Joe Rogan Experience #1257 - Steve Sweeney

1. 0:00 – 2:52

   Boston comedy roots: earning your stripes in brutal rooms

   1. SSSteve Sweeney0:00

      Look at you. I'm, I'm enjoying this. Jim, I wish we had a speed bag. That's my favorite thing.

   2. JRJoe Rogan0:06

      Two, one, uh ...

   3. SSSteve Sweeney0:11

      Test. (claps hands)

   4. JRJoe Rogan0:11

      Steve Sweeney, ladies and gentlemen. How are you?

   5. SSSteve Sweeney0:13

      Hey, I'm great. I can't believe-

   6. JRJoe Rogan0:15

      Great to see you.

   7. SSSteve Sweeney0:15

      You know what? I've done so many things in my life, you know, movies, TV, (camera clicks) all this stuff, stand up, but Joe Rogan, oh my God. Back in Boston, "Jesus, you're on Joe Rogan?" (laughs) Yeah, I get ... You got fans, you know, that are, like, all these different ages and all different kinds of people. And, um, I'm very proud of you.

   8. JRJoe Rogan0:38

      Thank you.

   9. SSSteve Sweeney0:38

      One of the things that happened, you don't remember this, but you opened for me.

   10. JRJoe Rogan0:42

       Many times.

   11. SSSteve Sweeney0:43

       Louis C.K. opened for me. Nick DiPaolo opened for me. So people that want a little show business advice, open for me.

   12. JRJoe Rogan0:51

       It helps.

   13. SSSteve Sweeney0:52

       And then you get to go by me and, uh, you know, I get to watch you guys become stars.

   14. JRJoe Rogan0:57

       I've said-

   15. SSSteve Sweeney0:57

       While I'm playing fucking Chinese restaurants-

   16. JRJoe Rogan1:00

       (laughs)

   17. SSSteve Sweeney1:00

       ... in Saugus.

   18. JRJoe Rogan1:02

       Some of the best standup comedy in the world is at Chinese restaurants in Saugus. And that's a fact, still to this day. All those people that live there, they don't know how good they have it.

   19. SSSteve Sweeney1:10

       Well, you know what it is? I ... You know, you work with these guys. You and I have worked with guys that are, like, genius, you know, a transcendent, whatever word you wanna use. But doing standup is not about being funny. It's about going into these shitholes and, like, developing this extra skin. You know, you s- you're a martial artist and sort of, you have s- kind of that mentality. But, you know, when I started, it was like, I came from... You know, I was an actor, I was very serious person. I was, like, an actor, you know, and I'd, I'd do, like, these obscure impressions. I'd... Paul Scofield and Laurence, (imitates British accent) Laurence Olivier, you know, Raisinets, and all this bullshit. And I'd be playing at places like The Sugar Shack.

   20. JRJoe Rogan1:55

       (laughs)

   21. SSSteve Sweeney1:56

       Do you remember The Sugar Shack?

   22. JRJoe Rogan1:57

       Yes, I do.

   23. SSSteve Sweeney1:57

       It was a Black, um, R&B joint, and I opened for B.B. King.

   24. JRJoe Rogan2:03

       Wow.

   25. SSSteve Sweeney2:04

       Yeah, and I'm doing, like, John Lennon. (imitates British accent) "It was very important when we started the ..." And the Black dude, "Do some dirty shit, man. What the fuck are you doing?"

   26. JRJoe Rogan2:11

       (laughs)

   27. SSSteve Sweeney2:11

       "Don't you know any jokes?"

   28. JRJoe Rogan2:14

       (laughs)

   29. SSSteve Sweeney2:14

       So in the back, I get heckled. My first heckler, he said, "You suck." And I said, "Yeah, f- fuck you. Who are you?" He says, "I'm B.B. King. I hired you, motherfucker."

   30. JRJoe Rogan2:23

       Oh, no.
2. 2:52 – 5:02

   Fights, hecklers, and bombing: when comedy turns physical

   1. SSSteve Sweeney2:52

      You know? But I, I'm thinking because you're a martial artist, so I, it's ... I've kind of got this thing about peop- fighting and growing up in Charlestown and ... Um, I think back on certain incidents when I was starting doing standup. And I was at this place on Comm Ave, and this guy stole one of my lines. No, I know that you're big into that, right? So he goes off stage. I hit him with a right cross, and fucking goes over the tables. And I'm thinking to myself ... My friend says, "I thought you wanted to be (laughs) Jonathan Winters and Red s- ... They don't do shit like that." And then another time, we were at The Ground Round in Brighton. I'll never forget this.

   2. JRJoe Rogan3:28

      The Ground Round?

