Joe Rogan Experience #1321 - Robert Oberst

Robert Oberst is a professional strongman who competes yearly in The World's Strongest Man competition. He's can also be seen on the History Channel's "The Strongest Man In History" premiering July 10 at 10pm ET.

Joe RoganhostRobert OberstguestJamie VernonguestBro Science Life (Dom Mazzetti)guest

Jul 9, 20192h 55mWatch on YouTube ↗

EVERY SPOKEN WORD

150 min read · 30,233 words

0:00 – 1:37
Strongman cardio, load medleys, and why athletes black out
1. JRJoe Rogan
  And... (clears throat) Boom, and we're live. What's happening, baby?
2. RORobert Oberst
  What's up, Joe?
3. JRJoe Rogan
  How are you, brother?
4. RORobert Oberst
  I'm feeling great, man. Thanks for having me.
5. JRJoe Rogan
  You're looking great.
6. RORobert Oberst
  Thanks, brother.
7. JRJoe Rogan
  You're looking rather large.
8. RORobert Oberst
  I, I threatened Joe before the show, I said, "You need to start off and tell me how beautiful I am."
9. JRJoe Rogan
  Strong and pretty.
10. RORobert Oberst
  (laughs)
11. JRJoe Rogan
  (laughs)
12. RORobert Oberst
  Yeah.
13. JRJoe Rogan
  What? Is that your T-shirt company?
14. RORobert Oberst
  Yeah, that's my clothing company. It's, uh, all through Bunker Branding, and basically that's, that's basically where it's been.
15. JRJoe Rogan
  Ke- try to keep this like a, a fist from your face.
16. RORobert Oberst
  There we go.
17. JRJoe Rogan
  There we go.
18. RORobert Oberst
  I'm just afraid everyone's gonna hear me breathe like a fat guy, like (breathing heavily) .
19. JRJoe Rogan
  (laughs)
20. RORobert Oberst
  You know?
21. JRJoe Rogan
  How much... D- do you do any cardio?
22. RORobert Oberst
  I do. Most definitely.
23. JRJoe Rogan
  Yeah?
24. RORobert Oberst
  Yeah, yeah.
25. JRJoe Rogan
  Yeah?
26. RORobert Oberst
  The... If you watch Strongman on, on ESPN?
27. JRJoe Rogan
  Yeah.
28. RORobert Oberst
  So, like, when you pull a truck that's 70,000 pounds, you pull it for 100 feet-
29. JRJoe Rogan
  Yeah.
30. RORobert Oberst
  ... with a harness restraining your chest, like a, like a... Not expulsion, but your chest expansion.
1:37 – 3:17
Training the diaphragm (plus early banter and "dick root")
1. JRJoe Rogan
  So what does... How does, uh, how does one strengthen their diaphragm?
2. RORobert Oberst
  Um, what we do... (sighs) The normal exercise we did, um, it doesn't really have a name, it's just kinda something we made up. You'll lay on your back and you take, like, a sandbag and put it over, over your, uh, your upper abdomen, and you'll expand, you'll push out really hard, and, um, you try and hold it for, like, say, say, like, two minutes. And you learn to take tight little breaths while flexing your upper, upper abdomina- abdominals.
3. JRJoe Rogan
  Whoa.
4. RORobert Oberst
  I can spoke. (laughs)
5. JRJoe Rogan
  (laughs) So you've got the weight on you.
6. RORobert Oberst
  Right.
7. JRJoe Rogan
  And you just (breathing heavily) .
8. RORobert Oberst
  Yeah. And you stay flexed. And it's, it's, like, you know how you see fighters taking punches, like, just to-
9. JRJoe Rogan
  Yeah.
10. RORobert Oberst
  ... keep tight?
11. JRJoe Rogan
  Yeah.
12. RORobert Oberst
  Same, similar thing. And so like me, I, I, I have a big barrel gut, like a big chest and gut, but, like, it's solid. I literally get... Like, I'll brag a little bit. I've got side abs in the morning sometimes, you know?
13. JRJoe Rogan
  (laughs)
14. RORobert Oberst
  Actually, I gotta say this. I... The best compliment I was ever given, I put up a post and it was me drinking coffee in the morning, just naked, but, like, from, like, the hip up, and somebody gave me a compliment that's actually comes from something you said. They said, "Damn, Robert's got a really good dick root." (laughs)
15. JRJoe Rogan
  (laughs)
16. RORobert Oberst
  (laughs)
17. JRJoe Rogan
  I think I invented dick root. Dick root is when those dudes... Well, I don't understand why dudes do that. They wear their shorts so low that you basically see the top of their cock.
18. RORobert Oberst
  Right.
19. JRJoe Rogan
  You see the root.
20. RORobert Oberst
  They've got nothing else to show, so, like-
21. JRJoe Rogan
  But that's a weird, weird move.
22. JVJamie Vernon
  If you Google dick root, that's all it comes up, is you, you talking about-
23. RORobert Oberst
  (laughs)
24. JRJoe Rogan
  Just me?
25. JVJamie Vernon
  Yeah.
26. JRJoe Rogan
  I think I invented it.
27. RORobert Oberst
  I, I appreciate it. It was a very nice compliment.
28. JRJoe Rogan
  Congrats on the dick root, bro. (laughs)
29. RORobert Oberst
  (laughs)
30. JRJoe Rogan
  It's just a weird thing that go-
