Joe Rogan podcast. Check it out.

>> The Joe Rogan Experience.

>> TRAIN BY DAY. JOE ROGAN PODCAST BY

NIGHT. All day.

>> Yeah. Yeah. J [music] said, "Fuck you

all bad." He choked to sleep. [snorts]

[laughter]

I would pay for the

>> How [clears throat] did you meet Judo

Gene Leel?

>> I met him first on Men in Black 2.

>> Ah.

>> He was a stunt man.

>> Oh, stunt. And uh people would the stunt

people would line up outside his trailer

so they uh so he would choke them out

and he would give you that little he

would give you a patch afterwards.

You've been choked out by judo gene

label.

>> Oh god. He had all those cartoonish

patches. He like gave you a bunch of

those. He's a character, man.

>> He uh one guy I saw one uh the stunt man

right before Jean choked him out. He

goes, "One second this Irish dude." And

he turned around and he slapped Jean in

the face. And Jean's like, "Okay." And

then [laughter]

what? After Jean choked him, they were

standing up. Jean just dropped him

>> straight to the ground for slapping him.

[laughter]

>> You can get hurt like that.

>> Yeah. Well, that's what you get for

slapping Jean Leel.

>> Don't slap him. Give him a kiss. Kiss

him in the cheek before he chokes you

out. Don't slap him. [laughter]

Do

>> you ever He had one of the very first

ever mixed martial arts fights.

>> Oh yeah. That was that he fought

>> Milo Savage.

>> Yes. And didn't Milo Savage grease

himself up beforehand?

>> Oh yeah. But also Jean was wearing a

ghee which kind of negates most of the

the grease.

>> Yeah.

>> Cuz you're wearing this like very

frictiony ghee so he grabbed him.

>> And where was I guess the rumor was Milo

Savage's gloves were loaded.

>> Uh I don't know. I would do that though

if I was Milo Savage.

>> Oh yeah. I would [laughter] have some

kind of weapon against Sheen Lavel.

>> Well, most people that have never

grappled a guy like that. They You don't

have any idea how helpless you actually

are until that you think I'll be able to

push him away from me. [laughter]

I'll be able to push him away, get some

punches off. You really don't know until

that guy grabs you. And it's like being

grabbed by an orangutang.

>> Yeah. Cuz his mom ran the Grand Olympic

auditorium, right? And he grew up

training with all the disciplines of

fighters that came through there. Well,

he definitely knew pretty much

everything. He knew a lot, but you know,

obviously he's a judo specialist, but

he's the guy who taught Bruce Lee about

the importance of grappling.

>> Yeah, cuz he worked with him on the

Green Hornet.

>> Yeah, he wor I think he worked with him

on that. Um, but when he locked up with

Bruce Lee, like Bruce Lee was like, "Oh,

okay. I'm helpless." Like apparently the

story was that Gan picked him up and

carried him around over his shoulder and

then Bruce Lee was like, "Okay, [ __ ]

this." cuz like Jean was a light I think

he's a light heavyweight judo champion

so I mean he's probably at least 190

pounds and you know Bruce Lee was a

pretty small guy.

>> Yeah and Jean just grabbed him.

>> His face just looked like a catcher's

mitt. It was just [laughter]

just looking at that guy's face.

>> Yeah, he was a classic.

>> And always check out a guy's ears before

you talk [ __ ] with them. If they have

that uh you know

>> cauliflower

>> cauliflower ear just buy him a drink or

give him a hug.

>> Steo have that? Didn't he get it from

like didn't he have Jon Jones [ __ ] his

ears up?

>> He tried to get it. I don't know if it

happened. We you know we tried to do I

tried to do that to uh the director Jeff

Tmaine on Jackass number two. Every time

someone would walk past him they would

grab his ear and twist and we were just

hoping it would cauliflower up by the

end of the film but it didn't. Um you

got to earn that.

>> Yeah. There's a lot of guys who fake it

though. I know a lot of jiu-jitsu guys

who fake it. They have guys [ __ ] their

ears up on purpose

>> because they want to look cool.

>> It's kind of weak.

>> Yeah, that's You got to earn it.

>> Yeah. It's It's like Robert Dairo in

that movie where he wouldn't take

Viagra. Remember a hot should be earned.

[laughter]

It should be had legitimately or not at

all.

>> The oldfashioned way with eye contact.

There was some Wasn't that some weird

movie where he was going he was a mob

boss, but he was going to a shrink and

he couldn't get it up.

>> Oh, remember that movie?

>> Yeah. Was it Billy Crystal was the the

shrink?

>> I don't remember the name of it, but

yeah, I know what you're talking about.

>> Dude, you've had a wild ride in in life.

You know what I mean? You've you've done

a lot of crazy [ __ ] not just like with

Jackass, but became a movie star and you

like what has this been like for you? Um

sometimes it feels like you're living

someone else's life, you know,

>> imposttor syndrome.

>> Yeah, a little. And um I'm I'm extremely

grateful, especially for a guy with my

limited education. I get the joke what I

would be doing if I didn't fall into

what I'm doing. So, uh

yeah, it's pretty surreal. I just keep

trying to move forward.

>> How did you guys get started with

Jackass? How did how did all that come

to bear? Um, well,

I the short answer is my then girlfriend

got pregnant and I had a daughter on the

way and I was I moved to LA to act but I

wasn't doing anything, man. I was

drinking a lot and

um and then I'm like, "Oh [ __ ] I have

to support a daughter. I need to do

something quick." So I I was living next

door to Antoine Fuqua in this duplex,

the director. Oh wow. And he set me up

with a casting director who got me a

commercial agent. my friend John Linson

uh set me up with writing articles for

this magazine and because he knew I

wanted to write and one of the articles

turned into me testing self-defense

equipment on myself [laughter] and a lot

of different magazines wanted the

article but they didn't want anything to

do with it because I was going to shoot

myself in the chest with a bulletproof

vest as the last thing like stun gun

taser gun pepper spray

And Jeff Tmaine, who now directs

Jackass, he was the editor of Big

Brother magazine, a skateboarding

magazine owned by Larry Flint. And he

goes, "You can write it for us and I'll

help you buy a couple of the things."

And the stun gun and the taser gun. And

I took the money my mom gave me for

Christmas and bought the cheapest

bulletproof vest they had for [snorts]

the last thing. And

>> you don't want to skimp on a bulletproof

vest.

>> That's all That's all I could afford. It

was either no stun gun or taser gun. Um,

so anyway, Jeff says, "Hey, why don't

you film that article that you're

writing? We'll put it in our skateboard

video." And it kind of snowballed from

there.

>> Oh, so that was the genesis of it.

>> Yeah.

>> Wow. Isn't it weird how like desperation

or like the recognition that like, oh,

you have responsibilities, like you got

to get going just lights a fire under

your ass. You become like a totally

different person. It was like I deal

with a certain amount of overcoming

fear or whatever when doing the stunts,

but there was never any fear like you

have a daughter on the way and you have

to figure out how to support her.

>> Yeah.

>> I was I had to do something quick and

that was my best guess.

>> Yeah. It's the mother of invention, man.

>> Yeah. that that necessity, that

understanding, like being a dad and

having to take care of people, it just

changes everything.

>> Yeah. Like what am I doing? I you know

what I'm doing? I'm doing [ __ ]

nothing and I need to do something.

>> Yeah. Yeah. So,

>> yeah. It's uh it's a primal feeling,

right?

>> Yeah. It changed everything. But what

but when you're doing this like first of

all what round what caliber of revolver

did you get shot with?

>> Well the vest was the cheapest one so it

could take a 38 and I got a 38. I

borrowed it from my neighbor's wife.