   3. SSSteve Sweeney3:29

      Yeah, I'll never forget this, Joe. So I'm on s- ... The guy on before me, the guy in the audience is throwing little ice things at him, right? So I said, uh ... My opening line, usually you try to get the audience to like you, you know, or lau- make them laugh or whatever. So my opening line was like, "The first motherfucker that throws something at me, I'm gonna knock him out." You know, you're not exactly setting the stage for hilarious comedy. But, uh, you know, I r-

   4. JRJoe Rogan3:57

      How did that work?

   5. SSSteve Sweeney3:59

      Wha- what's that?

   6. JRJoe Rogan3:59

      How'd that work out?

   7. SSSteve Sweeney4:00

      It ... Terrible. I bombed, you know?

   8. JRJoe Rogan4:01

      (laughs)

   9. SSSteve Sweeney4:03

      People think, you know, when you do this for a while, you've never bombed. I mean, there's no experience in life like bombing in Louisville, Kentucky. I'll never forget that. And a guy comes up to me afterwards, and he says ... And he was trying to make me feel good. He says, "Well, I could tell by your tone, you're funny."

   10. JRJoe Rogan4:22

       Ah.

   11. SSSteve Sweeney4:23

       You know, but I'm doing shit like about subways and stuff. They don't even know what they are.

   12. JRJoe Rogan4:28

       Right.

   13. SSSteve Sweeney4:29

       So those early years, there was like one, um ... There wasn't even a comedy club, so you just kind of did it. I fell into it.

   14. JRJoe Rogan4:37

       What year did you start?

   15. SSSteve Sweeney4:38

       Oh my God. People, you know, people ... I, I am now at that point, Joe, where people come up to me and, you know, they say, "I'm so glad to see you. I keep telling my husband, I'm telling you, he's not dead. He has not died." So it's been like 30 or 40 years. Um, I don't remember the year, but, uh, I remember those-

   16. JRJoe Rogan4:59

       You don't remember the year you started?

   17. SSSteve Sweeney5:01

       No, I don't remember.

3. 5:02 – 6:33

   The 1988 Boston scene: legends, pace, and the “no-bullshit” style

   1. JRJoe Rogan5:02

      I started in '88, and you were a legend-

   2. SSSteve Sweeney5:05

      I was a legend back then, huh?

   3. JRJoe Rogan5:06

      ... already in, in '88. Yeah. You were, for sure, dude. I, I watched you one night at Nick's Comedy Stop kill so hard, I sto- ... I thought about quitting, 'cause I'd only been doing comedy like a year, and I was like, "Fuck this, I gets... I gotta get the fuck out of this business."

   4. SSSteve Sweeney5:19

      You know, you know, you know when I had that feeling? Richard Pryor's first performance film. Do you remember that?

   5. JRJoe Rogan5:26

      Yeah, yeah, yeah. Richard Pryor Live, you filmed it in Long Beach.

   6. SSSteve Sweeney5:29

      I was ... I went to see that with Steven Wright, and both of us walked out, we said, "We don't even wanna do this."

   7. JRJoe Rogan5:34

      (laughs)

   8. SSSteve Sweeney5:35

      You know, it's ... It was so intimidating.

   9. JRJoe Rogan5:37

      Yeah, I know that feeling, man.

   10. SSSteve Sweeney5:39

       Yeah.

   11. JRJoe Rogan5:40

       Well, you know, we got that feeling a lot in Boston. And, uh, as, as a kid starting out there, it was ... I, I tell everybody that I, I stumbled into the, the greatest comedy scene in the history of the known universe. In 1988, when I started, it was insane. It was insane. Don Gavin was in his prime. You were in your prime. Rogerson. I would watch these guys go up da- um, um, um ... Th- there was so many guys that were so fucking good. Knox was killing back then. There was so many guys that you would go any night, you would go and watch some of the best standup comedy on the planet.It was, it was amazing. Mike Donovan, Mike Donovan. To this day, people don't know-

   12. SSSteve Sweeney6:19

       Yeah, he's brilliant.

   13. JRJoe Rogan6:19

       ... who Mike Donovan is.

   14. SSSteve Sweeney6:20

       Brilliant.

   15. JRJoe Rogan6:21

       He was a fucking genius.

   16. SSSteve Sweeney6:21

       He used to do Johnny Most. Do you know who Johnny Most is?

   17. JRJoe Rogan6:24

       Most people don't.

   18. SSSteve Sweeney6:25

       No.

   19. JRJoe Rogan6:25

       He was the announcer for the Red Sock- for the Celtics.

   20. SSSteve Sweeney6:27

       Yeah.

   21. JRJoe Rogan6:28

       He said, "Oh, I can't believe it! He just went under!" Yeah, he would do this long impression of Johnny Most.

4. 6:33 – 13:20

   Show business vs. standup craft: credits don’t matter onstage

   1. SSSteve Sweeney6:33

      But you know what? But, but it's funny you say in your prime, because ... And I've talked to people who've been at it longer than me. This is one job where you can get better.

