of where they need help in and you ask yourself how can you make yourself beneficial for them? So a lot of it I realized it's more mental for a lot of people than just physical. And as a new personal trainer, I thought it was just about lifting weights, the physical aspect of it in diet. But a lot of people come into the gym with a lot of different issues, family history, health conditions. And once I started to explore my health condition, I kind of related it back to me on how I got over that hump. So then I started to compare other people. It was like, okay, well, how can I get this person to point A to point Z a lot quicker than just lifting weights? So then I realized that if their mind is right, if you feel good about yourself, you're more likely to put more effort into your overall workout. So if you take that same work ethic you applied to your workout to your whole life, it can take you so far. So that kind of brought me to the name Pace Fitness, derived from me having a pacemaker and pace and pacing yourself at life. Don't rush it. So. So yeah, so you had to have a pacemaker installed in your heart at the age of 16. 16. Let's go, let's talk about that. So what was the catalyst for getting a pacemaker? And then, you know, and how did you transform your life after? So to go all the way back to the beginning, I was born with a second degree AP heart murmur. Pretty basic now, but at the time when I was born, 1998, it was very rare to see an infant. So I'll give you the whole story. So I was born at Providence Hospital, located in Southfield, Michigan. When they noticed I had a heart murmur, they freaked out, they wanted to airlift me to a different hospital, University of Michigan. My mother was like, we're not taking a helicopter, we're gonna drive. It was a lot safer for her. So to put her at ease, we drove over to our University of Michigan, that's when they declared that I had a second degree AP heart murmur. So life after that, they didn't really see affecting my life. They knew at some point it was gonna maybe turn into stage three. They just didn't know when. So they didn't wanna give me a pacemaker too soon, because at the time pacemakers were a lot bigger at the time. So walking around as an infant or a toddler or a young teenager would actually limit me a lot. So fast forwarded in 16 years old, I was at a trampoline park and I tore off for ligaments in my knee. So keeping in mind six months prior, I just had a checkup with my cardiologist and everything was fine. Still stage two heart murmur. So from that time until I hurt my knee, they found out that my stage two moved into stage three. So that means a leak of blood. So if it wasn't for me hurting my knee, I would never found out that the stage two moved into stage three. So that's where I go back to saying it's all God's timing, because I wouldn't have had another checkup for like another six months. And I would have had to find out the hard way. So life after having a pacemaker, I would say first off, the recovery process for the surgery was like two weeks. I had my arm in a sling because the incision is above the chest or the pectoral muscle on the left side. So if you rip it, it's going to rip that incision open, which could be detrimental. So I had to keep my arm like this for two weeks. It was pretty simple, pretty smooth. But I would say it didn't really hit me to like a year after, to be honest, that like, wow, I have a pacemaker. Like, OK, looking in the mirror, I'm already kind of skinny. I can see it. You know, the type of looks I'm going to get when I take my shirt off, go to the beach, go to the gym. So it became like a huge mental battle for sure. But once I realized, you know, I started getting more included in my faith. And I think that's when it hit me the most. I grew up in church just physically going. But I think when life happens, you really realize what to fall back on and how to stay grounded. And that was definitely through my spirituality. So once I saw this as not a curse, but rather than a gift, my whole mind changed. And it was like, OK, what's better than life? I'm here, right? You know, so pacemaker or not, I'm blessed to be alive. So that shifted my whole mindset. Now you've decided to kind of commit yourself to helping people who have, you know, some sort of ailment, health ailment. Yeah. What was the point you realized that this was my mission? This was my purpose? Once I was able to overcome my mental battles, you know, I just started feeling the best I've ever felt maybe like three years ago. And I understood what that took. And it took a lot of looking myself in the mirror and understanding that there's no problem too big to handle. Like here I am. I have a pacemaker and I use 90% of it. Without it, I'm basically done. So it kind of made me, it put pressure on what is my purpose. And I had to ask myself what makes me happy. And it's just simply getting people to whatever they want to get to, whether that's physical, mental, they all tie into each other. So that kind of put a spotlight on what my mission was. And it's just simply