Jesus [laughter] Christ.

There wasn't a lot of pre-production on

this joke. How far away were you when

you got shot? like well my my buddy was

supposed to shoot me

>> but we just we drove out the 14 and cuz

we didn't have a location

>> and I'm like pull off here and then we

pull off this exit and I'm like okay

make a right and we end up on the fire

road. So

we get out there and my friend's like I

I'm not going to shoot you man. I can't

do it. I'm like, [laughter]

so I'm like, "All right, well, give me

the gun."

And

[laughter]

I'm I'm I got the gun to my chest and

[clears throat] a car pulls up behind me

and it's a bunch of tweakers. They're

driving down the fire road. They're

like, "Hey, how do we get to the

freeway?" And I got the gun behind my

back. I'm like, "Hey, you just go down

here, make a right, then a left." Uh,

and they drove away. And so I went back

to shooting myself.

>> [laughter]

>> It was sketchy. It looked like a snuff

film. The the because my friends are my

the photographer on it saw his buddy die

cuz he jumped off a hotel trying to hit

a swimming pool and

>> Oh,

>> didn't hit that swimming pool. And so he

was really scared, right? He was like,

"Stop. Don't do this. Don't do this.

Stop." I wasn't getting a lot of

positive reinforcement, Joe.

>> Yeah, it doesn't seem like it. And I had

a bunch of uh cuz since it was Flint

magazine, I had a bunch of uh hustlers

under the bulletproof vest to help

absorb the impact. [laughter] And at one

point they all fall out and I bend over

to pick them up and I'm pointing the gun

right at my friends as I pick them up. I

don't realize this, but it was sketchy.

>> And that was the first.

>> Yeah, we put that in the Big Brother

video. You ever done anything like

selfharming? Any dangerous type

activities before you started jackass?

Before you started doing all this kind

of [ __ ]

>> No. No. I didn't even know what self I

mean [laughter] you can you can argue me

my drinking didn't help my liver but uh

>> but it's like you guys like what you did

was kind of [ __ ] crazy.

But when you [clears throat] I guess if

you stop the I don't know like it just

becomes something you're doing. It was

all

normal to me and I I I can't speak for

them. It's just that's what we're doing

today.

>> And so that was the first one. And then

h how how many times have you done a

stunt where you're like this I could

die? a few

>> like you've done like the bull one when

you're blindfolded. I I watched I was

like don't do that. I was watching I was

like this is crazy. Yeah, that was Yeah,

that was Anytime you're working with a

bull, I think that uh they hate you and

Well, really, they hate movement and

they want to make you stop moving

forever. [snorts] And um but I've had,

you know, like in the Jackass number two

when the rocket exploded, those were

foot long metal rods and there was 12 of

them. One blew out right next to my

ribs, which would have been picture wrap

on me, and one flew back 300 yards and

split two of our uh art guys right

between them. That would have It was

We've had some really close ones. I

tried to do the Buster Katon thing in

number two where the facade falls

>> Uhhuh.

>> and it falls right the window falls over

my head. That was the plan. And the

guy's like, "Okay, when it's because it

was the it was the close, right, of the

movie."

And the guy's like, "This is a 20 foot

steel wall. Like, you hit your mark, do

not move."

I'm like, "Got it." They said, "Action."

And then, so I take two steps and

they're like, "Ah, no, no, cut, cut." So

I just like, "Oh, okay. I'm going to

walk over here." And they had already

released the wall. Yeah. And if you

watch the footage, it crushes me to the

ground, but my head just makes it

through the window. Otherwise, that

would have been I would have been done.

>> Oh jeez, dude.

>> Yeah.

>> Yeah.

>> Oh my god,

>> that was a close one.

>> God.

>> Yeah. That

>> How heavy was that [ __ ] thing? I

don't. It was 20 foot steel wall. It was

It was incredibly

>> How bad did you get [ __ ] up from that?

>> I Nothing

>> nothing.

>> I'm like I It was It was uh uh like I

was very lucky. I'm also hyper limber.

So I just I kind of

accordion when on impact.

>> Just dumb luck.

>> Dumb story of my life. [laughter]

How many it's all how many all told how

many stunts have you done like that?

>> Oh, I haven't. Oh, that almost almost

>> Yeah.

>> Kaput.

[sighs]

I I I don't know. Like there's

at least

six or seven like close calls and then

in any number of stunts they can go

wrong, you know? I don't know. I don't

really I just look forward.

>> Was there ever a time when you're doing

this going what the [ __ ] have I got

myself into [laughter]

>> like because you have to keep up

oneupping yourself? Right.

>> Um well that was a problem for me after

we did the first movie. Uh, I didn't

want to do a second movie because I

didn't know how to top the first one,

which now looks very tame compared to

the others. And finally, uh,

Tmaine said, "You don't we don't have to

top it. We just have to be funny." And

I'm like, "Okay."

That made me free. that I it took away

all my anxiety

and I thought, okay, if that's the case

and a couple months later, he he told me

he was lying and we did have to top it.

But it by that time I was already off

and running.

>> Jesus, dude.

>> Yeah,

>> your show would really give me anxiety.

It gives the guys an they they they get

really anxious because I know 98.5%

of what's happening on the set like Jeff

and I each we keep a little from each

other. So if we want to smoke one

another so but the guys don't have any

idea what's happening. [laughter]

So by the second week, you can just

literally go up and put your finger on

someone's shoulder and they're like,

"Jesus, [laughter] they're so so

nervous." And I and I I don't blame

them.

>> And like when you film one of those

movies, like how long is a shoot? Like

how how many months do you film for?

>> Well, that depends on jackass number

two.

usually about we go two weeks on, two

weeks off over

four, five months, but I think jackass

number two

it was eight or nine months and finally

they had to have an intervention with me

to stop shooting. [laughter]

They hey like come down to the office

tomorrow. We're going to finalize the

edit or or do something in the edit. I'm

like, "All right." And I get there and

it's Spike, Jeff, a few of the cast and

uh

and they're like, "We're not here to

talk about the edit." I'm like, "Okay."

Like, "We have to stop shooting. We're

like so far over." And then it was also

about I was going to do the ski jump,

you know, the Olympic ski jump, and

it was uh

they're like, "You, we have too much

footage. You can't let's just not you've

already put yourself on the line so

much. You can't."

done. And then it became like,

well, I'm not I didn't I I decided not

to because I felt like this big

intervention they had it was like

doomed. The stunt was doomed in my mind

then that something negative was going

to happen. So I ended up not doing the

the ski jump, but I did negotiate two

more weeks of shooting out of them.

>> How far were you supposed to jump?

until I went kaboom. I don't know. It

was going to be the Olympic ski jump.

>> Like when they fly?

>> Yeah.

>> Do you know how to ski?

>> Not at all. [laughter]

>> I don't want to be good at the stunt.

Nobody wants to see that.

>> Well, I mean, you'd have to train for

years to be good at it, but I mean, I

was just

>> I had about 20 minutes.

>> Oh. So, that didn't happen. But, um,

uh, I don't even know how we got on

this. Um,

this episode is brought to you by Amazon

MGM Studios new movie, Mercy, only in

theaters January 23, set in the near

future. Trials are run by artificial

intelligence that has access to every

camera, phone, and database. Chris Pratt

plays a detective on trial, and he has

90 minutes to prove his innocence to an

AI judge. played by Rebecca Ferguson.

Directed by Te-our Beckman Bedoff.

You've got to experience this movie on

the big screen, especially in IMAX 3D.

Get tickets now at mercymov.com.

Rated PG-13.