   2. JRJoe Rogan6:43

      Yes, yeah.

   3. SSSteve Sweeney6:43

      You can get better, more skillful, you know, but it's something that you, you know, you, you just have to give the finger to the business because they're looking for the fat guy, the small guy, the Black guy that, you know, they're, they're always looking for something other than what you are.

   4. JRJoe Rogan7:00

      Right.

   5. SSSteve Sweeney7:00

      So you do what you do, like you've done what you did, you know.

   6. JRJoe Rogan7:03

      Well, the business, in terms of like movies and television shows, yeah, they will try to lure you away, and they lure you away with money. But the business of stand-up comedy is, is really about what you do in front of that microphone and how the audience responds.

   7. SSSteve Sweeney7:16

      You know what? I've, I've been on stage. I followed a woman, and, uh, she had a lot of TV credits, but she had no material, and it was unbelievable. You know, you forget. When you do something, you forget. It's like you're a trained fighter, you're a trained radio person, you forget that in order to do it, you've developed a certain set of skills.

   8. JRJoe Rogan7:35

      Yeah.

   9. SSSteve Sweeney7:35

      And like in Boston, they have a St. Patrick's Day breakfast, where the politicians try to be funny. And it, it's, it's excruciating.

   10. JRJoe Rogan7:44

       (laughs)

   11. SSSteve Sweeney7:44

       You know what I mean? And you forget, "Oh yeah, I, I do this all the time." It'd be like me trying to give a speech. Before I came on this show, I talked to Nick DiPaolo, you know, your buddy.

   12. JRJoe Rogan7:55

       Sure.

   13. SSSteve Sweeney7:56

       And he says, "Well, Joe and I always talk about politics." And I said, "Well, n- nobody-"

   14. JRJoe Rogan8:03

       (laughs) That's ... He can't help himself though.

   15. SSSteve Sweeney8:04

       "N- n- no- nobody" (laughs) "nobody talks to me about politics."

   16. JRJoe Rogan8:07

       Good.

   17. SSSteve Sweeney8:07

       I'm just not that smart.

   18. JRJoe Rogan8:09

       Good. I'm, I'm done with politics. I'm gonna quit.

   19. SSSteve Sweeney8:12

       Yeah.

   20. JRJoe Rogan8:12

       I'm not, I don't wanna talk about it anymore.

   21. SSSteve Sweeney8:14

       You know, you know, where we are in this country now, is like, um ... Well I ... I, I, I kind of, uh ... I don't like to not like someone because of what they believe. So I, I just kinda do silly shit. I was thinking the other day with the Democrats, you know, they're ... I'm gonna run. I'm gonna run and they ... but they've got the moderate lane, the, uh, progressive lane, so I'm gonna run in the breakdown lane. You know, just a silly little shit, you know. Um, I try to, you know, keep it upbeat, whatever, but I, I got into this, I fell into this because I kept thinking I'm gonna get an acting job and I won't do standup.

   22. JRJoe Rogan8:55

       (laughs)

   23. SSSteve Sweeney8:56

       This is gonna fucking end at some point.

   24. JRJoe Rogan8:58

       (laughs)

   25. SSSteve Sweeney8:58

       You know what I mean?

   26. JRJoe Rogan8:59

       Right.

   27. SSSteve Sweeney8:59

       And I've ... I have, you know, I've ... Like people ... Kids would, will actually ask me for advice and I say, "Advice? Are you shitting me? I fell into this shit. I expected it to end." But he, I say, "All right, you want some advice? Don't ever work at a place that's named after the guy." Like if it's Vinnie's fucking Pizza Parlor or Joey's Shithole or Bobby's Money Making Piece of Shit. When it's named after the guy, you, it's never enough, you know.

   28. JRJoe Rogan9:28

       What about Nick's Comedy Stop?

   29. SSSteve Sweeney9:30

       Nick's. Now, I'm gonna do something for you.

   30. JRJoe Rogan9:33

       Okay.
5. 13:20 – 16:57

   ‘Sweeney Killing Sweeney’: producing a film and building a comedian ensemble

   1. SSSteve Sweeney13:20

      I don't know how people do it. But we did this movie, which I'd like to mention it. Bill Broaddus wrote this movie. It's called Sweeney Killing Sweeney, and, uh, you can get it on iTunes. Um-

   2. JRJoe Rogan13:31

      It's out right now?

   3. SSSteve Sweeney13:32

      ... pre- preorder it.

   4. JRJoe Rogan13:34

      When's it out?

   5. SSSteve Sweeney13:34

      It's gonna be the middle of March, but they can pre-order it.

   6. JRJoe Rogan13:37

      Okay.