3:17 – 6:25
Sagging pants, stretchy jeans, and the realities of dressing big
1. JRJoe Rogan
  I mean, when did guys start doing... I get girls doing it. I get it.
2. RORobert Oberst
  Right.
3. JRJoe Rogan
  I just don't get guys pulling their shorts all the way down low like that.
4. RORobert Oberst
  No. No.
5. JRJoe Rogan
  It's just, like, seems like you're just asking to get pantsed. Like, I don't understand, like, sagging.
6. RORobert Oberst
  I-
7. JRJoe Rogan
  I guess it, like, it comes out of prison culture?
8. RORobert Oberst
  From what I heard. I... But I g-
9. JRJoe Rogan
  Yeah.
10. RORobert Oberst
  I, I hate it now, but I feel like an old man, 'cause I used to do it as a kid, like-
11. JRJoe Rogan
  Used to sag?
12. RORobert Oberst
  Well, I grew up in an area that was like pr- it was, it was a very, uh, low income, like, area. I don't know how to say that politically correct.
13. JRJoe Rogan
  That's the way to say it, yeah.
14. RORobert Oberst
  We were all poor. There you go. (laughs) There you go.
15. JRJoe Rogan
  Low income.
16. RORobert Oberst
  So, uh, like, everybody was sagging. Like-
17. JRJoe Rogan
  Did you have, like, boxer shorts underneath?
18. RORobert Oberst
  Oh, for sure.
19. JRJoe Rogan
  That's what you have to have, right?
20. RORobert Oberst
  Yeah. (laughs) You, you learn. See, when you start off with tidy-whities and then everyone makes fun of you, then you're like, "Oh, right, right, right." So you switch to boxers. (laughs)
21. JRJoe Rogan
  It's not... What a weird, like, style.
22. RORobert Oberst
  Yeah. I ran out of that by the time I was, like, 12 though.
23. JRJoe Rogan
  Good for you.
24. RORobert Oberst
  I was like, "This is ridiculous." (laughs)
25. JRJoe Rogan
  (laughs) Well, my problem is, like, if somebody, like, grabs your pants, like, you're done. Like, you're, you're gonna have to reach for your pants and then they're gonna punch you in the face. Like, this is a te- You're, like, asking to... You're, you're, like, at a handicap.
26. RORobert Oberst
  Yeah. You sound exactly like my father right now. (laughs)
27. JRJoe Rogan
  (laughs)
28. RORobert Oberst
  It's, like, exactly what he would say. He said, "You're gonna get your ass kicked." (laughs)
29. JRJoe Rogan
  Yeah, I have friends that tried it, like, t- even 10, 15 years ago. Like, guys my age. I was like, "What in the fuck are you doing?"
30. RORobert Oberst
  It's too late.
6:25 – 10:06
Sober October ideas and why trash talk helps sports
1. RORobert Oberst
  Yeah. And speaking of, of him, what are you guys thinking for Sober October?
2. JRJoe Rogan
  We really haven't decided yet. The... Bert wanted us to do some dance contest so he could suck my dick. 'Cause he wanted to do that so he could just win without working hard.
3. RORobert Oberst
  I get it.
4. JRJoe Rogan
  He'll just take his clothes off, "I'm getting crazy! I'm gonna win! Oh!"
5. RORobert Oberst
  Right, right.
6. JRJoe Rogan
  No, no chance. No chance.
7. RORobert Oberst
  But listen, how about this? What if they found a way to, like, score a dance thing in a, in a, like, so there is no judgment, and it was, like, points based on athletic types of movements or something like that?
8. JRJoe Rogan
  Mm.
9. RORobert Oberst
  I'm sure, like, the internet could come up with a way that it's like... 'Cause I understand what you're saying, and what you're saying makes total sense about how, like, you earn that shit.
10. JRJoe Rogan
  Yeah.
11. RORobert Oberst
  You want it to be regulated, not someone's opinion.
12. JRJoe Rogan
  Especially last year, 'cause last year, we literally were killing ourselves.
13. RORobert Oberst
  Yeah, to the death.
14. JRJoe Rogan
  We were working out seven hours a day, and I was just trying to grind those guys into the ground. I was like, "I'm just gonna take you to deep water and see."
15. RORobert Oberst
  (Laughs) It was awesome, man.
16. JRJoe Rogan
  (laughs)
17. RORobert Oberst
  I loved it, I fucking loved it. I couldn't stop watching.
18. JRJoe Rogan
  While Bert was talking shit, and that's when I was like, "Oh, I cannot have this guy win. This is not gonna happen." I knew-
19. RORobert Oberst
  That's when you fuck up.
20. JRJoe Rogan
  I knew Ari was gonna be a problem 'cause he's crazy. Ari tried really hard-
21. RORobert Oberst
  Hmm.
22. JRJoe Rogan
  ... but he doesn't have a lot of experience grinding like that.
23. RORobert Oberst
  Right. (laughs)
24. JRJoe Rogan
  So he did his best.
25. RORobert Oberst
  Yeah.
26. JRJoe Rogan
  He hung in there, but-
27. RORobert Oberst
  B-
28. JRJoe Rogan
  But Bert-
29. RORobert Oberst
  Well, you're a vet with that shit, yeah.