[snorts]

>> But so, are you done with all that stuff

or would you consider doing it again?

Well, I

I can't do any stunt where I would get a

concussion now because I've had too

many. The last one was really gnarly. Uh

I kind of went offline for a while. And

um

>> What was that?

>> In at the end in Jackass Forever, I

dressed up as a magician and I got

obsessed with the idea of pranking an

animal.

Uh, I just wanted uh the thought of

seeing the animals reaction

after the prank. And that kind of uh

morphed into me dressing as a magician

in a bowl ring doing the uh pouring the

milk in the hat trick to get the bull's

reaction. And apparently the the bull

didn't think much of my trick cuz it uh

it well first of all usually when you're

working with the bull in a ring

there's a lot of soft dirt around you

know and I got there that morning and it

was

it was just dirt but no so it was like

concrete and I thought to myself well

that's a problem and

But we're there. We need I'm shooting.

So anyway, long story short, the ball

the bull hits me and I you usually when

a bull hits you, well always they drop

their head, right? So I always try to

jump a split second before it hits me.

So I get above the bull as opposed to

bel below the bull, which is never any

fun. So but I mist time my jump. I

jumped too early. So, I jumped and then

I start coming back down and then the

bull hits me and it flips me like I do

like a one and a half flip and the only

thing that stops me is the back of the

head, my back of my head hitting the uh

concrete ground [groaning]

>> and I got a concussion with the brain

hemorrhage, a broken rib and a broken

wrist out of the deal

>> and that was it. And yeah, it was it was

so.

>> And this is after you let Butterbean KO

you, too.

>> Lucky punch. [laughter]

>> That [ __ ] dude hit so hard. I watched

that. I was like, don't let that happen.

>> Don't do that.

>> He like everyone's like, "Boy, that

knockout punch must have hurt." I'm

like, "I didn't even feel it." Like the

punches before really hurt, but the

knockout punch you don't you you've been

knocked out before. You don't feel it.

Um, that one was a pretty bad

concussion, too. Um, I had vertigo for

six to eight weeks after that.

>> Just driving around a curve. Everything

starts spinning. [sighs]

>> Did you go to a hospital, get checked

out?

>> Well, I went to see my doctor, Dr.

Kipper, and he uh he had to sew up my

head because I fell back onto the hard

ground of the swap meet. And I I I think

I hit my head on the corner of a display

counter as well. I I don't know.

[ __ ] dude.

>> Should have went to college. [laughter]

Do Do you ever feel any responsibility

for how many people you inspire to do

similar things? Um

well I hope to just entertain them and

not inspire them but um I can't I don't

have any control over that as except for

when I do things like this like just

watch don't do uh I I don't want anyone

to get hurt. I you know me I'm another

story.

>> It's kind of amazing that you're okay

you know other than the bad concussions.

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I'm pretty

okay with how it turned out.

>> What What's the worst injury that

anybody ever suffered during jackass

filming?

>> Um,

wow.

There's been many concussions, breaks.

Uh,

um

I I don't know. just like the arm

breaks, back breaks.

>> Do you have any like longterm problems

because of it?

>> Um, my lower back is pretty blown out.

Um,

and who knows about

uh how the concussions will uh rectify

themselves. Um, hopefully I'm

okay.

>> Do you feel any lingering effects? Well,

my lower back's blown out. So, I I just

had a intracept procedure on my back

about on on in early December.

>> They're they go the the nerve and the

vertebrae uh they go in and like somehow

use uh radio frequency heat to basically

burn the nerve so it

>> can't send the signal to your brain that

it's hurt.

>> Oh, so you just walk around hurt, but

you don't Oh, no. Yeah.

>> Oh,

>> I'm fine with that.

>> Is it doing continual damage or is it

just pain?

>> I think it it seems to be uh and that's

an excellent question that I did not ask

nor did I care about, but thank you for

bringing it up. I think uh to me it's

just pain. So, I you know

>> Jesus. Have you done anything else for

it? Like there's a bunch of different Is

it a herniated disc? because of

>> Yeah, but the lower two discs are

herniated and uh I had uh shots in the

facet joints of my lower uh back is like

they put some kind of steroid in there

and it didn't give the result that I

wanted. Um have you ever heard of a

machine called a reverse hyper?

>> No. There's a machine that a guy named

Louis Simmons, he was this uh legendary

powerlifter guy, he developed because he

had uh [ __ ] his discs up powerlifting

and the doctors told him that he needed

to fuse his disc. Yeah.

>> Because they were compressed. And he's

like, "Well, can't we decompress him?"

And they're like, "No, there's no way."

He's like, "Well, there's got to be a

way." So, he developed a machine that

decompresses the spine while also

strengthening the muscles around it.

It's a piece of exercise. That's Louie.

Uh he developed this like something that

happened to uh uh Ving Gra in Pulp

Fiction. [laughter]

>> The that that's it. What does the

machine do? It strengthens and

>> on the way up when she's lifting with

her legs, it's strengthening her back

and on the the down swing, it's actively

decompressing your back.

>> So, it like pulls the discs apart and

creates space. I love this machine. I

have one at home. I have one here at the

studio. I use it all the time. is really

an important piece of equipment for

anybody that has a lower back injury or

who wants to prevent lower back injuries

and just for overall strength because

it's a very odd movement to be able to

recreate.

>> Oh, great. I'm going to look into that

because

>> Yeah, I'll show it to you. We have it in

the gym afterwards. I'll show it to you

after the podcast. Oh, sweet. You should

get one. It'll help you.

>> Yeah.

>> There's another thing called a teeter.

Uh you know those things you hang by

your ankles?

>> Yeah.

>> Where you like decompress? They

developed one called the Dex where you

hinge from your waist. So you like get

in this thing, you strap your legs in

and you lean forward and it's like

you're hanging from like that. So you're

hanging from your hips like all your

your weight is being like set on your

your thighs and your back carries all

the weight and it just slowly like pop

it decompresses. It feels great.

>> Well,

>> that thing that thing [ __ ] rules. I

always tell everybody if you you have a

back injury, you have back problems,

that thing will help you a lot. Just do

that for a few minutes every day and

event, you know, slowly over time it

creates space and it alleviates some of

the pinching and you know problems that

people have depending of course on the

severity of your injury. But yeah, I

love that thing.

>> All right, you might be getting a couple

pieces of equipment.

>> Yeah, man. You gota you got to prevent.

So, how the [ __ ] did they talk you into

hosting Fear Factor? How'd that happen?

Um, I met with uh Sharon Levy who runs

Indo.

>> I know Sharon

>> and

>> shout out to Sharon Levy.

>> She's awesome. And I I was like I'm on

I'm on the fence, you know? I

and I sat down with her and I liked her

so much

cuz she seems like like how did a woman

like you that's is like awesome get a

job is the head of you know

>> right

>> she seems very rebellious

>> right

>> and I just thought yeah [snorts] I'm in

so uh it happened over a lunch

>> really

>> yeah I really liked her

>> um one of the problems that we had with

fear factors was we did 148 episodes

initially and then we came back for a

brief amount of time, but they wanted to

really ramp it up. Like it was like the

these stunts are going to be bigger and

crazier than ever. And I was relieved

when it got cancelled cuz I was like

we're going to [ __ ] somebody up. I yeah

you felt what what kind of uh well you

have a couple of examples or

>> well there was a bunch in the early days

like first of the first one that we ever

did while I was like don't do this was

bull riding made people bull ride and

this one lady was like she probably

weighed like 98 pounds

>> right

>> and she got on the back of the ball I'm

like she's not going to be able to hang

on at all she's going to go flying was

like stunt guys are some of the most

savage

[ __ ] psychotic zero zero fear at all

for their safety. Like they get so

hardened by it over time. Like just not

normal people. And uh this guy Perry uh

I was like, "Dude, what you're going to

make them ride a bull?" He's like,

"Don't worry about it, boo. These are

stunt bulls."

