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The Joe Rogan ExperienceThe Joe Rogan Experience

Joe Rogan Experience #1472 - Michael Yo

Michael Yo is a stand up comedian. Look for his podcast "Michael Yo Show" available on Apple Podcasts.

Joe RoganhostMichael YoguestGuestguest
May 12, 20203h 3mWatch on YouTube ↗

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  1. 0:013:14

    Michael Yo’s COVID timeline: nonstop travel, stress, and the first fever

    1. JR

      Michael Yeoh.

    2. MY

      Yes.

    3. JR

      Back from the brink.

    4. MY

      (sighs) It- it's crazy.

    5. JR

      You are the first guy that I've ... Well, my friend Sturgill got it, and I talked to him, but he didn't get it real bad.

    6. MY

      Like how bad is not real bad?

    7. JR

      He didn't get it bad. He-

    8. MY

      Okay.

    9. JR

      He was like a little fatigued.

    10. MY

      Yeah.

    11. JR

      Yeah. So tell-

    12. MY

      It-

    13. JR

      So give me the full rundown. For people who don't know what we're talking about, you got coronavirus. You were one of the first to get it, uh, that I know. You got it right after you were on this podcast. You were on this podcast.

    14. MY

      I-

    15. JR

      You flew to New York.

    16. MY

      Did Gotham for four shows.

    17. JR

      Little rundown.

    18. MY

      Yeah. Little rundown. As soon as I landed, I did Wendy Williams on Monday, and then I flew back and went to Vegas for a day, soon as I got back, and then had three auditions. So I was run down. And that weekend-

    19. JR

      Were you feeling sick already?

    20. MY

      No. No.

    21. JR

      Just tired?

    22. MY

      Just tired. Tired. But, I mean, we're always tired, really.

    23. JR

      Right.

    24. MY

      You know?

    25. JR

      The road. The road gets you.

    26. MY

      Yeah. And- and I was- I was moving all the time, and very stressful. You know, you're- you're trying to perform. You're trying to learn lines for an audition.

    27. JR

      Mm-hmm.

    28. MY

      So I was- I was very stressed out. I was traveling a lot. And that was like my third weekend in a row. So it was-

    29. JR

      You get sleep? Much sleep or no?

    30. MY

      Yeah. I- I get great sleep, but you know, with two kids, like they're both at the age where, you know-

  2. 3:144:55

    At-home deterioration: fever spikes, headaches, and the Advil/Tylenol confusion

    1. MY

      And then Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, audition. Then Saturday, I was like, "Ugh. Okay. I- this is my rest day." And then I woke up and something just didn't feel right.

    2. JR

      Hmm.

    3. MY

      So I was going, "Okay, it's probably the road." You know, I- what- I'm- I'm stressed, road. So it's about- during the day, I hang out, I isolate myself, but I'm between 100 and 101. Second day, I'm like 101, 102. But I'm still like, "Look, I'ma- I'ma beat this thing." They say stay at home. Because at that time-

    4. JR

      Mm-hmm.

    5. MY

      ... they said, "If you have symptoms, stay at home," because they're taking the more serious cases.

    6. JR

      Right.

    7. MY

      So the Sunday- Sunday came around. I kind of went down a little. I was taking aspirin, a lot of aspirin, because one doctor at the time said take it every four hours. And I was also taking, um, aspirin and something else to bring your temperature down. I forgot what it was. But- oh, Ty- um, aspirin and ...

    8. JR

      But you said when you started taking ibuprofen, that's when it fucked you up.

    9. MY

      That's when I felt it did. So Sunday, I started getting this massive headache. So that's when I really started popping the aspirin, three every three hours.

    10. JR

      But aspirin or ibuprofen?

    11. MY

      Uh, it was ibuprofen.

    12. JR

      There's a big difference between aspirin and ibuprofen. Ibuprofen is a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory.

    13. MY

      Okay. Well, okay. I was taking- I was taking Advil. Whatever Advil was.

    14. JR

      Yes. That is a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory.

    15. MY

      Okay.

    16. JR

      Th- this is what I keep hearing. I don't know if this has been substantiated, that you shouldn't take, um, ibuprofen while you have this.

    17. MY

      Okay. Well-

    18. JR

      For whatever reason. I don't know what that is.

    19. MY

      I don't know. I don't know if that's been discredited or it's that- it's that real.

    20. JR

      Yeah. I don't know either. I don't know either.

    21. MY

      So I- I was taking a lot of Advil.

    22. JR

      Okay.

  3. 4:556:37

    911 call and ER admission: gasping for air, oxygen support, and a grim prognosis

    1. MY

      A lot of Advil and, uh, Tylenol to bring the fever down. So I got it down on Sunday, but then I had a massive headache. So then they said, "Well, your temperature's going down." This was our doctor friend. "Your temperature's going down. Just hit the Advil." So I hit the Advil. Monday at noon, I couldn't breathe. Like gasping for air r- and my wife had to call 911-

    2. JR

      Oh.

    3. MY

      ... to the house to come get me. So I'm gasping for air, 911 shows up. They bring me outside. They throw me on this huge- this oxygen machine right away. It's like-

    4. JR

      What- what kind of an oxygen? A ventilator?

    5. MY

      I- uh, not a ventilator. No. Just a- just a normal oxygen mach- but they say, "We got to get oxygen in you."

    6. JR

      Okay.

    7. MY

      And it- it was almost like a movie. I'm- the neighbors are all out. Ambulance is overlooking me. You know, the ambulance is there. All the neighbors are looking. I can't breathe. My son is in the window. This is the worst. My son is in the window. He doesn't know what's going on, but he knows it's not good. And he's only three, and he's crying.

    8. JR

      Oh.