   7. SSSteve Sweeney13:37

      But, um, this guy Bill Broaddus wrote this script. And it's like my 20-something movie. I've been in a lot, done a lot of acting. And I said, "This thing is so good." And I wanted to be able to get guys who I knew were tremendously talented to, uh, not be in these clubs, you know? Um, it's very, like, demeaning sometimes, you know, for a guy who's really good at what he does and somebody's, like, texting and, you know-

   8. JRJoe Rogan14:10

      Mmm.

   9. SSSteve Sweeney14:10

      ... all this bullshit. Like I had a woman... Uh, you know, usually I'm, I'm, like, okay about it. You know, I say, "Okay, listen. You're putting us out of work. Like, in the future, I'll text you a joke, then you text back 'LOL.'" You know, silly little shit. But I had one woman, and she's... The arrogance, you know? And it was a benefit too, and she's doing this, and she said, "It's okay, I can multitask." So I said, "Oh, okay, so when I stick it up your ass, you're still gonna be able to talk and everything?"

   10. JRJoe Rogan14:42

       (laughs)

   11. SSSteve Sweeney14:42

       You know what I mean? So I see guys like Steven Wright, who's in the movie, Nick Di Paolo, Bobby Slayton, uh, Jonathan Katz, you know, all different styles of comedy. Lenny Clarke and Tony V and Frank Santorelli. I wanted to s- I wanted to see them get into something where we could really work, you know? And they all did it. They're all in the movie, and it was a fantastic experience. Woman director, Lisa Muller, and it was just... It was great. It's the first time I've produced a movie, which is really hard.

   12. JRJoe Rogan15:14

       What, is it a, a, like, a dramatic movie? Like, what is it?

   13. SSSteve Sweeney15:18

       I'll tell you the plot briefly. No, I guess it's a comedy, but it has its moments. It's, uh, the HBO maybe or Showtime or some company comes to town, and they want me. But they say the characters, they're too local. Gotta get rid of the characters. So then my characters try to kill me. So I play five different parts, six different parts.

   14. JRJoe Rogan15:42

       (laughs)

   15. SSSteve Sweeney15:42

       Like a Peter Sellers kind of thing-

   16. JRJoe Rogan15:43

       Oh, okay.

   17. SSSteve Sweeney15:44

       ... from Doctor Strange, but-

   18. JRJoe Rogan15:45

       So, like, you're losing your mind? Like your characters are trying to kill you?

   19. SSSteve Sweeney15:47

       Well, you gotta figure that out.

   20. JRJoe Rogan15:48

       Mmm, okay, okay.

   21. SSSteve Sweeney15:49

       Yeah. You don't know whether I'm losing my mind. Um, but I had just come off The Equalizer with Denzel Washington. I was in that. And, uh, that was an interesting experience because, like, I got this beard, you know? And, um, the director who did Training Day, he said to me, "You know, you gotta shave your beard." And I said, "Listen, man, I saw my face 25 years ago. It scared the shit out of me. This beard is here for a reason. I'm, I'm the most ugly motherfucker I've ever seen. I can't do it." Then he told me how much money I was gonna make. I said, "Would you like me to shave my balls too?"

   22. JRJoe Rogan16:28

       (laughs)

   23. SSSteve Sweeney16:28

       Similar experience, Something About Mary. So my scene, if you haven't seen it, Ben Stiller's thing is caught in the zipper. So I, uh, I'm the cop, I come in the window. And Peter, who directed it, I said, "You know, I don't have to grab his crotch, right?" He says, "Yeah, you're an actor, you gotta grab it." I said, "I don't have anything against it, but I ju- I just can't do it." Then he told me how much money I was gonna make. I said, "You want me to just grab it, because I'll give him..." Anyway, uh-

   24. JRJoe Rogan16:54

       (laughs)

   25. SSSteve Sweeney16:55

       (laughs) That was my experience with that.

6. 16:57 – 1:10:50

   Club life realities: depression on the drive, sobriety, and cruise-ship misery

   1. JRJoe Rogan16:57

      Do you really feel like it's demeaning working clubs? 'Cause I still enjoy working clubs. I love it. I mean, uh, out here, of course, we do the Comedy Store all the time, I do the Improv.

   2. SSSteve Sweeney17:07

      Yeah.

   3. JRJoe Rogan17:07

      But I do clubs on the road too.

   4. SSSteve Sweeney17:08

      Those audiences are easy. They're great. They're there-

   5. JRJoe Rogan17:11

      You mean like-

   6. SSSteve Sweeney17:11

      ... they're there to laugh.

   7. JRJoe Rogan17:12

      You mean, like, shitty clubs? You mean, like, uh, bar gigs?

   8. SSSteve Sweeney17:16

      You know, here, here's the thing, is when I'm on stage, I'm okay. You know? But when I'm driving to fucking East Methune Elks Club, I-

   9. JRJoe Rogan17:27

      It bothers you that-

   10. SSSteve Sweeney17:28

       ... I get a fucking depression you wouldn't believe.