>> I go, [laughter]

"That's what he said." I go, "Does that

bull know he's a stunt bull?"

>> They got their s card.

>> I bet he has no [ __ ] idea. I bet he

just thinks he's a bull. So they're in

the cage before they do it. THE BULL'S

[ __ ] BUCKET AROUND AND he's just a

[ __ ] tank.

>> Yeah.

>> And I'm just going don't I told the

people I'm like don't do it. Don't do

it. Just quit, man. Just don't do it. I

It was like one of the only things where

I was I was like I wouldn't do it. I'm

telling you right now I would never do

this.

>> Were the bulls were they the bulls that

would cuz certain bulls you they get

upset if you ride them but after you

fall off they don't try to hook you. Did

these bulls try to hook them after they

got

>> They get They had handlers that steered

the bull away from the people and they

did a good job with that. But I mean,

who [ __ ] knows? They don't want you

on them. They weigh 2,000 lbs.

>> They're all muscle. Like the thing was

so powerful. Like you could feel it when

it was in the cage. It was just [ __ ]

moving around. I was like, "Don't do

this."

>> And they're smart. Like bulls are very

smart. That's why unfortunately

uh you know in Spanish bull fighting

they kill the bull which I'm I'm I'm not

on board with but because they learn

your movements. You can't make the same

movement

>> twice in a row with the bull because

they're going to go, "Oh, okay. I'm

going to be you're going to do that and

I'm gonna be right here waiting on you."

>> It's unfair. And you can't have anyone

move behind the fence when it's on

because bulls can easily jump over the

fence. They a lot of them just don't

know they can. So if you frighten them

or provoke them, they're just going to

jump over the fence. And then they have

like 35 people they can smoke.

Yeah. It's it's it's when we work with

bulls, the the set is different. The set

is different. [laughter]

the the guy Gary Lefw who supplies our

bulls, he was a world champion in 1970

and when we first started working with

him and it stuck with us the whole time.

He's like when we have bulls on the set

I don't want anyone any kind of

negativity going around the set. It's

already hard enough with the bull. If

there's anyone negative or any

negativity that person's off the set and

>> negativity like in what way? Just if

there's uh any like

saying negative things or they've had a

fight with someone right before any kind

of negative vibes. No negative vibes.

>> The bull senses negative vibes.

>> Just well the whole the whole everyone

on the set senses negative vibes and

everyone has to be completely present

and positive for this.

And

>> is this voodoo or is this like real

science?

>> No. No. I I think it it makes total

sense, especially when you're doing

stunts. When you're doing a stunt that

can forever alter you. No, I I don't

like any negativity either. Everyone

could. And also, if you're doing

something that can forever alter you,

you have to want to be there and want to

be doing it. You can't halfway go into

it because then you're really going to

get [ __ ] up. So this is just something

>> this is knowledge you've acquired over

time.

>> Yeah. No, that's true. If you like half

commit in something that can for you're

going to get

Yeah. It's bad. [laughter]

It's going to be bad anyway, but you you

need to want to be there.

What a bizarre life skill.

>> Yeah. Yeah. You know what I mean?

[laughter]

What a bizarre skill. like I know how to

survive doing something you really

shouldn't do that could alter you

forever. Stay positive.

>> Well, that's that it doesn't it's not a

guarantee uh Joe, but it does I think it

does help. We did a bunch of other stuff

that was not bulls like with cars and

trucks and stuff where I was like,

"Ooh." Like we had a close call once

with this lady who was strapped to the

front of a truck and she was supposed to

go through some sort of an obstacle

course, but like they blew through some

boxes and the box got on the windshield

of the other car and the other car

almost slammed into her legs. [snorts]

>> Yeah. and she was screaming because she

thought it hit her and it was like we

were like what the [ __ ] are we doing?

>> Was that when you guys came back for the

second round?

>> Yeah, that was the second round. Yeah,

the second round was sketchy. You know,

we had people like getting they were

attached to a tree and they had to

figure out which key to unlock them

while a bungee cord was attached to them

and a helicopter. And so once they got

the thing unlocked, they would [ __ ]

rock it off of this tree

>> up through the limbs.

>> No, no, no. It was l likely wasn't that

there was no branches that could have

got them.

>> But that would have been funnier.

>> It would have been funnier like through

the branches and [ __ ] So they they

rocket over a [ __ ] giant canyon. Like

we're on the top of this canyon and they

just went flying while they were being

bungee jumped on the bottom of this

[ __ ] helicopter. It was terrifying.

They were so high. If anything went

wrong, they were dead as [ __ ] 100%

dead.

>> Oh man, that that's sketchy.

>> Oh, there was so much sketchy stuff and

then it ultimately got cancelled cuz

they had a drink come.

[laughter]

>> Did you ever see that episode?

>> Uh, no. No.

>> Yeah, that's what sunk us. So, there was

only two times.

>> What year was What kind of What kind

>> Donkey Kum?

>> Ah,

>> yeah.

>> That'll do it every time, Joe.

>> Yeah. And they got donkey [ __ ] because

it's the cheapest [ __ ]

>> Yeah. Yeah. [laughter] Boores. Boores

ejaculate 15 ounces at a time.

>> Whoa.

>> So, uh,

>> a wild boar. Like a pig.

>> Yeah. Really? 15 ounces. Uh,

>> that's a lot.

>> Yeah.

>> That's a [ __ ] beerstein.

>> Yeah. [laughter]

>> Yeah. So, this is it. So, these guy,

that guy's drinking donkey [ __ ] and his

brother's drinking donkey piss.

>> I I' I'd offer the [laughter] piss.

That guy chugged it. He chugged Donkey

Kum. I'm getting I'm starting to drive.

>> Oh, that's a lot. That was a lot of [ __ ]

>> A black and tan kind of with the piss

and the seaman wouldn't have been a

terrible idea.

>> It was so nasty.

>> What were the Who were the girls there?

>> Well, they were all twins. It was three

sets of twins and um they had to play

horseshoes. Like she's [laughter] her

mascara. It's like

>> she had to drink the seaman too.

>> Oh yeah. Oh yeah. And the thing is,

three sets of people, three twins, three

groups of twins did it and only one won

the money.

>> Oh.

>> So two people drank Donkey Kong and two

people drank Donkey Piss for nothing.

>> You know what the worst part of that is?

Seammen burps later.

>> Yeah.

Just the just that bleachy smell that

>> the ladies like between the two of them

were fighting over who drank the piss.

They wanted to drink. They didn't want

to drink the piss. They were happy to

drink the [ __ ] [laughter]

>> which I guess tracks,

you know, like been there, done that.

Not in that kind of volume, but

>> what's the worst that could happen?

Whereas the guys were like really trying

not to drink the [ __ ] you know? I don't

know what they did to decide because

they had to decide like one of them was

going to drink come one of them's going

to drink piss. So that was one of two

times two times where I was hosting this

show where I said to the producers don't

do this don't do this. I'm like you're

the show's going to get cancelled.

They're like no we're fine. NBC approved

it.

>> They did.

>> Like they they're the bellweathers of

good tasting [laughter] guy on set who

was like the NBC standards guy, the

standards and practices guy. And I'm

like, "You're you're okay with this.

