The Joe Rogan ExperienceJoe Rogan Experience #1434 - Trevor Thompson
CHAPTERS
- 0:00 – 1:57
Coffee talk, Comedy Store training, and catching up
Joe and Trevor open with friendly banter about coffee preferences, shout-outs, and how comedy functions like training at a gym. They recap Trevor doing the Comedy Store "gauntlet" and why standup needs real-time audience feedback.
- •Coffee "snob" vs coffee "addict" discussion
- •Comedy Store as a training ground for comics
- •Standup as an art form that can’t be practiced in a vacuum
- •Recounting a near-mini podcast conversation from the night before
- 1:57 – 6:05
Extortion 17 aftermath and the realities of war vs media
The conversation turns to Extortion 17 and Trevor’s role augmenting the group that replaced the fallen operators. They dig into how civilians’ ideas of war are shaped by movies and news, and why firsthand accounts matter—especially after 20 years of sustained conflict.
- •Trevor’s connection to Extortion 17 replacement efforts
- •RPG hit at night and why that’s rare/difficult
- •Media depictions vs lived reality of war
- •20-year war’s generational impact (serving alongside fathers)
- •Value of veterans sharing individual “slivers” of reality
- 6:05 – 11:20
Trauma, memory, and war films that get close
Joe and Trevor discuss how traumatic experiences don’t fade the way outsiders assume, using examples like Marcus Luttrell seeing his story portrayed in film. They touch on which movies feel most authentic, highlighting how visceral accuracy can trigger sensory memory for veterans.
- •Strangeness of Hollywood portrayals of real people/events
- •Trauma’s persistence and how outsiders underestimate it
- •Saving Private Ryan’s realism and sensory recall (diesel smell)
- •Normandy casualties and visual commemorations of mass death
- •How proximity to Extortion 17 made deployment feel immediate
- 11:20 – 18:11
From art school to Navy SEAL: Trevor’s origin story
Trevor explains his background as an artist and musician, his family’s creative roots, and why he left the Art Institute of Chicago. He describes the impulse to serve, the decision to pursue the hardest path (SEALs), and what it was like telling his family.
- •Formal art training and family artistic influences
- •Dropping out in 2006 amid ongoing wars
- •Family military history and sense of duty
- •Decision to attempt SEAL pipeline and parents’ reaction
- •Perspective shift as he later understood the family’s stress
- 18:11 – 29:43
First deployments: SDV ‘wet subs’ and deep-water mind games
Trevor describes early SEAL work in Hawaii piloting SDVs (Swimmer Delivery Vehicles)—a “wet submarine” experience that sounds like science fiction. The discussion expands into ocean fear, strange sea life, and how little we still know about the deep.
- •What an SDV is and how it’s operated on scuba
- •Claustrophobia and risk of submerged operations
- •Encounters with dolphins, whales, sharks, and odd creatures
- •Deep-sea unknowns and bioluminescent life
- •Long-lived ocean animals (bowhead whale, Greenland sharks)
- 29:43 – 31:15
Captivity ethics, sanctuaries, and what we do to animals
Joe and Trevor pivot from ocean life to the ethics of keeping intelligent animals in captivity, criticizing SeaWorld and some zoo conditions. They discuss sanctuaries like Wolf Connection, and the broader tension between conservation, display, and animal welfare.
- •Orcas and SeaWorld as a moral flashpoint
- •Zoos vs sanctuaries: care vs confinement
- •Wolf Connection and wolf-dog ownership problems
- •Human discomfort with wildness vs desire to control nature
- •Conservation work contrasted with “gift shop” display culture
- 31:15 – 37:23
Spay/neuter debate and Joe’s feral cat war stories
A long tangent explores pet sterilization, including how early neutering can affect behavior and development. Joe tells an extended story about trying to socialize a feral cat and the eventual necessity of neutering due to spraying.