30. JRJoe Rogan
  Yeah. Bert's trying to win this with fucking style points. He can fuck off.
10:06 – 12:24
Askren vs Masvidal: hype, payback, and the anatomy of a brutal KO
1. RORobert Oberst
  Like, what's that, that kid that-
2. JRJoe Rogan
  Ben Askren.
3. RORobert Oberst
  Exactly.
4. JRJoe Rogan
  He got flat-lined, yeah.
5. RORobert Oberst
  (laughs) That was brutal.
6. JRJoe Rogan
  (laughs)
7. RORobert Oberst
  But, I mean, he also took that on the chin. He put up a post, like, right after that, like, "Well, that sucked."
8. JRJoe Rogan
  Yeah.
9. RORobert Oberst
  Yeah.
10. JRJoe Rogan
  Oh, he takes it on the chin better than anybody.
11. RORobert Oberst
  Yeah.
12. JRJoe Rogan
  He's got a great personality.
13. RORobert Oberst
  Yeah.
14. JRJoe Rogan
  And Masvidal said, "It's not even over."
15. RORobert Oberst
  (Laughs)
16. JRJoe Rogan
  Masvidal said, "Listen." He goes, "I don't like that dude." He goes, "If I see him at Whole Foods, he's getting smacked up."
17. RORobert Oberst
  Oh, shit. (laughs)
18. JRJoe Rogan
  Like, can you imagine the guy flat-lines you with the fucking fastest ever KO in UFC history and he's promising you that if you're looking for brussel sprouts, he's gonna smack you in the face.
19. RORobert Oberst
  (Laughs) Yeah. Oh, man. He already gave him two extra shots to the face, which-
20. JRJoe Rogan
  Yeah.
21. RORobert Oberst
  ... by the way, people are giving him shit for it. It, it's, that's his job.
22. JRJoe Rogan
  Yes.
23. RORobert Oberst
  It's go till the referee stops you.
24. JRJoe Rogan
  Well, especially when there's a heated contest like that where you, you talk so much shit, and he insulted Masvidal's manhood. He talked about-
25. RORobert Oberst
  Yeah.
26. JRJoe Rogan
  ... his ne- ethnicity. He talked, he, he said a lot of shit that really pissed Masvidal off.
27. RORobert Oberst
  Right.
28. JRJoe Rogan
  And he's like, "Why..." And he had a good statement about it. He's like, "Why is it okay to talk all this shit online about me before the fight, but then after I knock him out, I'm n- I'm not supposed to showboat? I'm not supposed to celebrate?"
29. RORobert Oberst
  Right.
30. JRJoe Rogan
  "Get the fuck out of here."
12:24 – 15:48
Could a 400-lb strongman fight? WWE paths, MMA examples, and weight classes
1. JRJoe Rogan
  Yeah. Have you ever thought about fighting-
2. RORobert Oberst
  (sighs)
3. JRJoe Rogan
  ... as big as you are?
4. RORobert Oberst
  No, um, I'm, I mean, I, I messed around with, like, wrestling and stuff. And I, I worked with Jon Jones with, uh, the supplement company for a while.
5. JRJoe Rogan
  Oh, really?
6. RORobert Oberst
  Yeah, yeah. And then I know a lot of fighters. I know a lot of old school wrestlers. I've got a lot of, like, friends in the industry but, um...I'm fucking-
7. JRJoe Rogan
  Old school wrestler wrestlers or pro wrestlers?
8. RORobert Oberst
  Pro wrestlers, sorry. Yeah, yeah.
9. JRJoe Rogan
  Yeah.
10. RORobert Oberst
  They're a totally different thing. It's-
11. JRJoe Rogan
  Yeah.
12. RORobert Oberst
  ... just, it's the-
13. JRJoe Rogan
  But still, that would be a great avenue for you too, right?
14. RORobert Oberst
  I did think about that for a while too. It, it's just, uh, contractually, it's just, it's a shit show. And it's like-
15. JRJoe Rogan
  I'm sure injuries and all that stuff too would take you outta competition.
16. RORobert Oberst
  But, plus they want the, uh, where I'm at now, I started and worked my ass off just to get like a little piece of that pie. And when you go to the WWE or, or something, something like that, you have to step back all the way-
17. JRJoe Rogan
  Hmm.
18. RORobert Oberst
  ... all the way to the ground level. You have to earn your stripes. And I, I understand that, but like, I, I have, I have a son and I have a family. I take care of people. I can't-
19. JRJoe Rogan
  Hmm.
20. RORobert Oberst
  ... give up everything that I've earned, like basically breaking myself for five years-
21. JRJoe Rogan
  Right.
22. RORobert Oberst
  ... just to crawl back up and hopefully, you know, end up where I am. But, you know, it's, it's a cool thing. I also, I was a big fan of wrestling when I was a kid, you know, back in the day.
23. JRJoe Rogan
  Mm-hmm.
24. RORobert Oberst
  And, uh, you know, like I love watching it. Uh, one of my buddies right now, a guy who was a strongman with me, his name's Braun Strowman, and he's in the WWE. He's a, he's a badass, so I love watching him do it sometimes.
25. JRJoe Rogan
  Do you, uh, follow Pudzianowski fighting in MMA?
26. RORobert Oberst
  I haven't, I haven't seen a lot of his MMA stuff. I know, I know him and I've watched him.