Like, this is okay." And they're like,

"Yeah, the network's fine with it." I'm

like, "This is so [ __ ] you guys are

too close to this." [laughter] I'm like,

"You guys are too close to this. You

don't understand how the general

public's going to react."

>> And then I think what happened, I think

it was TMZ, but someone leaked the

footage online. Someone leaked like

images of people drinking con like fear

factor crosses the line. And then the

outrage was palpable. like it was like

some serious outrage and then that show

never aired in America but it aired

overseas. I think it aired in like maybe

the Netherlands or something like that

or Germany which is where Fear Factor

actually came from. Fear Factor was

actually a show in the ne in the

Netherlands called now or Neverland. Ah,

>> and then they brought it over to America

when Endal purchased it and then they

changed it to I think they then they

came up with the name Fear Factor after

that. That was like one and I was

already on board.

>> Yeah. Wow. I didn't know that.

>> Yeah.

>> There was no there was virtually no

blowback after uh Pontia Strength Horse

Come and Jackass number two. [laughter]

>> Never heard about it.

>> Well, it wasn't on TV at least. There's

something about television, you know,

censored, you know,

>> federal communications approved

>> fear factor and they drank come. So that

got us canceled. That was it. That was

like 201 I guess 11 or something like

that. 12.

>> How many seasons you do?

Um, I think we did six or seven

initially and then we did another

>> Yeah. And then we did another six

episodes. One of them that never aired.

>> Did you help write creative?

>> No. No. No. No. No.

>> You didn't want any part of that?

>> I had zero. No. What I would do is I'd

show up at work. I'd get in my trailer.

I'd take an edible and then I would go

to the set and I'm like, "What do we

got?" First I did the first two first

four episodes I did sober. Then I was

like this is so boring. I need I need to

get high. And so [laughter] I would take

pot lollipops and pot gummies and just

get [ __ ] lit and then enjoy it cuz

then it was like like this is an

adventure.

>> What a great Oh, it was a fun gig.

>> Yeah, I had a I had so much fun too

because all I do is like you all I did

was talk.

>> Yeah.

>> You know.

>> Oh, it's easy. I ate a lot of [ __ ] I

ate a lot of things to try to encourage

people, you know, like because after a

while I got so

>> Oh, you you would do the the things with

them.

>> I'd be like, you could do it. Like, I'll

do it. I'll do it for you. Like, and

some of the times when I did it to just

try to help people. I'm like, look, I'm

going to show you. I'm going to do it

and then you're going to do it. And then

we didn't even air me doing it because I

was like cuz they they didn't want to

make it seem like it was so cuz I could

do it easily cuz I was so used to

disgusting stuff. I could just take a

roach and just throw it down. Take a

worm and throw it down. Like just do it.

It's not that hard. It's all in your

[ __ ] head. Because I was trying to

like,

>> you know, I get it. Like coach people

through it.

>> I when I took the job, I'm like, I this

I'm just going to like

give people hell, you know, the whole

time, you know, and make their fears

worse. But then I get to set and I it

there's a human in front of you and I'm

like I I don't know. These are regular

people and they really have fear. So,

I'm going to try I ended up like you

trying to help them

>> do it,

>> but I was I never wanted to uh

like do what they were doing for the

fact that I never wanted that footage to

be seen like I'm trying to, you know,

like you were just

>> like you had confidence that they

wouldn't show that. And I'm like, ah.

>> They showed a few things. They showed me

eating like spiders. They showed me

eating a roach, but I ate a lot of stuff

that they never saw or I did some things

that they because I just wanted these

people to do it. I get it. I'm like, you

can do it. It's in your head.

>> I'm like, you just got to decide. Like,

your mind has to decide. I'm just going

to do this. Just do it. Just go ahead

and do it. Don't think about, oh my god,

I can't believe I'm doing it. Just

[ __ ] do it. Chew, swallow, chew,

swallow. I would just talk them through

it. Yeah.

>> And I became like a a [ __ ]

motivational coach or something like

that. Was weird. Yeah, that's real

because after there was on the [snorts]

first there was one girl that quit the

she she was like I'm not continuing this

bit this stunt.

>> What was it? Can you say

>> uh it was something with snakes, right?

And it was a big fear and after that I I

got the cast together and I'm like it

at least always try to do what we're

doing. Don't don't let it the fear stop

you, right? Just always try. And after

that, like everyone, even if they're

horrified, they made an effort. And I

felt good about that. And I think they

did, too.

>> Oh, that's cool.

>> Yeah.

>> Yeah. I mean, some people, but it's

sometimes it's good that someone quits

so you realize like this is real. Like

some people really like especially

snakes. Snakes to there's something uh

about aidophobia that I think is primal.

I think it's in your DNA. I think either

your ancestors were either bitten by a

snake and barely survived or someone saw

someone die from a snake and that that

>> information is encoded in your DNA

because the the fear that people have of

snakes is [ __ ] wild. Like when they

have legitimate aphidophobia, it is a

[ __ ] crazy fear to watch. It's it's

like their whole body locks up. They

start shaking. Like it's not a normal

fear. It's like an ancient caveman fear

that's locked into their DNA. Like

someone thousands of years ago survived

something like this. And that's the only

reason why you're here. And every fiber

of your being wants to [ __ ] run away

from snakes.

>> It's wonderful. It has to be

>> when someone has that one like bam

>> terrified of snakes.

>> Oh, really?

>> Terrified.

And

>> of course, we use that to our advantage,

>> of course. Yeah. Well, we would make

people fill out a questionnaire when

they would sign up for Fear Factor,

like, "What are your fears? Heights,

snakes, spiders." Well, you're getting

heights, snakes, and spiders.

>> I would write tequila, whiskey, uh,

>> [ __ ] [laughter]

>> I hate back massages. Yeah. Yeah. It was

uh it was fascinating because like you

know I had a background in martial arts

and and teaching and one of the things

that I did when I was younger was I took

a lot of people to tournaments and I

coached a lot of people in taekwond no

tournaments and they'd be [ __ ]

terrified. And I would I learned how to

lock in with them and how to get them

into a certain mindset you know as a

coach. And I be like, look, you're going

to get past this and this is going to be

like one of the highlights of your life

because you're absolutely terrified. And

this fear on the other side will it will

be a completely different feeling.

You'll have a feeling of accomplishment.

You'll have a feeling of an

understanding of knowing that you can

overcome very terrifying situations and

you can triumph and you can do this.

Like you have skills. You just have to

be able to go out there and perform and

you can do it. and I'd get in their head

and I carried that over to Fear Factor

sometimes because there was people that

just needed help like they didn't they

had never experienced anything that

really freaked them out before. They had

never experienced the kind of pressure

of not just a competition but a

competition where they're doing

something kind of dangerous

>> and something that really [ __ ]

freaked them out. They have to hold

their their breath underwater for like

two minutes while they swim through a

[ __ ] thing. We have rescue diversic

who was ready to [ __ ] quit and then

they went on and won the whole thing.

>> Yeah. Yeah. That's that does make you

feel good to push someone

>> to the other side. And the survivors

euphoria waiting for you. Well, uh

>> that I I heard that I read about that

term.

>> Survivors euphoria

>> and I and I realized I'd experienced it

a few

>> multiple times.

>> Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Uh there [snorts] was

a You Colonel John Paul Stap?

>> No. He was a doctor, a biophysicist,

uh flight surgeon, and he worked with uh

Chuck Joerger and all that

out at uh uh Edwards, it was it's now

Edwards Air Force Base, and they were

conducting experiments on

uh what happens to a pilot when they

eject at high altitude and Colonel John

Paul Stat

because these experiments were gnarly.