   11. JRJoe Rogan17:30

       It's funny because-

   12. SSSteve Sweeney17:31

       You start, you start to feel old.

   13. JRJoe Rogan17:32

       In the day, like, driving to those gigs was awesome.

   14. SSSteve Sweeney17:36

       Yeah.

   15. JRJoe Rogan17:36

       Right? Like, something shifts. Like, what is it that shifts? Is it, is it in your own head? Is it, is it just that you've done too many of them?

   16. SSSteve Sweeney17:43

       You know what I think shifts is you stop drinking.

   17. JRJoe Rogan17:46

       Ah.

   18. SSSteve Sweeney17:47

       I've been sober 26 years.

   19. JRJoe Rogan17:49

       That's the problem.

   20. SSSteve Sweeney17:50

       Well-

   21. JRJoe Rogan17:50

       That's the problem. (laughs)

   22. SSSteve Sweeney17:53

       I, yeah, I say to people-

   23. JRJoe Rogan17:54

       (laughs)

   24. SSSteve Sweeney17:54

       ... I say, "If I kept drinking, my career would be through the roof."

   25. JRJoe Rogan17:57

       (clears throat)

   26. SSSteve Sweeney17:57

       You know? Um, no, there are great clubs. Giggles is a great club.

   27. JRJoe Rogan18:02

       It's a great club.

   28. SSSteve Sweeney18:02

       Route 1 on Saugus.

   29. JRJoe Rogan18:03

       Good pizza too.

   30. SSSteve Sweeney18:04

       And good pizza, and I love theater, I love that. Uh, I'm just giving you the other side of the story because, you know, people do get into this, and they don't have an idea of what the life is like.
7. 37:18 – 39:29

   Why everyone’s outraged: micro-conflicts, gratitude, and perspective

   1. SSSteve Sweeney37:18

      I, I was thinking to myself, you just, you know, just shitting your pants. Um, so anyway, we've covered that. What else is the problems-

   2. JRJoe Rogan37:27

      Well-

   3. SSSteve Sweeney37:27

      ... that we have in this country?

   4. JRJoe Rogan37:29

      There's a lot of, lot of... The, the, the, the pr- I always look at it from s-

   5. SSSteve Sweeney37:31

      Why is everybody so pissed off in this country?

   6. JRJoe Rogan37:34

      'Cause everything's going well. There's so much going well, in terms of, uh, the economy, in terms of safety, in terms of that, 'cause so people are focusing on other things to be mad at.

   7. SSSteve Sweeney37:45

      When-

   8. JRJoe Rogan37:45

      Moving away from war to, you know, ma- like... You know when, when, when you don't have to worry about as much violence, people concentrate on microaggressions. That's one of the things that does happen. There's definitely problems in this country, for sure, but I think that part of the outrage is that people are... It's recreational. They're looking to be outraged about things 'cause there's no real problems.

   9. SSSteve Sweeney38:08

      (smacks lips) Wow.

   10. JRJoe Rogan38:08

       When there's real problems, people focus on, you know, when there's... you know, you, you have to really worry about violence or you have to really worry about health, people focus on, on, you know, the good things in life. People are only happy if they have a certain amount of adversity that they have to deal with. When there's less and less adversity, I fi- I find that people become more and more outraged and easier. They're outraged at s- small, minor details, or they're denying that people should be allowed to just fuck up and make some mistakes here and there.

   11. SSSteve Sweeney38:36

       Mm-hmm.

   12. JRJoe Rogan38:37

       They, they concentrate on those mistakes like it's the end of the world. This person should be ostracized from society and kicked out, and this is the end.

   13. SSSteve Sweeney38:43

       Well, uh, well going back to politics, if you get in a discussion with somebody you agree with-

   14. JRJoe Rogan38:49

       Mm-hmm.

   15. SSSteve Sweeney38:50

       ... you still end up being pissed off because you're pissed off at the other side. Or the other political thing is you're angry at each other for different points of view.

   16. JRJoe Rogan38:59

       Yup.

   17. SSSteve Sweeney39:00

       But I always think to myself, as I'm sure you do, this is an amazing place to be. We have enough food. We have enough water. I, myself, I think life is two things. Life is a gift, and life is short.

   18. JRJoe Rogan39:16

       Yeah. Yeah.

   19. SSSteve Sweeney39:16

       You know? And the purpose of life, in my opinion, is to develop whatever talents you have and then share it. So I couldn't agree more.

   20. JRJoe Rogan39:25

       I couldn't agree more.

   21. SSSteve Sweeney39:25

       What, what a... What a place to do it. You have the-

   22. JRJoe Rogan39:28

       It's the best place in the world to do it.

