“What am I supposed to do with this life I almost lost?” These are the words that comedian, health equity advocate, and creator Dr. ShantaQuilette Develle — also known as ShantaQ — uses to guide her life.
After experiencing several health scares that nearly jeopardized her life, ShantaQ now lives boldly and unapologetically on her own terms. Using her comedic voice, she leverages virtual space to encourage women to take their health seriously — reminding hardworking women that success shouldn’t come at the expense of their well-being.
Off-screen, she’s showing up in healthcare settings where marginalized groups are often overlooked, ensuring their voices and lives are heard.
She is a testament to how being unapologetically yourself can lead to a thriving, sustainable, profitable, and impactful career.
Here’s how ShantaQ went from a hospital bed to a household name.
Climbing the Career Ladder to Get Knocked off Right Before the Top
“How is my life on the line when I did everything right?” That’s what ShantaQ was thinking after having a second stroke at work. Years before her internet fame, she was an ambitious, career-driven accountant for the Internal Revenue Service.
She was a high performer, but behind the scenes, her health was anything but. “I was structured and respected, but quietly disconnected from myself,” she confesses. “I knew how to solve a lot of problems, but I didn’t know how to solve my own.”
In 2012, the foundation of her life started to crack when she had a stroke that was initially misdiagnosed. Then in 2018, she had a mild heart attack — another sign from her body that something wasn’t right. Yet those warning alarms were silenced by her doctors’ dismissals. “Doctors were telling me that it was all in my head — that I was too young to have heart issues,” shares ShantaQ.
Medical professionals seemed to hyper-focus on one aspect of her health while ignoring everything else. “I started to gain weight, so that became the focus,” she shares. “Nobody was really talking to me about my cholesterol. Nobody was talking to me about my lipids.”
Although her concerns weren’t being taken seriously, ShantaQ continued to advocate for herself — until she hit a breaking point. “I was advocating for myself until I couldn’t anymore. Until I got tired and just started gaslighting myself. Maybe nothing is going on. Maybe it’s all in my head,” she admits.
So she went about her life thinking she was fine — until one day in 2019, two hours into her workday, she had a second stroke that changed everything.
This turning point didn’t just sideline ShantaQ — it left her feeling completely and utterly defeated. After being placed on disability, she felt her identity fracture. “It was a betrayal. I’m giving up a career I worked so hard for, that I climbed the ladder for — that I went to school for, she expresses. “Now you’re telling me I can’t work anymore. I can’t be an accountant. I’m no longer an asset to the workforce.”
But while it felt like the entire world was against her, this break from who she was and the life she knew would ultimately become her ticket to the life she was meant to lead.
“There was fear, there was confusion — but underneath it all, I felt clarity,” ShantaQ shares.
Finding Her Footing (And Her Following)
While ShantaQ was stuck at home on disability, she focused on spending time with her family, which is what led her to TikTok. “My daughter and son came up to me and said, ‘Hey, do you want to do some TikTok games with us?'” she explains. “And I’m like, ‘What is TikTok — or tic tac?'”
Although she didn’t quite understand the social phenomenon, she tried it out and began playing games with her whole family. Eventually, she asked her daughter to add TikTok to her phone.
“I became a visual watcher at first, and then I got to the point where I was like, oh, I want to do this too,” she admits.
TikTok went from a way to bond with her family, to a happy distraction, to her catalyst to internet fame. After a video went viral and gained over 12 million views, she knew TikTok was the start of her new purpose.
Throughout her struggles, ShantaQ had held onto a deeper mission. Years earlier, she had started a nonprofit called the Pink Peppermint Project, focused on women and caregivers living with metastatic breast cancer. “What I really wanted to do was help women transform,” she shares. “Even though I felt like I wasn’t doing that for myself in the moment.
TikTok became the vehicle for her to reach millions of woman and help them to start focusing on their health. Once she gained more attention — and even celebrities began reposting her videos — she started carving out her new career in health.
Using Comedy to Heal
ShantaQ quickly saw that her online popularity wasn’t just about making people laugh — her purpose was to use humor to help us evaluate how we take care of ourselves.
Drawing from her wellness background as a certified plant-based dietitian with knowledge of aromatherapy and herbal medicine, she understood that when it comes to health, it’s not just about what you say — it’s about how the information is communicated.
“Let’s be honest, if everything sounds like a lecture, people will check out,” she shares. “But if I can make you laugh, I can make you listen. Humor disarms people, and it creates a space for truth to land without resistance. I also want them to hear the bread of the message — to look at themselves and say, ‘Okay, she’s talking to me, and I need to get this together.'”
But what you see on screen is only a fraction of the work she’s doing. “Social media is just the front door for me,” she explains. “The real work I do is behind the scenes — in rooms where the big decisions are being made, where people are lobbying, where people are really trying to make change for people who look like me. It’s about advocacy, it’s about education, it’s about representation.”
ShantaQ is an ambassador for the American Heart Association and an advisory committee member for the American Stroke Association, where she works to craft messaging that reaches the people who need it most. “There are a lot of disparities in the health system, and I know that everybody who needs the messaging is not going to be in a doctor’s office,” she shares.
What makes ShantaQ a powerful advocate is how she blends knowledge with experience. “It’s about making my lived experience — and other people’s lived experience — respected just as much as clinical data,” she explains. “Because I believe they both matter. And if we don’t bring a sense of humanity to these conversations, we will always keep missing the very people we’re trying to help.”
Shantaq Wants You to Take Your Health Seriously
Career success is something we all strive for. With it comes freedom, opportunity, options, and the life we desire. However, as ShantaQ says, “If it costs your health, your peace, and your identity, that is not success.”
Most of us have been conditioned to sacrifice our time, energy, and health in pursuit of our achievements. “Strength and hustle without rest will break you — and it’s either rest or rigamortus,” she jokes, with all the seriousness she means it.
Your value doesn’t come from how hard you work. “You don’t have to sacrifice yourself to be seen as valuable,” ShantaQ states.
This isn’t to say you shouldn’t pursue your goals, but you shouldn’t do it at the cost of your health. Because you can’t enjoy your success if you’re sick in bed.
Whether you need your daily laugh or you need someone to teach you how to prioritize your health, ShantaQ is your girl. You can follow her at HeyShantaQ on all social media platforms and follow her new show on YouTube called the HeyShantaQ Show.