They're on deceleration. They built this

huge sled out in uh the desert and he

would strap himself in because the the

thinking at the time was if you're going

to do something a very dangerous uh

experiment,

a lot of times people back then would

put themselves at the center because

they didn't want to. Of course, they had

other people doing it and he did it most

though. So, they would go hundreds of

miles per hour. Yes.

>> Whoa.

>> Hundreds of miles per hour and stop

within uh 8 ft. And at the time, I think

they thought you could only experience

uh maybe 18 gs of deceleration.

He at one time experienced 49 gs of

deceleration. I think it's the most ever

that any human is. And he went blind for

a little bit. And he knew that was going

to happen because he'd had that happen

before in these experiments.

And the night before the one where he

got 49 G's, experienced 49 G's, he went

around his house with his eyes closed,

uh, and just trying to do things like

cook. If if he did go blind forever,

he's one of the most he was he at one

time he was known as the fastest man

alive on that sled. He went faster than

anyone at the time. He and he's the

reason we have seat belts in cars. He's

one of the most brilliant men of the

20th century. He was on the cover of

Time magazine. No one knows who he is

today.

>> Wow.

>> Um but he talked about survivors

euphoria. Uh and that's where I I

learned about it. What did he say about

it?

>> Just just the endorphins that get

released after going through something

like that and that you did survive. And

it's just

it just fills you up.

>> So he knew he was going to go blind and

he did it anyway.

>> He knew that there was a high

probability of going blind

>> and a possibility of being blind

forever.

>> Yes. And he was blind for like a couple

days before it started getting sensing

light again.

>> Yeah, he's he's an amazing amazing

person.

>> I did a flight with the Blue Angels

once.

>> How was that?

>> It was amazing. Um, first of all, you

don't you never think of like that being

a physical thing that those guys have to

be physically fit.

>> Oh, yeah. Well, you go to when we went

to the base before you, you know, do the

whole safety thing. They explain

everything what you're going to have to

do. You see like that these guys are all

[ __ ] jacked. They're all like

superheroes. Yeah.

>> It's cuz they have

>> They're not the big They're They're

>> They're short like me and they're all

like thick. They're all like [ __ ]

jacked dudes. And they were like, well,

first of all, you don't want to be tall

because it's all about how much time it

takes for the blood to get from your

heart to your brain. And the shorter

distance it has to travel, the better

off you are. And you have to be

physically strong cuz you do it. Have

you ever done it? You ever done a flight

in a fighter jet?

>> Uh, no, but we did the vomit comet in

Russia.

>> Okay.

>> But, uh, Steo went up in a MIG.

>> They do a thing called hooking. So, what

it is is like you hold on to the

joystick or you there's straps that

strap your legs down as well, you know,

like you're really harnessed in. You

hold on to your straps. You go like this

hoot and what you're literally doing is

forcing blood into your brain because

you feel consciousness closing like an

elevator door. It's like you feel the

pressure like you're going black. You

literally see it. You see the darkness

on his high

and you're just trying to keep the blood

in your brain.

>> We went seven and a half G's.

>> Um, but the guy in front of me while

we're doing this, so you're taking this

[ __ ] heart. You're like flying

through these canyons. Like he was going

for it. Like he really took me on a

ride. It wasn't a safe ride. It was

wild. We were like a couple hundred feet

off the ground maybe and whipping

through these canyons, taking these

[ __ ] hard turns.

>> And I heard him going hoot hoot hoot. So

I'm going, "Oh, [ __ ] He's blacking out,

too." [laughter] I'm like, "We're going

hundreds of miles an hour." Just like

100 feet off the ground, whipping

through these canyons. This guy's about

to [ __ ] black out, too.

>> That's not what you want to hear.

>> It was terrifying, but also like

super educational. Like, you know, you

just see people flying around. You're

like, "Oh, it's probably like driving a

car." No, it's unbelievably physically

demanding. And the Blue Angels, they

don't use gravity suits. Or at least

they didn't.

>> No. No. What? They don't use

decompression suits.

>> No. No. It's just a regular flight suit.

>> Well, did they not go up to a certain

What altitude were they

>> jet? It's a jet. It's not like you have

to like you're not in a spaceship,

right? So, the whole thing is just about

being able to stay conscious. And the

thing about the gravity suit is I guess

somehow or another it aids your ability

to absorb all those G's. I'm not really

educated about it, but I just do know

that he said there's ways that you wear

suits that make this easier, but they

don't wear the suits.

>> Yeah, I think if you go up to a certain

altitude, you have to have the

>> But this wasn't an altitude thing. This

was just a GeForce thing. It was just

the hard turns.

>> It's like the the wicked turns at

hundreds of miles an hour. And also just

thinking about the tolerances of the

aircraft itself and the the the pressure

that's on the hall because the the

feeling of being in a jet going hundred

miles an hour, hundreds of miles an hour

and then hitting a hard turn. It's just

your whole BODY JUST LIKE [screaming]

>> YEAH. AND you're just And you're just

along for the ride. Like they I mean

they're so skilled to be able to

>> overcome the forces. He let me do some

stuff like uh I got to make the the jet

do a loop. I do that. I got to get it to

to roll over to get it to go upside down

and go back over. Yeah, he showed me how

to do that.

>> Wow.

>> You were in control of it or

>> Well, I mean, he's there too in case I

do something really [ __ ] stupid. I'm

sure he has ultimate control. But I have

a joystick, too.

>> I was allowed to do some stuff. Do do

you think

I mean they could give you a joystick

and it not be connected to anything too

and make you feel

>> but it was connected. You could clearly

tell while you're moving it,

>> right? Oh man, that's that's pretty

scary.

>> It It made you want to get one of those

things. Like how dope would it be to

have one of those?

>> Get one of those jets.

>> Yeah, [laughter]

>> cuz you can get one of those if you're

like a super rich guy.

>> Well, yeah, you can get one, but you got

to you mean how much is a Cuz we we

looked this up one day. You could buy

like decommissioned fighter jets, you

know? They don't have any machine guns

on them or anything crazy, but you can

get a decommissioned fighter jet. If

you're like some [ __ ] psychotic

billionaire and you got your own landing

strip, you you could get a [ __ ]

fighter jet.

>> Oh, yeah.

>> Which is gnarly.

>> Yeah. Yeah. I mean, if you go to Russia,

you could probably get one fully loaded.

>> 1,500 bucks, dog.

>> 1,500. [laughter]

>> 1.5 million.

>> Close.

>> A million. It's a million. buy one.

[laughter]

>> Well, [ __ ] Look at this one. 395 grand.

You get one. What's like a really dope

one? It's like go make it price. Okay.

54. What is that one

>> for five million bucks? What do you get?

>> A 1992 McDonald Douglas

Skyhawk.

Oo.

>> I mean, for that price, you should get a

couple of rockets with it. Come on.

>> Well, I bet you could go to Russia and

they'll give you some rockets.

>> Oh, man. We Yeah, we we shot in Russia

and you can literally do anything you

want in Russia. They let me get on a

military base and shoot uh missiles out

of a cannon. They took Steo up in a MIG.

Uh this is back when we were friendly

with Russia.

>> Yeah. This episode is brought to you by

Athletic Brewing Company. So, here we

are. It's the new year, which means it's

about time to hit reset. Just because

it's January doesn't mean you need to

disappear into a cold plunge and never

drink again. Just rotate in some

athletic non-alcoholic beer. You get the

taste, the perfect meal pairing and the

night out, but you wake up without the

hangover. With over 185 taste awards,

they brew all kinds of styles. IPAs,

goldens, hazes, you name it. Athletic is

proud brewed in America and sold at over

75,000 grocery or liquor stores, bars,

and restaurants across the country. You

can also purchase a variety of limited

styles exclusively on their website. Go

to athleticbwing.com/rogan

to find stores near you or get brews

shipped right to your door. Use code

Rogan to get 15% off your first online

order. Near beer terms and conditions

and certain limitations apply. Athletic

Brewing Company fit for all times.