8. 39:29 – 41:48

   Buddhism, Christianity, and proselytizing: beliefs as social power

   1. SSSteve Sweeney39:29

      You have the opportunity, you know. And, uh... But, uh, you know, it's like we... I think we do tend to complicate things. What I don't like is when we let other things get between us as human beings because it's, it's a whole... That's why I like Buddhism, for example, because you're never gonna see... Outside of rare exceptions, a Buddhist country is never gonna invade another country because the whole principle is mindfulness. In other words, it's all within you, so you don't have to push your beliefs on other people.

   2. JRJoe Rogan40:01

      Right.

   3. SSSteve Sweeney40:01

      Like I have a lot of friends who become Christians, which is great for them, but they always put you in a... I always feel like I'm put in a box.

   4. JRJoe Rogan40:10

      Yeah.

   5. SSSteve Sweeney40:11

      Like, "Have you accepted Jesus?" You know, how the fuck are you gonna answer that? You know what I mean? Like-

   6. JRJoe Rogan40:17

      Not yet. Say not yet. Keep, keep convincing me.

   7. SSSteve Sweeney40:20

      It's on, it's on the way.

   8. JRJoe Rogan40:21

      (laughs)

   9. SSSteve Sweeney40:21

      Yeah, that's right.

   10. JRJoe Rogan40:23

       Yeah.

   11. SSSteve Sweeney40:23

       I- it's like one of those unanswerable things, you know.

   12. JRJoe Rogan40:26

       Well, it's also a, a thing where people can hold-

   13. SSSteve Sweeney40:28

       Muslims-

   14. JRJoe Rogan40:29

       ... over you.

   15. SSSteve Sweeney40:29

       ... Christians, it seems like they, they believe that, you know, people have to hear this great message, and if they don't hear it, they shove it down your fucking throat.

   16. JRJoe Rogan40:40

       I think half of them don't even think you have to hear it. They just wanna have it over you, that they've, they've accepted Jesus into their life, and you haven't, so they win. There's a lot of that.

   17. SSSteve Sweeney40:50

       Yeah.

   18. JRJoe Rogan40:50

       There's a lot of that. I mean, the, you see so many hypocritical Christians that don't really follow turn the other cheek. They don't really treat everyone as if it's their brother. They, they don't really do that. They don't really, they don't really feel that way. They're not, they're not out there helping-

   19. SSSteve Sweeney41:06

       Well, that's be-

   20. JRJoe Rogan41:06

       ... the poor and-

   21. SSSteve Sweeney41:06

       That's because that's, that, that standard-

   22. JRJoe Rogan41:09

       Mm-hmm.

   23. SSSteve Sweeney41:09

       ... is like, "You're gonna be Jesus?"

   24. JRJoe Rogan41:11

       Right.

   25. SSSteve Sweeney41:11

       You know, I mean, Jesus Christ.

   26. JRJoe Rogan41:13

       (laughs)

   27. SSSteve Sweeney41:13

       I mean-

   28. JRJoe Rogan41:13

       Yeah.

   29. SSSteve Sweeney41:13

       ... you know what I mean? No pun intended.

   30. JRJoe Rogan41:15

       But-
9. 41:48 – 48:45

   Working in jail: addiction recovery, meditation, and breath control

   1. SSSteve Sweeney41:48

      Well, it's just like if somebody wants to get sober, right?

   2. JRJoe Rogan41:51

      Right.

   3. SSSteve Sweeney41:53

      If you, if they are ready... I work in jails. That's one of my part-time jobs. So-

   4. JRJoe Rogan41:59

      What do you do in jails?

   5. SSSteve Sweeney42:01

      I do substance abuse stuff in jails. So if you, um... If they're ready, everything you say, you're like a guru.

   6. JRJoe Rogan42:11

      Mm-hmm.

   7. SSSteve Sweeney42:12

      If they're not ready, doesn't matter what you say.

   8. JRJoe Rogan42:15

      Right.

   9. SSSteve Sweeney42:16

      So I do groups in jail. I teach meditation. I also teach, uh, goal setting. Been doing it about six years. I've been in the field of substance abuse for a while. And, um, it's very rewarding. It's not, you know, you don't make any money, but it balances the life.

   10. JRJoe Rogan42:33

       Yeah.

   11. SSSteve Sweeney42:33

       You know, I don't wanna sit around all day. Most comedians, that's what they have to do, you know. They work at night.

   12. JRJoe Rogan42:39

       Right.

   13. SSSteve Sweeney42:40

       So yeah, I work at Plymouth Jail. I was-

   14. JRJoe Rogan42:42

       How often do you do it?

   15. SSSteve Sweeney42:44

       Uh, two or three days a week. Yeah.

   16. JRJoe Rogan42:46

       That's good. So it's not, not every day.

   17. SSSteve Sweeney42:49

       No, and I take the summers off too, because it's intense.