27. JRJoe Rogan
  He's still active.
28. RORobert Oberst
  He's, he's freaking crazy, man.
29. JRJoe Rogan
  He's fucking people up too, man. He's, he's really getting better. Like, when he first started fighting, he was just this giant dude-
30. RORobert Oberst
  Right.
15:48 – 17:39
Wrestling legends, giants’ pain, and launching 'The Strongest Men in History'
1. RORobert Oberst
  Yeah. I knew a lot of guys... Andre the Giant was my hero growing up.
2. JRJoe Rogan
  Hmm.
3. RORobert Oberst
  Like, he was like my first real hero. And, um, I knew a lot of guys who had known him. I actually met, uh, Rowdy Roddy Piper like three weeks before he passed, and I was wearing-
4. JRJoe Rogan
  Oh, man.
5. RORobert Oberst
  ... an Andre the Giant shirt. And we, we got to sit in the VIP section at a, at a baseball game, and he was badass, man. He was so fucking cool.
6. JRJoe Rogan
  (sighs) I wanted to get that guy on the podcast. And he... T- Ho- Tony Hinchcliffe was actually trying to set it up, but then he died.
7. RORobert Oberst
  Yeah. He used to go to the Comic Store a lot.
8. JRJoe Rogan
  Yeah, yeah, yeah.
9. RORobert Oberst
  Yeah.
10. JRJoe Rogan
  Yeah, yeah. He even went on stage a couple times there.
11. RORobert Oberst
  Yeah.
12. JRJoe Rogan
  Yeah, it was awesome.
13. RORobert Oberst
  He would just tell stories, man. It was awesome.
14. JRJoe Rogan
  He was g- He was like one of the first guys also to crossover into movies. Obviously Andre was first.
15. RORobert Oberst
  Right.
16. JRJoe Rogan
  He did a few guest spots in movies.
17. RORobert Oberst
  Princess Bride.
18. JRJoe Rogan
  Yeah, yeah, yeah.
19. RORobert Oberst
  Yeah, yeah.
20. JRJoe Rogan
  But, uh, he was the star of They Live, remember that?
21. RORobert Oberst
  Mm-hmm.
22. JRJoe Rogan
  Which is a, the C- John Carpenter movie. That's a great fucking movie.
23. RORobert Oberst
  Huge. Yeah.
24. JRJoe Rogan
  Yeah. So he was in that too.
25. RORobert Oberst
  That's so cool.
26. JRJoe Rogan
  Yeah, he was a fun guy, man.
27. RORobert Oberst
  Yeah.
28. JRJoe Rogan
  You know?
29. RORobert Oberst
  We're actually, um... What I was... What we're doing, uh, the whole, basically the reason I was here to talk about the TV show, this, uh, next, uh, season, season two, we're gonna do... We... So I'll start over. We, uh, the whole TV show is based on us doing acts of strength throughout, uh, for strongmen throughout history. So like-
30. JRJoe Rogan
  And what is the, the name of the show called?
17:39 – 22:09
Peter Francisco: Revolutionary War 'one-man army' and the cannon feat
1. RORobert Oberst
  And we did, um... One of my favorite episodes we did was this guy Peter Francisco who was, uh, he was born in, it w- I think it was, uh, Colombia. I'm, I'm, I'm, I might be mistaken.
2. JRJoe Rogan
  There it is.
3. RORobert Oberst
  Peter Francisco. There we go. The Virginia Giant, in Portugal. There you go. So he was born to like, um, a wealthy family and was kidnapped and sold as a slave. And he ended up, uh, in, in America. And at 16 he signed up to fight for, uh, in the Revolutionary War. He was six foot seven, six foot eight, just this giant of a man, especially 1776.
4. JRJoe Rogan
  Wow. Yeah, there was nobody that big back then.
5. RORobert Oberst
  Huge.
6. JRJoe Rogan
  You know, like a lot of people don't realize Jack Johnson, the former heavyweight champion who they called the, the Galveston Giant, I think he was only 6'3".
7. RORobert Oberst
  See?
8. JRJoe Rogan
  Or 6'2" or 6"... Uh, uh, uh, pull, pull up Jack Johnson and see how big he was. Towered over everybody else he fought.
9. RORobert Oberst
  Yeah.
10. JRJoe Rogan
  Like Rocky Marciano was 185 pounds.
11. RORobert Oberst
  Right.
12. JRJoe Rogan
  189 pounds, like somewhere around there.
13. RORobert Oberst
  See?
14. JVJamie Vernon
  He says he was only six foot tall, but-
15. JRJoe Rogan
  What?
16. JVJamie Vernon
  Yeah, that's what Google put, just popped up from his like Wikipedia.
17. JRJoe Rogan
  Hmm.
18. JVJamie Vernon
  Uh-
19. JRJoe Rogan
  I think he's a little taller than that. But he was a giant back then.
20. RORobert Oberst
  Right.
21. JRJoe Rogan
  They called him the Galveston Giant. Well, everybody was so poor then. They didn't have any food.
22. RORobert Oberst
  Right.
23. JRJoe Rogan
  You know, the turn of the century.
24. RORobert Oberst
  Yeah.
25. JVJamie Vernon
  Yeah.
26. RORobert Oberst
  Everybody's struggling.
27. JVJamie Vernon
  Six foot tall is what every-
28. JRJoe Rogan
  That's crazy.
29. RORobert Oberst
  See?
30. JRJoe Rogan
  That's crazy.
22:09 – 25:03