to help people and to simply coach them through whatever they're going through. So I know what it feels like to have something like a health condition stop you from feeling like you're good enough to do what you're setting out for. So once you're able to get over that hump, like just imagine yourself on the other side of those issues. You're an incredible person. Like we're all incredible. Like when I speak to you, I'm speaking to the God in you because God is in all of us. And I want to get that out of people because society now we don't talk about it enough. That's something we connected about immediately. One of the things that the pacemaker has done for you has just made you really aware of how precious life is. And it's very rare that I come across someone, especially a young guy like you, that's like that thankful for every breath he takes. And that's what intrigued me. I'm like, listen, it's a new business. I want you to come on the show, talk about it, talk about the vision. And there just needs to be more awareness, especially for young people, about how blessed they are to be alive because everyone takes it for granted. Of course, even just like health, health in general, I think we wait till it gets too late, especially men and especially people in their 20s. We wait till we're 40 until we get anything checked. Or we wait till something bad happens. Just because you may physically look good on the outside doesn't mean your insides match. So that's a ride coming because a lot of people in their 20s, especially even 30s, they don't talk about it enough until it's too late. Now, how does PACE Fitness differ from any other fitness company? Well, there's no one else representing, I feel, their health condition like a pacemaker the way I am. Especially because when you think of a pacemaker, you think of people generally in their 80s and 90s. So it kind of reshapes what you think about pacemakers. Like, oh wow, you were 16 when you got yours. And it kind of makes you think, well, maybe I should get checked. Maybe I should look inside and see what's going on until it gets too late. Because again, that was all God's timing. And there's nothing I could have done about that because I just had a checkup. But again, it sheds like, there's no such thing as going to the doctor's office too much. Well, maybe there is. But as far as checking, you know yourself, I think we checking in ourselves when it gets too late or we feel like we're about to fall off the bed. So my company really sheds light because it talks to all age groups. So you would think a pacemaker, it's just 90 year old category, but no, everyone. Because again, I was 16 when I had mines put in. Usually when people get theirs put in, they're usually 40s, 50s, 60s, 70s. Here I am 16 going on 10 years now. Wow. Yeah, that's crazy. So that's crazy that you went through such an experience, eye-opening experience. And now I'm gonna take it back to the beginning. So you've moved a lot growing up. You lived through your parents' divorce and relocated from North Carolina to California. Now what part of that constant change do you think shaped you the most? I would say, so I also lived in Georgia. After I lived in, so a timeline, I lived in Detroit, then I moved to Greensboro, North Carolina, then I moved to a place called Summerfront, North Carolina, and then I moved to Georgia. In Georgia, I lived in a place called Luth and Johns Creek. And in Johns Creek, I was in sophomore year of high school and I played the violin. So my mother and my grandmother put the money together for me to go overseas to Italy to play with my orchestra. And I think that shaped me the most because that was the first time I ever been out the country. I'm from a place called Detroit. Not a lot of people make it out and if they are, it's usually for the same reason. So a kid from Detroit, walking around the streets of Italy, playing the violin in itself was like, wow, there's more to life. So after that, I think that trip made me think a lot bigger. You still play the violin? No, no, I don't. But that's all I listen to, classical music and jazz music. And I thank my parents for that. That's awesome, that's the best music. That's the best music. That's real music. Yeah, it's real music. Words get kind of boring. So how did really getting a pacemaker at 16 shift your relationship with life, your body, your faith? So as far as my body, it made me realize that I have a couple of things to overcome as far as feeling comfortable in my own skin. It took me a long time to feel comfortable in the mirror or even just taking my shirt off. I don't tell a lot of people this, but I guess I'll tell everyone now. So I had a little bit of identity issue as well. I would wear, I was super skinny, and I think this was right before the heart surgery. I would wear a bunch of shirts under armor shirts. I was so skinny, I wanted to seem bigger. So I'd walk around a bunch of shirts on, doesn't matter if it was hot, sweating my butt off, whatever it was. Then my mom saw me one day and she was like, why do you have all those shirts