   18. JRJoe Rogan42:53

       Yeah, I imagine.

   19. SSSteve Sweeney42:53

       I mean, I, I've had groups... You know, I had one guy. He came in. He said... And you do, you do divide people ethnically. White guy, about 6'6", big fucking... You know, he did state time. He was all jacked, and he was wired. And, uh, he started complaining about the place, and, uh...... I said, "Hey this isn't..." I teach them to breathe, you know, like that guy, Hof, you had on your show? (deeply inhales)

   20. JRJoe Rogan43:19

       Wim Hof, yeah.

   21. SSSteve Sweeney43:21

       But I teach him a different method. It's just, you breathe in four, you hold at four, you let it out. It's just a calming breath.

   22. JRJoe Rogan43:26

       Mm-hmm.

   23. SSSteve Sweeney43:27

       (deeply inhales) So anyway, this guy, I said, "Hey, this place isn't a hotel." He stands up, he says, (imitating angry guy) "I don't think I know it's not a fucking hotel!" I said, "Let's do our breathing."

   24. JRJoe Rogan43:37

       (laughs)

   25. SSSteve Sweeney43:38

       "Let's relax." But y- a lot of guys, they can't see... They can't see themselves, they can't see contradictions. And one guy, he was, um, he was a Muslim, right? So I said, "So you guys pray, like, five times a day, how do you know when to pray?" And listen to this, Joe, he says, uh, the guy said, "Well, if I'm doing a heist in the afternoon, you know-

   26. JRJoe Rogan44:05

       (laughs)

   27. SSSteve Sweeney44:05

       ... I'm gonna miss that prayer." I says, "You don't see any contradiction there?"

   28. JRJoe Rogan44:10

       (laughs)

   29. SSSteve Sweeney44:10

       Fucking amazing. Yeah.

   30. JRJoe Rogan44:12

       The guy, the big giant guy that was angry, d- did he have, uh, a certain amount of time before he got out? Or was he in it for life?
10. 48:45 – 1:05:10

    Boxing legends: Hagler’s discipline, Ali–Liston psychology, and fight mythmaking

    1. SSSteve Sweeney48:45

       And... It... Well, you had Tyson on-

    2. JRJoe Rogan48:48

       Yeah.

    3. SSSteve Sweeney48:48

       ... and it was interesting that he didn't wanna go back to it. Do you know Marvin Hagler has the same problem?

    4. JRJoe Rogan48:53

       Oh yeah, well he was the only-

    5. SSSteve Sweeney48:54

       He, he-

    6. JRJoe Rogan48:54

       ... guy that ever just quit at the top.

    7. SSSteve Sweeney48:56

       But, but he won't, he won't punch a bag or anything-

    8. JRJoe Rogan48:58

       Really?

    9. SSSteve Sweeney48:58

       ... because that thing comes up in him where he-

    10. JRJoe Rogan49:00

        Yeah.

    11. SSSteve Sweeney49:01

        ... he wants to do it again. It's like an addiction.

    12. JRJoe Rogan49:03

        And he's gotta be 60 now, and it's still-

    13. SSSteve Sweeney49:05

        Yeah, wow.

    14. JRJoe Rogan49:06

        ... still welling up inside of him. I respect him so much. You know, I always looked up to him when I was fighting, 'cause, uh, I re- remember the discipline that that guy had. Like, I remember watching videos of him when he was, uh-

    15. SSSteve Sweeney49:18

        (sighs)

    16. JRJoe Rogan49:18

        ... living on the Cape. He would tr-

    17. SSSteve Sweeney49:20

        Down in Provincetown, yeah.

    18. JRJoe Rogan49:20

        ... do his training camp on the Cape, and he would run, and, and w- when he was running on the sand-

    19. SSSteve Sweeney49:24

        With the boots, with the boots.

    20. JRJoe Rogan49:25

        Yep, with combat boots on.

    21. SSSteve Sweeney49:26

        Yeah, yeah.

    22. JRJoe Rogan49:26

        And he was, he was yelling, "War." He was, like-

    23. SSSteve Sweeney49:29

        Oh, God.

    24. JRJoe Rogan49:29

        ... getting ready to fight Moustafa Hamsho, and he's running and shadow boxing-

    25. SSSteve Sweeney49:32

        Yeah.

    26. JRJoe Rogan49:32

        ... and he's yelling, "War." And I'm like thinking-

    27. SSSteve Sweeney49:33

        Yeah.

    28. JRJoe Rogan49:34

        ... could you imagine if you had to fight that fucking guy?

    29. SSSteve Sweeney49:37

        I know. I know.