From football to strongman: avoiding the 9–5 and finding happiness abroad
1. JRJoe Rogan
  How did you get involved with doing strongman competitions?
2. RORobert Oberst
  Um, I played football, I played football for a long time and then, you know, football was done with me. And I basically, I was just... I didn't want to have a real job.
3. JVJamie Vernon
  (laughs)
4. RORobert Oberst
  (laughs) Just to be totally honest, I'm not a, I'm not a nine to five, sit in an office guy, you know?
5. JRJoe Rogan
  I don't think anybody is.
6. RORobert Oberst
  I don't think so either. I really don't.
7. JRJoe Rogan
  No, it's a terrible way to live.
8. RORobert Oberst
  And so-
9. JRJoe Rogan
  And there's people listening right now that are like, "That's what I'm doing."
10. RORobert Oberst
  (laughs)
11. JRJoe Rogan
  "Fuck this place."
12. RORobert Oberst
  Get out.
13. JRJoe Rogan
  Yeah.
14. RORobert Oberst
  Get out while you can.
15. JRJoe Rogan
  Get out.
16. RORobert Oberst
  I'm s- 'cause I'm telling you...
17. JRJoe Rogan
  Run.
18. RORobert Oberst
  I convinced one of my best friends to quit his job and come with me to China for a week. And then, of course, you have to struggle and find your way.
19. JRJoe Rogan
  Yeah.
20. RORobert Oberst
  But then after that, it was, it was the best thing he's ever done, you know?
21. JRJoe Rogan
  Yeah. Be- definitely better off being a nomad.
22. RORobert Oberst
  Yeah.
23. JRJoe Rogan
  Just find something. You, you'll be... You'll, you'll feel better, you know?
24. RORobert Oberst
  Exactly.
25. JRJoe Rogan
  Like, I was talking to a friend of mine today about Thailand and about, uh, it... Like, when I went to Thailand last year, it kind of like reshaped my idea of like what makes people happy. Because everybody over there is wearing flip-flops.
26. RORobert Oberst
  Mm-hmm.
27. JRJoe Rogan
  And fucking shorts. Everything is real cheap. Food's real cheap. There's no extravagance and everybody's happy.
28. RORobert Oberst
  Yeah.
29. JRJoe Rogan
  And like, uh, my friend John Wayne Parr, he says it's the land of smiles. That's what he calls it.
30. RORobert Oberst
  Hmm.
25:03 – 36:32
Florida chaos, iguanas, and the weirdness of exotic animal ownership
1. JRJoe Rogan
  Yeah, I read a story in Florida about a... What's that?
2. JVJamie Vernon
  It was Tampa.
3. JRJoe Rogan
  It was.
4. RORobert Oberst
  Tampa, Florida.
5. JRJoe Rogan
  Of course.
6. RORobert Oberst
  Called it.
7. JRJoe Rogan
  Of course, man. Florida's a fucking mess, man.
8. RORobert Oberst
  Dude, I was there for two weeks. I was scared shitless the whole time. I've been everywhere. It's Florida, I was like paying attention to everyone walking around. (laughs)
9. JRJoe Rogan
  (laughs) ... people on bath salts-
10. RORobert Oberst
  (laughs)
11. JRJoe Rogan
  ... eating people's faces.
12. RORobert Oberst
  Yeah, exactly.
13. JRJoe Rogan
  Everything fucked up happens there. They, uh, they just issued a, a shoot to kill on iguanas. They're trying to get people to kill as many iguanas... Apparently, there's so many iguanas there that they're digging holes under bridges and roads, and roads are collapsing. Yeah, buildings are collapsing, like, because they're digging, they're digging trenches under the foundations.
14. RORobert Oberst
  That's so crazy.
15. JRJoe Rogan
  And they're big, like five feet long. What do you got? What's the smile on his face?
16. RORobert Oberst
  (laughs)
17. JRJoe Rogan
  Florida iguana hunter mistakes pool boy for iguana-
18. RORobert Oberst
  Oh, my God. (laughs)
19. JRJoe Rogan
  ... shoots him. (laughs)
20. RORobert Oberst
  Yo. Florida, you gotta get your shit together, guys. Come on.
21. JRJoe Rogan
  It's not going to happen. My sister lives in Florida. She's probably listening to this.
22. RORobert Oberst
  Yeah.
23. JRJoe Rogan
  Laura, get out of there. (laughs)
24. RORobert Oberst
  Run. Run for your lives.
25. JRJoe Rogan
  It's a fucking goofy place to live, man. It really is.
26. RORobert Oberst
  It's, it's so crazy.
27. JRJoe Rogan
  It's a goofy place to live. But for people who like l- like chaos and partying, it's fun.
28. RORobert Oberst
  Yeah.
29. JRJoe Rogan
  You know?
30. RORobert Oberst
  That's, that's what it's all about. (laughs)
36:32 – 42:49
Social media crackdowns, copyright confusion, and the future of VR porn
1. RORobert Oberst
  And it's, it's what they have to do, you know? It's, like, there's a lot more, um, people getting publicity. Not publicity, but there's a lot more people showing that side of things, at least. I was ... We were talking about right before we came on, there's this, uh, Instagram page called Nature is Metal.