on? Take all that stuff off. You need to be comfortable in your own skin. And that kinda, I think her calling me out on something so vulnerable actually pushed me in the correct direction, like mothers or four. So I look at where I am now, four surgeries later, I have the body that I want and all it took was just looking myself in the mirror and being comfortable with who I am as a person. It doesn't matter comparing yourself to other people, there's always somebody better at you than something. Instead of downing yourself, ask them how did they get to where they are? Cause you might not know how they got to where they are. They might not even be happy for all we know because we always look at the physical image and the aspect instead of understanding how that person got there. So that's how the pacemaker kinda shifted my body because it made me realize I have some work to do as far as self love. And I think once you love yourself, life gets a lot more clearer. Especially today, like Instagram society, so quick to compare yourself to a 10 second image and you don't know what's going on behind that image at all. And as far as faith, I couldn't get out here, I couldn't get here without God at all. And I was always going to church physically, but mentally I was never there. And I think when I ask myself, okay, why do I keep coming to the same halting life? It's because I'm not really giving myself completely to Jesus. I'm posting the quotes, it all looks nice, but what does it mean to actually give yourself to the Lord? And I look around and I say, okay, it's easy to say what's wrong in your life, but I'm still breathing right now. I woke up today and that means I have another chance to make it better. And that's all because of God. This right here was all because of God. So what am I complaining for? That perspective that you have, it takes decades. I mean, men don't learn that perspective until they're in their 40s. And so there's a lot, that wisdom that God gave you at a young age is really priceless because you can wake up a lot of youth. Yeah, for sure. You can wake up a lot of youth who are listening now or just kind of falling to the wayside or falling into their own fleshly desire. You're kind of, you're staying away from that stuff. Yeah, I think that's, I think without this, I would be that guy too. And that's why it's just light on this so much more. Because like I'm so thankful to go through something like that because it really woken me up in places I need to be woke up in. Now, when you first, when you were first diagnosed, did you ever feel like these limitations might define your future or you're always, you know, ready to push past them? I would say they, I always thought they would define me in a good way. I just didn't know how. And I think that positive mindset just, it becomes from me having a good family and them being there throughout the whole way, especially my mother. She never let me go through a day where I kind of doubted myself or questioned my pacemaker. She always reminded me, this is a blessing. You need to make something of it. She was always on my, always on my butt about it until this day. So I think having her in my corner and just the rest of my immediate family, but specifically my mother, she's a real expert in all this. So I owe it all to her. She never let me think down on myself at all. And I think your support system really says a lot about where you'll go in your future, you know? So, and I think another thing is, I was afraid to ask for help. And I think, because I grew up super quiet and super shy. So I will wait till things get super bad until they're unable to be helped to get help. So with her in my corner, having conversations with me that I didn't want to have, it pushed me in an open doors for me to be, okay, it's okay to talk about what's going on inside because I want to feel good. That's the goal. So this is something that I have to do. That's maybe slightly uncomfortable, but also gives me the rest of my life happy. I have to go through it. I love that. Now, Pace Fitness is such a dope brand name. When did the vision for building something personal and powerful first take shape? I would say, as soon as I moved out to California, I think that's when it became more real. The reason for moving out to California because I felt I was wasting time living in North Carolina. I think that I learned all I could have learned. And I think sometimes in life, we are afraid to pick up and go because we feel like we're running, but no, I just really exhausted all my resources there. And I know what type of life I want to live, so I have to go get it. So thankful enough, I have my brother out here, Chris Staples. He, so first off, he's the world's best dunker, former Harlem Globetrotter. He's one of the world's best dunkers? Well, I would say he is the world's best dunker. Really? Yeah, because when I think of the world, yeah, you did, he was at the event. So he's the famous snap chatter? Yes, among other things, yes. Oh, right on. Yeah, so he already built a huge platform even when I came out here