>> Yeah, it's like 200 five.

>> Wow.

>> And it was it was wild. Um, Russia, we

had so much fun. [snorts]

>> Do you ever look back on like how

surreal like your life has been and all

these experiences?

>> I feel it a lot. Uh like when like for

example in Russia because growing up

like you would do those disaster drills

in school in case Rob Russia dropped the

bomb and you know

>> Oh yeah.

>> run out behind your locker and put your

head between your legs like that would

help if a bomb was dropped.

>> Yeah.

>> But they were such the bad guy. And then

it was 2005 and I'm now I'm on a

been in movies and I'm over there and

that felt very surreal. to be in Russia

and think about

what's happened to my life. Uh there are

moments like that. Yeah.

>> Well, it was weird too because you got

out of it and became a movie star but

then started do you were doing it again

like you were right back in

>> and it kind of started in Russia

actually. Uh we were doing uh a bit

we've done a few things over in Russia

and we were doing something with the

Russian special forces where we were on

a uh

like uh we're going to run through this

uh what do you call it uh when you're

there's dogs and

>> obstacle course.

>> Yeah, we're on obstacle course and they

had all these things set up. I'm like,

"All right. Well, I was like, Jeff, why

don't you have their attack dog attack

me and then uh shoot me with the rubber

bullets and then have the guy kick me in

the face when I get to the end?"

And

uh and we we shot that and the dog

attacked me and the the the Russian guy

the the special forces guy said, "I'm

not going to kick you in the face." But

he did. What a nice guy.

>> Deliver a nice blow to my soul solar

plexus. I had to beg him to do it three

times to like, you know, you got to like

do it as hard as you can. But Jeff

pulled me aside and goes, "Look, if you"

This was just for Wild the TV show Wild

Boys. I would travel with them

sometimes. He goes, "If you're going to

go this hard for basic cable, why don't

[laughter] why don't we do another

movie?" And I was like, "All right."

>> How many movies have you guys done? Um,

we've done four. Uh, and we just

announced we're going to do I just

announced we're going to do another uh I

was going to be out June 26th.

>> Have you filmed it already?

>> No, we're going to we're about to film

it in February.

>> Oh,

>> late February.

>> So, start then. Yeah.

>> Do you feel apprehension? Do you feel

like No.

>> No. Like,

>> but you can't get a concussion.

>> No, I can't get any concussions. But I

mean, I don't care if like I break my

arm or leg. No one cares about that.

It's just I

>> You don't care about breaking your arm

or your leg? Really?

>> No.

>> Really?

>> No.

>> So, this is something. This is like a

feel you've developed this. I don't

care. You didn't have that when you

first started doing it.

>> Uh, you went back.

>> There was there was probably some some

self-worth issues when I began.

>> [laughter]

>> It didn't come from a healthy place,

Joe.

>> Well, it but it's not just that. It's

like you don't have a fear of being like

radically injured because you blow your

knee out or you blow your leg out,

you're limping for the rest of your

life.

>> I don't It doesn't That doesn't bother

me. No.

>> God, I'm so averse to that [ __ ]

>> It's It's I I It's like the uh producer

side of me overrides the performer side.

It's like, "Hey, but we're gonna get

footage." And it's it's about as simple

as that. [snorts]

>> So you'll still do dangerous [ __ ] You

just don't want to do anything

dangerous.

I don't care about Yeah.

>> But how if you're going to get be in a

violent situation where you could break

an arm or a leg, you easily could get a

concussion as well.

>> Well, you got to Well, you got to

assess, Joe.

>> Risk.

>> Risk assessment. How [laughter] the What

the [ __ ] does your waiverss look like?

>> Um,

yeah. I I I don't know. It was, you

know, on the first movie they we the

insurance companies insured it per bit.

They didn't insure the whole movie. They

just insured it per bit.

>> Yeah. That's how they did with Fear

Factor as well.

>> So some bits costs were the insurance

was going to be more than the whole

first movie. And so can't do those. Uh

but after that, you know, we find a

shady insurance company and they take

care of us. Once you started acting

though and doing big movies, did wasn't

there any part of you was like, "Okay,

I'm done with this."

>> No, it's it [laughter]

it was it's so fun. It's something that

uh I created with my friends.

>> Right.

>> Right. Right. Right.

>> And then there's probably my wires got

crossed somehow and then I I learned to

like it. I look I would love it, you

know.

Uh,

I guess it's like uh

comedian

uh learning to love bombing, right?

>> No one learns to love bombing.

>> I uh really I've couple comedians and

they're like if you got to learn to like

love it and basically not fear it.

>> Yeah.

>> And and I kind of did that with

stunts, I guess. I like learned to I

just

I just liked it.

>> Wow.

>> Um

>> you ever talk to a shrink about that?

>> Well, while I was doing

I have tal I know I have a therapist and

I'm like okay we can talk about

everything in my life but not the part

of me that does stunts.

>> Really?

>> Yeah. because I didn't want to unwind

that

>> even though it it it went sideways quite

a few times.

>> That's [snorts] a wild statement. I

didn't want to unwind that.

>> Yeah. So, I' I've looked into it a

little now that I can't get any more

concussions, but [laughter]

>> don't crush my career.

>> What is Yeah, right. What a crazy job

for the therapist. Yeah. Like the one

area where you really probably should

address [laughter]

You know what I mean? You have this like

overall what is Johnny Knoxville? What's

going on in his head? And there's this

one door. Yeah. You can't go in that

room.

>> Yeah. We can't can't The biggest problem

we can address.

>> Yeah.

It's kind of a crazy thing.

>> Yeah.

Well, again, I should have went to

college.

>> Do you get uh annoyed having to answer

all these questions all the time about

that kind of [ __ ] Because after a

while, I would imagine like that is the

most

common thing that people would want to

talk to you about. Like, how many times

you've been hurt? What happened? What is

it like?

>> No, I don't. I I mean, I I uh

again, I get the joke what I would be

doing if I wasn't doing this. So,

>> yeah,

>> I'm grateful. And so, somebody wants to

talk about it, let's talk.

>> Well, you're obviously a smart guy. I

don't buy that. You could do anything.

Well, when I started down this road,

this was my best guess. So, uh, you

know, it just became something I'm

doing. Uh, and yeah, I guess I did want

to write, but I I I I incorporate that

into the movies. [snorts]

>> It was very strange life, Johnny.

>> Yeah, I guess. Yeah,

>> for sure. Um,

yeah. I I kind of

uh

created

the environment that I grew up in with

my father. He uh owned a tire company

and he had all these crazy characters

working for him like people like uh Big

George, ass kicking Robert, this guy SD

named Super Dick. one guy named WW

Woodroll Wilson Boxcar Johnson Jr. He

was the tire groover who was always

getting arrested for one thing or

another. Um

and he was always pranking these people

at work, his people that work for him.

Uh he would stage gunfights at Christmas

parties. What? One he did this twice. He

one year at the Christmas party, he gave

a couple of the guys, his employees,

guns and said, "Okay, I want you guys to

get an argument and I want to culminate

with you pulling out a gun and firing

and you pulling out your gun." They were

blank guns and everyone just, it was in

a pretty gnarly part of town, too. But

everyone just ran out into the streets.