2. JRJoe Rogan
  Yes, I love that page.
3. RORobert Oberst
  That's fucking badass, isn't it?
4. JRJoe Rogan
  He got taken down for a while. H- he had a ... He got back up, but he's, hi- he has one of the ver- very best pages on, on Instagram.
5. RORobert Oberst
  But e- and w- how can you take it down? That's all ... He didn't-
6. JRJoe Rogan
  Yes.
7. RORobert Oberst
  ... he didn't ... He had nothing to do with any of those situations.
8. JRJoe Rogan
  Mm-hmm.
9. RORobert Oberst
  It's not like he, like, had some kind of ulterior motive and came in and put these animals in this situation. That's just reality.
10. JRJoe Rogan
  Dude, Instagram's cracking down hard lately. I don't understand it. They ta- they take all kinds of stuff down for virtually no reason.
11. RORobert Oberst
  Hm.
12. JRJoe Rogan
  It's weird.
13. RORobert Oberst
  More-
14. JRJoe Rogan
  I think all it is, is someone has to just complain enough and they'll take it down.
15. RORobert Oberst
  Yeah. They need to get that fixed where it's ... Instead of, like, a compu- I understand it's a lot, right? It's a l- it's a lot of people.
16. JRJoe Rogan
  Yeah.
17. RORobert Oberst
  So having a computer regulate that just doesn't work.
18. JRJoe Rogan
  No. It's not just a computer regulate that. If someone could target you, like, say maybe you could be doing something and they just decide you're offensive-
19. RORobert Oberst
  Yeah.
20. JRJoe Rogan
  ... and they just start e- like, make a targeted campaign to complain about your content.
21. RORobert Oberst
  Yeah.
22. JRJoe Rogan
  Yeah, I saw one of those, uh, tattoo girls. She got, uh, her- her- her post removed just having her hand ab- above her crotch, like, cl- covering her crotch, her legs spread and showing all her tattoos. And they, they took down her, her page. Like, uh, uh, she's ... But she's covered up.
23. RORobert Oberst
  Makes no sense.
24. JRJoe Rogan
  I mean, she doesn't have pants on, but you can't see anything.
25. RORobert Oberst
  Right.
26. JRJoe Rogan
  The fuck are we doing? Isn't this America?
27. RORobert Oberst
  S- censoring legs.
28. JRJoe Rogan
  What the fuck kind of shit is this?
29. RORobert Oberst
  Texas needs to open a new Instagram.
30. JRJoe Rogan
  What's that?
42:49 – 45:45
Strongman technique, deadlift risk, and Robert’s record log press ambitions
1. RORobert Oberst
  I'm, I, uh ... When I was doing World's Strongest Man in Botswana, Africa, I tore my bicep and, um, I, I just was getting beat up over and over again. I was just so wrecked. My body wasn't accepting 'cause I'd, I had went from football to strongman, and in football, we had never done deadlifts. It was all hang cleans and power cleans, which by the way, just quick little tip, that deadlifts, if you're, if you're deadlifting to be a better deadlifter, fine. If you're not doing that for deadlift's sake, then don't fucking do it. The risk to reward ratio is a joke.
2. JRJoe Rogan
  For deadlifts?
3. RORobert Oberst
  For deadlifts.
4. JRJoe Rogan
  Really?
5. RORobert Oberst
  And a lot of people aren't gonna like that I'm saying that, but if you go into any NFL, uh, gym, in any Division I college football gym, in any athletics where people are actually getting paid and it matters what they're doing, they're not deadlifting.
6. JRJoe Rogan
  Really?
7. RORobert Oberst
  They're hang cleaning and power cleaning.
8. JRJoe Rogan
  Why is that?
9. RORobert Oberst
  Because the, the risk to reward ratio, like, well there's ... It's so hard to be a great deadlifter and to not risk your low back, and-
10. JRJoe Rogan
  Oh.
11. RORobert Oberst
  ... to, to be using your upper back properly, and, you know, just, there's so many little, uh-... um, chances for you get hurt, you know, hamstring stuff. That was, that was me, uh, my first World's Strongest Man, uh, I was the only rookie in the finals.
12. JRJoe Rogan
  Bro.
13. RORobert Oberst
  China.
14. JRJoe Rogan
  How much weight is that?
15. RORobert Oberst
  That was 880 pounds, 400 kilos.
16. JRJoe Rogan
  (groans)
17. RORobert Oberst
  Me in my pink Chucks.
18. JRJoe Rogan
  (groans) And you're-
19. RORobert Oberst
  I weigh less than that now. I'm less of a bowling ball, though (laughs) .
20. JRJoe Rogan
  Really? Wow. That, well, they made those weights ridiculous looking, too.
21. RORobert Oberst
  Right. Well, and that right there is, uh, something we overhead press, too. So they'll take some of the weights out of it, and it's so flimsy. When you clean it, it's, like, basically, like, holding that earthquake bar that you have out there.
22. JRJoe Rogan
  Oh, really?
23. RORobert Oberst