- •Arguments against automatic neutering for all dogs
- •Hormones, maturity, and behavioral effects
- •Feral cat spraying and difficult capture for the vet
- •Outdoor cats’ ecological impact on birds/rodents
- •Predator instincts: lessons from cats for stalking/hunting
- 37:23 – 40:15
Predators, conservation, and eating the ‘unpopular’ animals
The talk shifts to mountain lions, deer populations, predator balance, and why regulated hunting can support conservation. They discuss public backlash to predator hunts and the surprising culinary reputation of animals like mountain lion and bear.
- •Mountain lion behavior and California predator dynamics
- •Predator population balance (wolves, grizzlies, cats)
- •How hunting tags can fund conservation vs covert culling
- •Meat discussions: mountain lion, bear, and public perception
- •New Jersey’s huge black bears and management politics
- 40:15 – 47:14
Archery crash course: zero experience to bear camp success
Trevor recounts being invited on a hunt with minimal notice and learning archery from John Dudley in weeks. He describes the intensity of bowhunting, the closeness to animals, and the deep satisfaction of clean execution and sharing wild meat.
- •Last-minute invite and rapid archery onboarding
- •John Dudley’s coaching and generosity with time
- •First bow kill: black bear in BC and shot details
- •Why bowhunting feels different than rifle hunting
- •Providing/sharing meat as a meaningful outcome
- 47:14 – 1:20:50
Diet, performance, stress resilience, and veteran reintegration
They discuss Trevor’s carnivore experiment, adding carbs for endurance/strength, and broader ideas about health beyond diet—community and stress management. The conversation turns to veteran experiences online, public misunderstanding, and the importance of support for TBI and mental health.
- •Carnivore diet experience and performance limits without carbs
- •Preferred carbs (white rice, root vegetables) and digestion
- •Stress habituation and learning ‘not giving a fuck’ skills
- •Veterans dealing with online hostility and bad-faith arguments
- •TBI, hormone issues, and gaps in veteran care/support systems
- 1:20:50 – 1:35:17
Combat mindset: training under pressure, paranoia, and decompression
Trevor explains how SEAL training emphasizes performing under stress, building automaticity, and ‘learning how to learn.’ They cover deployment lengths, decompression, professional paranoia after returning home, and why selection/training weeds out people who can’t manage load.
- •Step-based self-talk and keeping conscious control under stress
- •Automaticity in shooting vs mental bandwidth for environment
- •BUD/S and ongoing standards as a continual filter
- •Deployment tempo, decompression windows, and cumulative strain
- •Post-deployment vigilance and the ‘tactical’ civilian brain
- 1:35:17 – 1:51:36
High-risk pursuits and the ‘cognitive load’ addiction (BASE, flying, jiu-jitsu)
Joe and Trevor explore why operators gravitate toward skydiving, BASE jumping, and other high-focus activities—less about adrenaline, more about consequences and concentration. They also touch on martial arts relevance, gymnastics-style body control, wind tunnels, and hobby creep.
- •BASE jumping as a ‘life choice,’ not a recommended hobby
- •Staying calm under danger vs adrenaline spirals
- •Martial arts value for police vs special operations priorities
- •Gymnastics/breakdancing body awareness and combat sports transfer
- •Indoor skydiving/wind tunnels for skill-building and fun
- 1:51:36 – 2:49:04
Life after the Teams: Black Rifle Coffee, photography, and building a new identity
Trevor describes his post-military path—shooting instruction, then becoming a photographer for Black Rifle Coffee and embracing creative work again. They close on hunting as a life-structuring passion, future dream hunts (mountain lion), and how purpose and community replace old structures.
- •Transition out after 9 years and reasons for leaving
- •Finding meaning in missions and ‘making a difference’ perspective
- •Work at Black Rifle Coffee and Evan Hafer’s coffee obsession
- •Photography as a meditative creative outlet tied to outdoors
- •Future hunt goals (mountain lion) and planning a hunting lifestyle