three years ago. So I think it was a little pressuring because it was like, okay, this is his world. But also in a positive manner, I could see how it works from behind the scenes. There's no gatekeeping because this is my brother, he's gonna tell it to me how it is. Even things I didn't want to hear, but they obviously work. So it put a little bit of pressure on me, but once I've realized to, again, accept help where needed, it put me in the right direction and I'm able to cut so much more corners. Like, I mean, you met because that was the event, that was his. Yeah. You know, so that all just took me saying yes. So again, coming back out here, I wanted to scale my business and kind of just like, how can I incorporate, you know, what could be seen as a curse, but as really a gift into my future? Because I have to live with this the rest of my life and it's a blessing and I wanna show people that. So how can I incorporate pace, fitness, overall health and just the technology behind it and religion as well? It's a beautiful mission, man. It's a beautiful mission. So, you know, you're young, you're building from scratch and you're in LA. What's been the hardest part of staying consistent and keeping your mission clear? Hmm, I would say there's a lot of distractions in California. You're in LA, you're in Woodland Hills, so it's not that distracting. Yeah, but Woodland Hills is very suburban and I'm used to suburban, so I will leave the suburbs. LA is everything that they say it is positive and negative, but more positives. The opportunity out here is just unreal. Yeah, it's unreal. I wanna make a suggestion. Get out of LA and come to Newport. If you want the ultimate opportunity. Yeah, okay. Because this is where it's at. This is where all the people from LA are moving. Oh yeah? I see why so far. The drive here was amazing. Well, wait till you spend your day out here and you'll kind of be like, Joe's right. But I've done a podcast with someone I look up to a lot named Larry Sands, and he's the founder of a company called Chrome Hearts. Oh, like the actual Chrome Hearts? Like the... Chrome Hearts, yeah. Wow. Chrome Hearts. But he founded the glasses portion. Yeah. What's his name? I forget the other guy's name. But I always wore, I'm a big fan collector of the glasses. Anyways, I did a podcast with him. He's 86. And he's in great health. His wife's 49. He still works every single day. And I asked him, I said, Larry, what's the best place in the world to live? Because he's 86. He's traveled the world. He's been a rock star for 60 years. And he said there's two places. Number two was Monaco. Monaco, okay. A little town outside of Monaco, like in the hills. And then number one, he said it was Lido, which is Lido and Newport Beach, which is a little island where he lives on the water. It's called Lido? Lido Village, yeah, which is a great place, by the way. Josh Altman, I saw him last week, from the show, Lindo, this, and he lives in Lido as well. But yeah, I mean, it's an amazing place. The weather's amazing. I suggest you guys go there, go have lunch on, you know, in Lido Village. That's right where your first stop should be. Maybe hit CDM after you, you'll kind of see like, oh, wow. Yeah, definitely will take care of it. Since you're traveling, you don't know what you don't know. Yeah, exactly. And I'm gonna tell you from the people I've interviewed, you know, like for people I've interviewed so many different billionaires and so many different, you know, founders, and I always ask, like, what's your favorite place to live? You know, what's your favorite place to visit? And it's intriguing. Someone that's that age with that much knowledge and wisdom. Yeah, out of all the places in the world. Out of all the places in the world. You know, he has done a million fashion shows, right? So, yeah, he picked Lido of all places, which is where I live. So I'm like, I agree though. I always do that in my heart of hearts. I'm just kidding after these. Did you know that before moving to Lido or it took you like actually being there? I mean, like the weather's amazing. The water's right in front of you. The people all take care of themselves. There's just a ton of, I just walked downstairs, there's restaurants, there's coffee shops, there's, you know, everyone's walking the dog, everyone's in a happy mood, everyone's like out exercising. It's just, you know, the vibe is like, everyone's successful and you know, works their tail off so there's the hustle kind of culture that New York has, but it's more laid back. Yeah, okay, so it's not just laid back. Yeah, it's the best of both worlds right there. Kind of like the best of both worlds. So you kind of have the, so a lot of folks from the Palisades have moved here to Port Beach, obviously as you know, and from Malibu as well. And there's a reason why. I mean, they left the Palisades, like these are the wealthiest people in LA. So they all came to Newport. It's kind of crazy, like if you weren't affected by the Palisades, how quickly life just goes back to normal for you. Like the whole city of LA was