  It's just like that. And it's, it's fucking brutal.
24. JRJoe Rogan
  So they take weight out of that round thing?
25. RORobert Oberst
  Yeah.
26. JRJoe Rogan
  Like, what is in that round thing?
27. RORobert Oberst
  There's, well, there's several different attachments to it, so maybe some of them weigh different. I've never, like, been a part of that, but, uh, like, either that or it unscrews at the end and they take weights out of it. I'm not positive exactly how it works.
28. JRJoe Rogan
  So you leave the NFL, or you leave pr- playing football-
29. RORobert Oberst
  Yeah.
30. JRJoe Rogan
  ... and you D- were you in the NFL?
45:45 – 51:32
Growing up poor, the fast-track to pro strongman, and making money in the sport
1. RORobert Oberst
  So then I went to security and I was working there, and a buddy of mine who I'd played junior college ball with was just obsessed with strongman, and I'd, I'd never heard of it, I never watched it. Like, when I was growing up, we were poor. Like, there was 10 of us in a three-bedroom house and from high school on, like, we didn't have electricity. So, like, like, we didn't watch TV. We, we would play outside. We had a trampoline and that was it.
2. JRJoe Rogan
  You didn't have electricity in high school?
3. RORobert Oberst
  W- on the weekends. My dad worked for Caterpillar, Cash Man Equipment, so on the weekends he'd bring home a little generator and he'd plug that in and we'd have, like, three things we could use. But that was that.
4. JRJoe Rogan
  Wow.
5. RORobert Oberst
  Like, the hot water heater would work for the weekend and then, like, maybe the TV on Saturday night or something, like, f- TGIF or something.
6. JRJoe Rogan
  Fuck.
7. RORobert Oberst
  But I mean, it wasn't, I mean, as a kid, it's not that big of a deal, you know? Like, you just go play with your brothers outside.
8. JRJoe Rogan
  Right.
9. RORobert Oberst
  So, but, like, I never knew what strongman was because of that. I mean, I had no idea. So he was obsessed with it and he kept trying to get me to do it, and then, uh, went, went home and Googled it, checked it out. Actually, I don't know if it was Google. I might've YouTubed it. Back then, who was, who knows what we had. But, um, you know, I'd, I was excited and went and tried it out and first day, the amateur world record at log press was, like, 320 pounds at the time and I, I had no idea, but the first day, I hit 330 pounds and just-
10. JRJoe Rogan
  (laughs)
11. RORobert Oberst
  ... put it down and I looked over at my buddy and I was like, "You know, how'd that look?" And he's like, "Get the fuck outta here." (laughs)
12. JRJoe Rogan
  (laughs)
13. RORobert Oberst
  And I'm like, he's been trying his whole life to do this.
14. JRJoe Rogan
  (laughs)
15. RORobert Oberst
  I just stood, came in and took it. And then, uh, eight months later, I mean, six months later, I was competing in England and I had my pro card. Two months after that, I was in China at that photo right there, World's Strongest Man, and I was the only rookie in the finals.
16. JRJoe Rogan
  So is it... The log thing, is it the, the awkwardness of, like, holding-
17. RORobert Oberst
  Yeah.
18. JRJoe Rogan
  ... onto a log and getting it under your hands and...
19. RORobert Oberst
  Yeah. And it's, it's actually, it's a lot healthier for your shoulders. Instead of being, uh, how would you call that with your hands right there, instead of sup-
20. JRJoe Rogan
  Proneated-
21. RORobert Oberst
  Proneated?
22. JRJoe Rogan
  ... or supinated?
23. RORobert Oberst
  Supinated? Yeah.
24. JRJoe Rogan
  Yeah.
25. RORobert Oberst
  Yeah.
26. JRJoe Rogan
  I don't... I forget which one is which.
27. RORobert Oberst
  Yeah, we're the worst.
28. JRJoe Rogan
  I like it when trainers use that, though.
29. RORobert Oberst
  (laughs)
30. JRJoe Rogan
  I go, "Oh, you know what you're talking about."
51:32 – 55:55
Food, weight swings, weed vs pills, and the realities of strongman drug testing
1. JRJoe Rogan
  Well, I remember one of the weird things that I read about Pudzianowski is how much candy he eats.
2. RORobert Oberst
  Huh.
3. JRJoe Rogan
  Yeah, that he really likes, uh, candy in between workouts because he's blowing out so much sugar-
4. RORobert Oberst
  Yeah.
5. JRJoe Rogan
  ... that he would eat chocolate bars.
6. RORobert Oberst
  That makes sense.
7. JRJoe Rogan
  Yeah.
8. RORobert Oberst
  We do a lot of, of like, I do peanut butter and honey-
9. JRJoe Rogan
  Oh, okay.
10. RORobert Oberst
  ... and stuff like that. During competition, peanut butter and honey or Snickers bars.
11. JRJoe Rogan
  Really?
12. RORobert Oberst
  Yeah, and I don't-
13. JRJoe Rogan