    30. JRJoe Rogan49:37

        When he was the middleweight champ in the world, first of all, he was chiseled, like, he was sculpted out of bronze.
11. 1:05:10 – 1:18:02

    Cheating, danger, and damage in combat sports (and why MMA feels wilder)

    1. SSSteve Sweeney1:05:10

       Do you remember that fighter? Oh my God, this is so frightening. He r- he wrapped something in his-

    2. JRJoe Rogan1:05:16

       Luis Resto. Yeah.

    3. SSSteve Sweeney1:05:18

       Was it cement or something?

    4. JRJoe Rogan1:05:18

       Billy Collins Jr. No, he took all the f- the padding out of his gloves. Back in the day, they, they used to use horse hair with the, the gloves. And you could, you could put a little hole in the gloves and pull the padding out. And, uh, Luis Resto... Panama Lewis was his trainer, and Panama Lewis was also the same guy that gave, uh, Aaron Pryor that little, uh, jab of cocaine right before, uh, he knocked out Alexis Arguello. Remember? I mean, they think it was cocaine.

    5. SSSteve Sweeney1:05:45

       Wow.

    6. JRJoe Rogan1:05:45

       He said, "Give me the other bottle, the one that I prepared." He gives it to Aaron Pryor, and then Aaron Pryor goes out and starches Alexis Arguello. And they had a crazy war of a fight, and then he gives him something in this little bottle, and then Aaron Pryor goes out like a bat out of hell, and wins-

    7. SSSteve Sweeney1:05:59

       Wow.

    8. JRJoe Rogan1:05:59

       And the, the question was always, what was in that bottle? 'Cause there was no sophisticated drug testing back then. But Panama Lewis...

    9. SSSteve Sweeney1:06:06

       But there was one of them that actually put cement or something in their gloves.

    10. JRJoe Rogan1:06:10

        Um, there was that, that was a more recent one. That was-

    11. SSSteve Sweeney1:06:14

        Oh.

    12. JRJoe Rogan1:06:14

        ... uh, that Mexican gentleman that fought, uh... Who did he do that to?

    13. SSSteve Sweeney1:06:19

        Is that the redhead?

    14. JRJoe Rogan1:06:20

        I'm s- No, no, no. No, no, no, no. No, no, no. He doesn't, he doesn't fight anymore. Fuck, I'm d- I'm drawing a blank on his name. But he, he beat up some really prominent fighters that way. See... Who the fuck did he... There was a one fight in particular. Boy, I'm seeing the guy in my face. Margarito? Yes. Antonio Margarito. Antonio Margarito. Who... Pull, pull up his record, 'cause he did it to, uh, he did it to some, like, legit fighters and, uh, really beat them up. And they were like, "It didn't even make sense how hard he was hitting me." 'Cause he, he would put Plaster of Paris, apparently, inside the wraps.

    15. SSSteve Sweeney1:06:55

        And then E-

    16. JRJoe Rogan1:06:56

        Miguel Cotto, that's who it was.

    17. SSSteve Sweeney1:06:57

        Right, and then-

    18. JRJoe Rogan1:06:57

        And then Miguel Cotto beat the shit out of him in the rematch. And Shane Mosley, Sugar Shane Mosley, beat the fuck out of him. When they found this... See, after he knocked out Miguel Cotto, when he beat him up in the 11th round, he stopped him, and it was a horrible stoppage too. He beat the shit out of him. Then the Shane Mosley fight was the fight that he lost. That was the next fight. And st- during the wrapping of the gloves, Shane Mosley's camp was going, "What the fuck is in his wraps?" They recognized it and had him rewrap his hands. And then Shane Mosley beat his fucking ass. And then he beat Robert Garcia, and then Manny Pacquiao fucked him up, and then Miguel Cotto fucked him up. Um, but the Miguel Cotto fight, the first one, it was, it was bad. I mean, his face was busted up and-

    19. SSSteve Sweeney1:07:39

        Right.

    20. JRJoe Rogan1:07:40

        And that's when people had suspicions. But they didn't know until they saw the wrapping of the gloves. And then they looked at every one of his fights before that, and they would go, "Oh, this motherfucker had plaster-"

    21. SSSteve Sweeney1:07:49

        Did you ever see the movie, um-

    22. JRJoe Rogan1:07:51

        "... in his gloves."

    23. SSSteve Sweeney1:07:51

        ... Bad City?

    24. JRJoe Rogan1:07:53

        Fat City.

    25. SSSteve Sweeney1:07:54

        Stacy Keach. It's about club fighters down in Stockton, California.

    26. JRJoe Rogan1:08:00

        Yeah. Yeah.

    27. SSSteve Sweeney1:08:00

        Fantastic movie.

    28. JRJoe Rogan1:08:01

        I don't think I've ever saw that.

    29. SSSteve Sweeney1:08:02

        One of Jeff Bridges first movies.

    30. JRJoe Rogan1:08:03

        Yeah?

Episode duration: 1:31:34