Dad was ecstatic. So the next year, so

the next year there are two new

employees and he's like, "Hey, hey,

Merl, come over here. You guys, you're

going to get in a fight and you're going

to start yelling and you're going to

pull out of guns and it's the same gag."

So they did it and they were very

excited and they pull out the gun,

started firing, but dad had given

everyone else in the party blank guns.

So they started firing back at those

dudes. Those dudes take off running down

the street. Um, so yeah, uh, just kind

of imitating what my father did, I

guess.

Did your father feel any responsibility?

>> Dad loved jackass but hated the parts

where I would do stunts. My whole family

did

>> of course.

>> Um

and but they you know I just doing what

I saw growing up. He would send letters

to his friends from the VD clinic rubber

stamped on the envelope [laughter]

saying you have to list your last 10

partners because you've contracted a

venerial disease sign Dr. Harlland C

Titmore. But people would get these

letters or worse the guy's wife would

get the letter and the thing about

something like that people become angry

and emotional and then they believe

everything. That's the great thing about

pranks. If you can get someone so wound

up that they're really emotional,

they'll believe anything. And so this

guy would come home from work and then

the mother, like his wife would be

there, the the wife's mother would be

there. He had a [snorts] gun pulled on

him over that once.

>> A real gun.

>> Oh yeah, real guns.

Um, [laughter]

>> your dad sounds like a [ __ ] maniac.

He would he would uh send letters out

from

the IRS telling people they're going to

be audited.

He got visited by the Tennessee Bureau

of Investigation over that. He he didn't

do [laughter] that anymore.

>> Well, that makes more sense now. Okay.

So, you grew up in a very unusual

environment.

>> Yeah, very unusual.

>> How did your dad get started doing [ __ ]

like that? Was it just

>> I don't know. He just had that

personality. He was such a [ __ ] starter.

He He should have been in show business

is what should have been, but he he was

from N.

>> Did you ever think about using him?

>> Uh he was in one episode. Uh it when

we're doing the TV show, my mom and him

were in the episode, but he he wrote a

couple of bits for Jack. He was like,

"Hey, I want you to do this." And we

filmed a couple. So he loved that. So,

um,

yeah, he, uh,

I don't know. He didn't know how to go

about being in show business. Neither

did I either.

>> But it seems like he was doing his own

almost like a local play. He was doing

his own version of it for himself.

>> Yeah. Oh, for sure. Just to entertain

himself.

>> I guess he could do that when you're the

boss.

>> Yeah. He uh like I in high school got to

work for

>> I'd be laying on the couch. I took a

nap.

you know, it was like a junior, senior

or whatever, and

I felt something go through my lips. And

he had went and got a hot dog and

microwaved it till it was lukewarm

and drugged the hot dog through my lips.

And then when I woke up, he acted like

he was zipping his pants. [laughter]

He thought and it just him laughing at

his own joke just made everything he

thought it was the funniest thing and

then like you're on board too.

>> Yeah.

>> Uh he was a character.

>> Well that makes more sense now.

>> Yeah

>> cuz I'm like how does a normal guy dive

into something like Jackass?

>> Yeah.

>> That makes more sense now.

>> Yeah.

>> You were sort of indoctrinated at an

early age.

>> Very early.

>> Some of the [ __ ] that made me the most

uncomfortable was the Wild Boy stuff.

Like uh Steo showed me a video of him

when he climbed a tree and the lions

came up the tree and took his hat,

[laughter]

>> which is which is disrespectful if you

think about it.

>> Just take his hat.

>> Fortunate because if they didn't have

the hat, they might have just grabbed

his whole head and just dragged him off,

you know? I mean, those were actual

lions.

>> Yeah. No, they

>> they weren't pet lions. you're entering

into a situation that's unpredictable

and kind of hoping for the best is what

you're doing.

>> And they didn't have any backup plan. I

mean, when you're in a tree and the

lions go up the tree to get you, there's

nothing really anybody could do to help

you. By the time if it gets a hold of

you, you're dead. Like

>> there's nothing any like here's an

example uh of the backup plans we have.

We're filming. Steo's filming a bit with

an alligator on Jackass. And our safety

guy, Manny Pig, who dives in swamps at

night with a minor light to pull

alligators up to the surface and

crocodiles. He's Tarzan. He's Tarzan. He

was our safety guy. And [laughter] it's

like, okay, if this goes south, what

what do we do? Uh, man, he goes, okay,

we we're going to be doing this stunt

with the alligator. And if the alligator

grabs a hold of Steo and bites him,

hopefully he will let go. [laughter] And

that was it. That was the whole plan.

There's no like poke him in the eyes.

There's no like

>> if the gator doesn't want to let go,

he's not going to let go.

So

[sighs]

>> [ __ ] dude.

>> Yeah.

>> Yeah. The wild animals ones are the

nutty. One one of the ones where you

guys are playing keep away with hyenas.

We keep laughing.

>> They have the strong like one of the

strongest jaw the bite in the animal

kingdom. Maybe they're like third or

fourth.

>> Yeah.

>> There's What are you going to do?

There's nothing you can do. Just hope

for the best.

>> Yeah. And they have instincts. Like if

you twist your ankle and they see you

limping.

>> Oh yeah. I was doing a thing with uh we

were in Argentina at this zoo and

we were like, "Hey, can I get in with

the the lions?" cuz there was a couple

of keepers in there with it and they're

like, "Yeah, come on in."

And and

they're like, "But whatever you do,

don't trip and fall." I'm like, "Oh

shit." And so I I got on a bike and

started riding around the pen and and

they're like, "If we give you a signal,

you got to" And so I'm riding around the

pen. They're like, "No, no, no, no, no,

no, no, no, NO. GET OUT. GET OFF. GET

OFF." cuz the lion locked in on me and

was about to attack me and they hurried

me out of the pen and afterwards they're

like, "Yeah, that was the first time

anyone aides from us has been in the pin

with them." And it's also mating season,

so he's very aggressive.

Like, well, I wish you'd have told me

that before I got in there. Well, I

still would have went in there, but it

was a real halfass uh type of situation.

>> It's just like you guys just have

avoided death over and over and over

again.

Yeah, we've been lucky.

[laughter]

>> But like

that's a [ __ ] up way to go through

life,

>> I guess. But [laughter]

>> you waxing philosophically, I guess.

>> I don't know, man. It just [snorts]

>> and for sure you entertained the [ __ ]

out of millions and millions of people

>> who laughed their asses off and had a

great [ __ ] time watching.

>> I get I don't know why but I get

anxiety. I have a really hard time

watching those things.

>> Yeah.

>> I avoid them. Like a lot of my friends

like we're going to see Jackass. I'm

like I don't I can't I get freaked out.

I don't want anybody to get hurt. It's

weird.

>> Yeah. I I feel that way when uh like one

of the guys is doing something like

pretty gnarly. I I'm not ecstatic over

watching something that could have a

forever consequence. But with me, I I

don't know. I'm just like, let's go. I

just It's I just It's fun.

>> I know. But even after you have a family

and even after, you know, you have kids

that are watching their dad get [ __ ]

up.

>> Well, that's the thing. I wouldn't

I didn't want my kids to see that, you

know,

>> but they had to see

>> at a certain age. Like I didn't let my

oldest daughter,

she could watch things with Wee Man or

this or that. And but I didn't let her

come to a movie until she was 14. I made

her sit right next to me and I said,

"Madison, there's sometimes you have to

close your eyes, sometimes cover your

ears, and sometimes both." And I had the

list of bits. And so it it was I

censored it even then.

But now it's the internet. It's a

[ __ ] free-for-all.

>> Yeah.