  And when you eat peanut butter and honey, do you eat it with a spoon? Like, what do you, how do you-
14. RORobert Oberst
  I usually make the sandwiches. I see guys just pouring honey in their mouth, like the Russian guys.
15. JRJoe Rogan
  Wow.
16. RORobert Oberst
  There's a Russian guy who was, uh, Russian Secret Service for a while, and this-
17. JRJoe Rogan
  Uh-oh.
18. RORobert Oberst
  Oh, yeah. Like, you look in his eyes and you're like, "This motherfucker-"
19. JRJoe Rogan
  Murderer.
20. RORobert Oberst
  "... has done some bad things."
21. JRJoe Rogan
  (laughs)
22. RORobert Oberst
  (laughs) But he's the nicest dude in the world. He's, he's like the sweetest guy. He comes, like, he always comes over and talks to me and my family. And he's, he doesn't speak good English, but he's really nice about trying to get his point across and everything, and, but, um, yeah, that, that, that guy's done probably scary shit.
23. JRJoe Rogan
  Yeah, yeah, I'm, I'm sure. So-
24. RORobert Oberst
  There's a lot of that 'cause we compete with people from all around the world, you know, and, you know, we, uh, we tend to forget that everywhere else, there's a lot of, it's, it's normal almost to be like that in some places.
25. JRJoe Rogan
  Right, to survive.
26. RORobert Oberst
  Right.
27. JRJoe Rogan
  And if you're a giant dude, it's probably the best way to make a living.
28. RORobert Oberst
  Exactly.
29. JRJoe Rogan
  Yeah.
30. RORobert Oberst
  You know?
55:55 – 1:16:11
Comedy and censorship: Robert Frank clips, the Comedy Store culture shift, and hustle icons
1. JRJoe Rogan
  Do you know, do you know who Robert Frank is? The, uh-
2. RORobert Oberst
  That sounds familiar.
3. JRJoe Rogan
  He's the, he's a hilarious, uh, uh, Instagram guy.
4. RORobert Oberst
  I, I, I can't recall, but it sounds really familiar. Yeah.
5. JRJoe Rogan
  Uh, he's, he's really funny, man. He's, he's like...
6. RORobert Oberst
  He talks like this.
7. JRJoe Rogan
  Yeah.
8. RORobert Oberst
  He's got ... He's really fast.
9. JRJoe Rogan
  Yes, yes.
10. RORobert Oberst
  (laughs)
11. JRJoe Rogan
  He's, he's got this fucking hilarious rant about, uh, someone getting the girl pregnant and taking responsibility. And he, and he goes, he goes, "I have to ask you," he goes, "If you're trying to get jacked and tan, what kinda gear are you on? I have to question your gear if you're getting your girl pregnant!"
12. RORobert Oberst
  (laughs)
13. JRJoe Rogan
  "What kinda swimmers do you have?"
14. RORobert Oberst
  (laughs)
15. JRJoe Rogan
  (laughs)
16. RORobert Oberst
  That guy's got so much energy. I know exactly who you're talking about.
17. JRJoe Rogan
  Well, he gets ... He's another one.
18. RORobert Oberst
  (laughs)
19. JRJoe Rogan
  He gets censored off of Instagram all the time. They pull his posts and they ... He's got a million followers and they won't give him a fucking blue check mark.
20. RORobert Oberst
  That's ridiculous.
21. JRJoe Rogan
  Because-
22. RORobert Oberst
  People don't understand, that's, that's our livelihood. A lot of people, that's ... Social media is-
23. JRJoe Rogan
  Yes.
24. RORobert Oberst
  ... how we feed our fucking family.
25. JRJoe Rogan
  Well, also, he's fucking funny.
26. RORobert Oberst
  Yeah.
27. JRJoe Rogan
  But he's funny with toxic masculinity.
28. RORobert Oberst
  Right, right. But-
29. JRJoe Rogan
  He's toxic.
30. RORobert Oberst
  Because his opinion's different, we're not allowed to have it.

Episode duration: 2:55:43

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Strongman cardio, load medleys, and why athletes black out

Training the diaphragm (plus early banter and "dick root")

Sagging pants, stretchy jeans, and the realities of dressing big

Sober October ideas and why trash talk helps sports

Askren vs Masvidal: hype, payback, and the anatomy of a brutal KO

Could a 400-lb strongman fight? WWE paths, MMA examples, and weight classes

Wrestling legends, giants’ pain, and launching 'The Strongest Men in History'

Peter Francisco: Revolutionary War 'one-man army' and the cannon feat

From football to strongman: avoiding the 9–5 and finding happiness abroad

Florida chaos, iguanas, and the weirdness of exotic animal ownership

Social media crackdowns, copyright confusion, and the future of VR porn

Strongman technique, deadlift risk, and Robert’s record log press ambitions

Growing up poor, the fast-track to pro strongman, and making money in the sport

Food, weight swings, weed vs pills, and the realities of strongman drug testing

Comedy and censorship: Robert Frank clips, the Comedy Store culture shift, and hustle icons

Get more out of YouTube videos.