basically on fire. And then like a couple months later, forget about it. Yeah, you know, I like to say that God was sending a very, very serious message to LA. You know, he was sending a very serious message to LA. And woke some people up and some people just blamed it on natural causes. I think it was God talking LA. Yeah, it takes a certain type of person looking at that way too. Yeah, yeah. But we all know like God was speaking to LA. It was not normal. You know, like that was not like. That was not normal at all. That was not normal. So what do you think makes your training approach different? Not just the exercises, but the emotional and spiritual foundation behind it? Taking the time to understand, like it's all about balance. So I think with a lot of other personal trainers, it's just about the physical aspect, but I always ask my clients, you know, what is your life like? What are things that would stop you from coming here? If they're comfortable talking about it, what's your spirituality like? What's your family life like? Because again, it's beyond just lifting heavy weights. It's about longevity of life and to be able to just simply walk around. You know, I kind of changed my whole workout routine. I don't lift super duper heavy anymore. You know, as most men, we're happy with lifting 315 pounds, you know, on the bench press. I've done that already and it's like, okay, well, doing this long term is gonna put a lot of stress on those tendons and you see a lot of bodybuilders now, they can barely walk in their 40s and 50s because their training has never been correct. And I think this is a society where we're all about getting big, but we don't care how quick we get big and we don't care about the health behind it. Me, keep it simple, keep it natural. You know, your health, your diet is super important. Your mental is super important. Because if you go in feeling good, you're able to perform a lot better. And also the gym is a way of therapy for a lot of people. You know, so I think everything that I said, all kind of circled into each other, religion, gym, your family life. If all those things can be on the same playing field, you're able to reach that full potential a lot quicker. So once I was able to answer a lot of those questions and bring it all together, I just felt a, I don't know, a shift in my energy for sure. Like I want to get up in the morning, you know, there's no need for me to be sleeping until 10 a.m. Especially at 26 years old, you know, I know what type of life I want. And while I have all this energy, young energy, let me use it to progress myself so I can live a life where I can just lay back, you know. So I think the gym has helped me with that mindset a lot more. So I think people just kind of keep it as, oh, it's just the gym, that's it. I know this can take you so many places. Yeah, it's a lot more. So you have a true holistic approach. Yeah, for sure. So I think just taking the time to talk to my clients, not just three, two, one, all right, see you next week. It's like, no, you're gonna get something more than just being tired with me. You're gonna feel good mentally. And I think me being relatable, again, having my pacemaker really opens people's eyes. It's like, sometimes we need to see it before we just open up to people. And for me, you can see it right through the shirt. How can you scale that though and make it like more of a macro approach? Like, yeah. That's the big question. And I think that's what kind of led me here. And I think it's okay to say you don't know. But the direction that I'm going, it's kind of happening before my eyes. And I don't think it's a question I really asked myself. God's just kind of showing me the way. And I'm just saying, okay, let me take that step before I don't see the stare. I love that answer. Now you said the story, it's always God's timing. How does your faith shape the way you lead, the way you train, the way you show up for people? Again, when I speak to people, I speak to the God in them. I don't hate people. We can hate what they do, but I don't hate people. So learning to have more patience with people has definitely helped me shake the right hands a lot more and just create an energy around me that people are attracted to. So not only do I have the story, but I can make it more relatable because whether it's a pacemaker or some, a death in the family and whatnot, we're all going through something. And I think through my journey, I've been able to express myself a lot more easier. A lot of people struggle with expressing themselves and just talking about what affects them in their daily life. Me, you can ask me anything you want and I'll tell you, and I think that's refreshing for people to hear because we wear a lot of masks, especially in today's world. All about the clicks and the likes and the best picture we post on our page, we don't really post what we're really going through. So I kind of see through that and I think I've become a lot more relatable to people. The Instagram society. Yeah, the Instagram society. It's a very good thing, it could