The Joe Rogan ExperienceJoe Rogan Experience #1443 - Jonathan Ward
CHAPTERS
Leathercraft as a creative reset: from shop floor to home studio
Joe opens by roasting Jonathan about making (and wearing) his own leather jacket, which leads into Jonathan’s recent deep dive into leathercraft. Jonathan explains how hands-on making gives him a zen counterbalance to running a larger car-building operation where he’s no longer the one welding on the floor.
Why ICON works: patina, derelicts, and making old cars drive like modern ones
Joe praises Jonathan’s obsessive approach—especially the derelict builds that preserve exterior patina while modernizing drivability. They compare the romance of vintage cars to the reality that most drive poorly by modern standards, and why restomods solve that gap.
The undercover Caprice Classic build: “Get the **** out of my lane”
Jonathan recounts a long Caprice Classic project—an ex-undercover Miami-Dade narc car—built into a high-speed mobile office with performance and hidden features. The viral video created an unexpected problem: the client wanted the car to stay under the radar.
Design restraint in restomods: honoring era-correct language vs trendy excess
They dig into where to “stop” when modernizing classics, and Jonathan’s push to reduce cosmetic redesign so the result won’t feel trendy in 10 years. The conversation riffs into off-road Porsches, Matt Farah’s rally-themed 911, and how weird styling can be fun but also compromised.
Paris-to-Peking rally obsession: planning a 3‑month vintage endurance adventure
Jonathan shifts into a passion project: the historic Paris-to-Peking race and the allure of a months-long, early-20th-century-style expedition. They discuss the rules (vintage-only), the kinds of cars people run, and Jonathan’s dream of building a team to do it.
Derelicts become a business: the ’52 DeSoto and the romance of patina
Jonathan explains how the derelict program began as a personal solution—he wanted a car he could use without obsessing over keeping it pristine. That first ’52 DeSoto derelict unexpectedly became a hit, earning major attention and defining a new lane for ICON.
R&D secrecy and radical builds: the “little BMW” and rebodying a new Chevy truck
Joe teases a confidential BMW project, and Jonathan admits it’s a multi-year, expensive R&D effort aimed at pushing ICON’s approach far beyond past redesigns. Then Jonathan describes a new strategy for a classic Chevy truck: buy a brand-new WT 4x4 and rebody it with its ‘grandfather’s’ shell to keep modern systems integrated.
Aftermarket reality check: why quality is rare and ABS/airbag retrofits stall
Jonathan vents about the aftermarket industry’s inconsistent quality and the missing links that make true modern safety integration hard in classic builds. They talk about retrofit airbags (a dead end), the need for standalone tunable ABS modules, and the broader challenge of making upgraded classics behave like coherent modern products.
Watches, quartz heresy, and “story-driven” luxury replacing bling
The conversation detours into watches: Jonathan’s love of mechanical ‘heart and soul,’ weird independent brands, and the unexpected collectibility of vintage quartz. He argues the luxury watch world is bleeding—partly due to smartwatches—and that buyers increasingly want craftsmanship and narrative over status signaling.
EV conversions and the tech trap: range, safety, charging, and obsolescence
They return to cars through Jonathan’s electric ’49 Mercury derelict, its rapid development cycle, and the headache of EV tech improving faster than traditional builds. Jonathan outlines what he thinks ‘doing EV right’ requires (thermal management, safety, transmission-less efficiency) and why charging compatibility and OEM lockouts (notably Tesla) complicate conversions.
Suppressed inventions and patent trolling: BloomBoxes, toroidal engines, and the Selden patent
The discussion widens into innovation that disappears—BloomBoxes, exotic engine concepts, and the idea that disruptive tech can be bought and shelved. Jonathan cites historical precedent with the Selden patent as an early ‘patent troll’ event that arguably slowed transportation innovation for years.
California vs small manufacturers: zoning fights, HR rules, and why artisans leave
Jonathan describes escalating regulatory and labor burdens that make it harder to build and retain a high-craft workforce in California. He recounts a surreal dispute with a new building inspector over shop zoning and lifts, plus broader frustrations about liability, labor costs, and losing talent to stable public-sector jobs.
Homelessness, accountability, and political trade-offs in LA and SF
They debate homelessness as a public-health and governance crisis, criticizing policies that remove consequences and enable tent encampments. The conversation touches on state vs federal responsibility, mental health policy roots, and the tension between compassion and enforceable standards for public spaces.
Health, epilepsy constraints, COVID perspective, and the case for lifestyle medicine
Jonathan shares how his wife’s cancer treatment reframed priorities, and Joe pivots to health resilience during COVID. They discuss ketogenic diets and CBD for epilepsy, the politics of licensing and mandated pharmaceuticals, and why prevention and fitness matter more than people admit.
Building a life without a “real job”: passion, education reform, and making vs scaling
They close on what it takes to build a passion-driven career: saying no, grinding through the hard early phase, and creating work that feels like art. Jonathan talks about diversifying into leather goods and industrial design while protecting ICON’s brand integrity, and both argue education should help people find what they’re wired to do.
