The myth-busts, hot takes, explainers, and tools worth keeping.
✶Explainer· 1
✶Explainer24:30
How Faith Shapes the Way Chené Leads and Connects With People
Chené says faith leads him to approach the person rather than hate them for what they do. Greater patience and openness about his own struggles have made him more relatable to people who may be hiding their difficulties behind polished social-media images.
He separates disapproval of actions from hatred of a person
Patience has helped him build stronger relationships
Personal openness makes different forms of struggle easier to relate across
He contrasts honest expression with social-media masks
“when I speak to people, I speak to the God in them.”
“we wear a lot of masks, especially in today's world”
#faith#patience#authenticity#relationships
❝Story· 7
❝Story00:30
How a Pacemaker Became the Meaning Behind Pace Fitness
Chené says personal training initially seemed limited to exercise and diet, but clients' mental and health challenges expanded his view of coaching. He connected that insight to his own pacemaker and built the Pace Fitness name around both the device and the idea of pacing life rather than rushing it.
Client needs extended beyond lifting weights and diet
Mental readiness affected the effort clients brought to training
His pacemaker supplied the personal meaning behind the brand
Pacing life became part of the company's message
“So then I realized that if their mind is right, if you feel good about yourself, you're more likely to put more effort in to…”
“Pace Fitness derived from me having a pacemaker and pace and pacing yourself at life. Don't rush it.”
The Knee Injury That Exposed a More Dangerous Heart Condition
Chené was born with a second-degree heart murmur that doctors monitored rather than treating with an early pacemaker. At 16, a severe knee injury led doctors to discover that the condition had advanced to stage three only months after a normal cardiology check, which he interprets as God's timing.
Doctors identified the heart murmur shortly after his birth
An early pacemaker would have imposed greater physical limitations at the time
A trampoline-park knee injury triggered the decisive medical discovery
The heart condition had progressed between scheduled cardiology checks
“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”
#pacemaker#heart condition#diagnosis#faith
❝Story03:30
The Pacemaker Surgery Healed Before the Mental Battle Began
The immediate surgical recovery took about two weeks, but Chené says the emotional impact arrived roughly a year later. Seeing the device through his skin and anticipating how others might react created a body-image struggle until faith helped him view the pacemaker as a gift that kept him alive.
The physical recovery was comparatively short and smooth
The device's visibility contributed to insecurity about his body
The emotional impact appeared later than the surgical recovery
Faith changed his interpretation from curse to gift
“it became like a huge mental battle for sure.”
“once I saw this as not a curse, but rather than a gift, my whole mind changed.”
#body image#pacemaker#recovery#faith
❝Story08:30
The Italy Orchestra Trip That Made Life Feel Bigger
After moving among several states, Chené says an orchestra trip to Italy during high school shaped him most. Travelling outside the country as a violinist from Detroit showed him a larger world and encouraged him to think beyond the limits he had known.
His mother and grandmother funded the school orchestra trip
It was his first experience outside the United States
He connected the journey with escaping a limited sense of possibility
The trip led him to think bigger about life
“a kid from Detroit, you know, walking around the streets of Italy playing the violin in itself was like, wow, there's more to life”
“I think that trip made me think a lot bigger.”
#travel#detroit#violin#ambition
❝Story10:00
From Hiding Under Layers of Shirts to Feeling Comfortable in His Body
Chené recalls wearing several shirts to look larger when he felt insecure about being skinny. His mother's direct challenge pushed him toward accepting his appearance, and after four surgeries he says becoming comfortable with himself mattered more than comparison.
He used layers of clothing to conceal insecurity about being skinny
His mother confronted the behaviour directly
Four surgeries added to the work of accepting his body
He links self-love with greater clarity in life
“you need to be comfortable in your own skin.”
“I think once you love yourself, life gets a lot more clearer.”
#body image#self-love#family support#comparison
❝Story14:30
Moving to California Turned Pace Fitness Into a Real Business Vision
Chené says the business vision became more concrete after he left North Carolina for California, believing he had exhausted the resources available to him there. Living near his brother Chris Staples exposed him to platform-building behind the scenes and made accepting candid help a shortcut to useful opportunities.
He moved because North Carolina no longer matched the life he wanted to pursue
His brother had already built a large public platform
Family access removed gatekeeping from his learning process
Accepting advice and saying yes created new connections
“I know what type of life I want to live, so I have to go get it.”
“once I've realized to again accept help where needed, it put me in the right direction”
His Goal to Represent the Company Behind His Pacemaker
Chené wants to work with the brand that made his pacemaker and become a visible representative for people who do not match the usual image associated with the device. He believes his age, appearance, athletic ability, and decade of experience with a pacemaker could help carry the Pace Fitness message globally.
He wants to collaborate with the pacemaker manufacturer
He sees representation as a way to challenge age stereotypes
His athletic activity contrasts with common expectations of pacemaker users
He intends to spread the message beyond California
“I've always had a goal to work with the brand who put the pacemaker in my body.”
Looking Healthy Does Not Mean Your Internal Health Matches
Chené argues that younger adults, especially men, often postpone health checks until a serious problem appears. His own diagnosis supports a broader reminder that an outwardly healthy appearance does not reveal what is happening inside the body.
People in their 20s and 30s may delay routine health attention
Men may wait until symptoms or age make a problem harder to ignore
Physical appearance is not proof of internal health
His age at pacemaker implantation challenges assumptions about who needs one
“we wait till it gets too late, especially men”
“just because you may physically look good on the outside doesn't mean your insides match.”
Why His Mother Would Not Let the Pacemaker Become a Limitation
Chené credits his mother and immediate family with preventing doubt about the pacemaker from defining him negatively. He also explains that his quietness once made him wait too long to ask for help, while difficult conversations with his mother taught him that discomfort can be worth enduring to feel better.
His mother consistently framed the pacemaker as a blessing
Family support protected a positive interpretation of his future
Shyness made him delay asking for help
Uncomfortable conversations opened a path toward feeling better
“She never let me go through a day where I kind of doubted myself or questioned my pacemaker.”
“I think your support system really says a lot about where you'll go in your future”
#family support#asking for help#mother#resilience
▲Takeaway27:00
Pace Yourself Without Using Patience as an Excuse to Stop Working
Chené says his personal goal is to stop rushing toward an imagined version of himself at 30 and appreciate the years shaping him now. His version of patience still requires doing the work behind the scenes, while recognising that a present position is not a permanent identity.
He once tried to rush toward where he thought he should be at 30
The current years are part of becoming that future person
Slowing down improved his comfort with present progress
Pacing does not remove the requirement to work
“There's no rush. um whatever is supposed to happen for you is supposed to happen, but make sure you're doing the work on the back…”