also be a curse. Now, what's your advice to someone who's been hit with a setback physically, mentally, spiritually, and they don't know how to start over? First, become grounded, like look at your surroundings, be thankful because again, you're alive to talk about it and what's better than life, nothing. So to be able to talk about whatever that you're going through is a blessing in itself. So I think you have to remind ourselves that we are blessed. Look at the people around you who wanna help you, it's okay to receive help. And just tell yourself in the mirror that it is okay. There's nothing too big for you to handle and I think that if we had a life where we had no issues and nothing happening, it'd be super boring and you couldn't have the opportunity to grow as a person. I can talk about all the things that I've been through in my life, but also how that's helped me get to where I am now. It wasn't just like, oh, why God, why did you do this to me? I found a blessing in it, because it's easy to just latch on to how it affects us, but what can this do for me? So throughout that horror journey, I would say patience is something that definitely was a big thing for me. I had no patience before. Now I think before I speak, I don't just act off of emotion, because it's normal to feel a certain way, but let me just blurt out how I just feel. Let me take a second to really understand what's going on and how to progress. And I think that comes with being grounded as well. Now a couple of last questions. What's a personal goal that you have for yourself? A family goal you have for your family, and then a business goal you have for pacifist? Okay, so first one is a personal goal. Just continue to keep doing the best I can and understand that pace yourself. There's no rush, whatever's supposed to happen for you, it's supposed to happen, but make sure you're doing the work on the back end. So I'm happy with where I'm going, because I mentally feel the best I've felt in a while. And before I kept trying to rush to get to where I'm supposed to be at 30 years old, but in doing that, I'm forgetting that these years right now are the most important. Like these are gonna shape me to be 30 years old one day. I can't just skip to 30 years old. Like let me enjoy these years. So just slowing down has definitely helped me a lot and make me feel more comfortable with where I am. Cause where you are is not all you are. Just the change that I've made in the last two years is incredible. I never saw myself even being here right now, you know, two or three years ago, I was sitting on my butt in a whole different state, but here I am in, you know, close to Newport, the place to be. So, and that was all just talking to God, including him and your everyday mission, cause you're not doing it by yourself. Family, you know, continue to push my immediate family like they've pushed me. I understand the importance of family because I couldn't imagine doing that all by myself. Even though I felt that way at some point, that was on me, but they always did their part. And that's why I thank them. So I was like, okay, well, how can I do this for my family one day? Literally the building blocks is what I just saw. I do the same thing they did with me, put that onto my family, you can break generational curses, you know, and you wanna bring a healthy baby into the world one day, you know, and I think that comes with a lot of your spirit. And from my business, I would say a huge goal of mine is, I've always had a goal to work with the brand who put the pacemaker in my body. I would love to be the face of it, you know, cause I think it, I look different than most people you would expect to have a pacemaker. I have neck tattoos, I'm doing muscle ups, I'm 26 years old, I got it at 16. I think that's the most diverse you can get, you know? So that's definitely a huge goal of mine, but also just take this around the world, you know? People are going through something anywhere in the world. I just happened to be here in California, but the word travels, God words travels. And we're in 2025 and there's many ways to get a message out there. So I definitely wanna take advantage of that. One last question for you. When you're in front of the pearly gates, what do you think God's gonna tell you? Welcome home. Love it. Love home, you did a great job. Shane, you've been such a pleasure to have on the show. If people wanna connect with you, how do they find you? You can follow me on any platform, pacemaker Shane, very simple. Pacemaker Shane. Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat, you know? It's C-H-E-N-E though. C-H-E-N-E. Pacemaker Shane, C-H-E-N-E, I messed that up because it sounds like Shanae, you know? It's okay, story of my life. Pacemaker Shane, pace fitness, thanks for being on the show today. It's been a pleasure, God bless you. I hope you hit all your goals, continue to dominate, and I look forward to seeing what you can do for helping so many people in the future. God bless, man. Thank you, Joe. Pace, make sure Shane, make sure to follow him. God bless.