    9. MY

      Uh, and I'm watching him cry, and I can't do anything. I can't breathe. And literally, when they pick me up to carry me to the ambulance, 'cause they needed to get me to the hospital right away, it was the whole window thing. He put his hand up, "Oh."

    10. JR

      Oh, Jesus.

    11. MY

      It- it- it-... it, it really hurt me really bad. So I get a- into the ambulance and they take me ... As soon as I get to the hospital, the doctor goes, "You got corona." So they take the first-

    12. JR

      How ... But did they do a test or did they just know?

    13. MY

      Yes. The first thing they do is they do a chest X-ray.

    14. JR

      Mm-hmm.

    15. MY

      And they go, "You got double pneumonia and corona."

    16. JR

      What's double pneumonia?

    17. MY

      When it's on, in both lungs.

    18. JR

      Okay.

    19. MY

      So, "Double pneumonia and you have corona, we believe, but we gotta test you." So they, you know, swabbed me and stuff.

    20. JR

      Mm-hmm.

  4. 6:379:33

    ICU suffering and isolation: extreme pain, fear of dying alone, and family messaging

    1. MY

      But they took all the precautions like I had corona. I was the first corona patient at this hospital. This is how early it was, you know. So, um, they took me to ICU, uh, and the doctor came in and I go, "Hey, this is escalating real quick." And I'm ... still can't breathe. I go, "Am I gonna make it?" And he goes, "We'll know in two days. It's gonna go really good or really bad, and we'll know in two days." And every nurse or doctor that came in, when they can't tell you if you're gonna make it or not, you know, they try to comfort you, but they can't really say you're gonna make it. And it ... And I was in the worst pain I've ever felt in my life too.

    2. JR

      W- w- where?

    3. MY

      Head. I mean, just think about the worst migraine you've ever had times 100. My body was hot and cold. It would get so hot, my temperature got up to 103.8 and they had to bring it down, and then it would go up to 103.8 again. Uh, I couldn't move. My body was aching. Literally the second night I was there, and I a- and I know this is a wrong thing to think, but if they had a eject button on life, I may have hit it, I was in that much pain. Like, that ... I couldn't even think clearly. It ... I- I can't put into words how bad it was for me.

    4. JR

      So your head, your body, everything?

    5. MY

      Everything.

    6. JR

      Every-

    7. MY

      Where you just want it to be over.

    8. JR

      Wow.

    9. MY

      It's either you're gonna make it, you're like ... And it was so bad where you wanna think about your family, but I was in so much pain. You know, I thought about them, but it was, "I can't make it. This is, this is the end," and I can't see my family because they already told me that no one can come into the hospital.

    10. JR

      (inhales deeply)

    11. MY

      And I'm texting my wife, lying to her, saying, "Hey, babe, I'm gonna make it through, I'm gonna make it through," where I'm talking to my parents going, "This may not go well." You know? And my parents ... The first thing I texted my parents is, "I'm scared." I've never texted them something like that. And they knew how serious it was. And I- I said, "Look, Claire is ..." My wife, Claire, is at home with the two kids, I can't let her worry about this. You know, she was already stressed out enough. She saw enough, you know. So I'm in there and the doctor says that, "No one can come see you." So I'm going, "If these are the last two days of my life, I'm gonna die alone in this hospital." And- and it just broke me up so bad that ... You know, I've taken care of myself, I've done everything I can, you know, to take care of myself, and why am I lying in this bed right now? You know? And it was a thing where when I did think about my wife, it was, "I will never see my wife and two kids again." You know, that- that's all that went through my mind is like, "I l- ... It ..." (sighs)

  5. 9:3331:21

    Ventilator debate and early-treatment experimentation in a ‘new disease’

    1. JR

      Did they put you on a ventilator?

    2. MY

      No. My doctor saved my life. My doctor said, "If we put you on a ventilator-" He said that, he says ... 'Cause the nurse brought it up, "Should we put him on a ventilator?" And he goes, "No way. If we put him on a ventilator, he's gonna die, because his body is gonna say, 'Okay, this machine is breathing for us, we don't need to work anymore,' and your body shuts down." If you've heard, in New York, 80% of people put on ventilators die.

    3. JR

      And that's why, you think?

    4. MY

      I think that's why I survived.

    5. JR

      I've heard that. I've- I've heard that being speculated by other doctors as well and it's very controversial, because so many doctors put people on ventilators and the last thing they wanna hear is another doctor saying, "You put someone on a ventilator, they'll die." But your doctor said that.

    6. MY

      Well, my doctor said that straight up in the room-

    7. JR

      Wow.

    8. MY

      ... in front of me-

    9. JR

      Holy shit.

    10. MY

      ... to the nurses. Like, "If we put him on it, he's gonna die." Because his thing was, "It just makes sense why he would, because now this machine is gonna breathe for him, so his body's not gonna ..." It's like working out, you don't work out a muscle, it gets weak.

    11. JR

      Right.

    12. MY

      This machine is doing all your lifting, so why would we wanna put him on that? Unless it's- it's just, we have to put him on it, you know? But you've heard doctors were putting on people so fast because their oxygen levels were so low.

    13. JR

      Right.

    14. MY

      They're like, "This isn't ... This is not normal, so we need to do something to get their oxygen level up."

    15. JR

      I think doctors are like everything else, right? There's really good ones, then there's ones that aren't as good. There's this-

    16. MY

      No. It's true.

    17. JR

      With everything else, with everything. Carpenters, plumbers, everything.

    18. MY

      Every ... And-

    19. JR

      Everything.

    20. MY

      And it's really ... I look back, I'm still ... Now I've become very close to him and the dude saved my life. 'Cause if I went on a ventilator, bro, I don't ... I may not be here, because I was so-

    21. JR

      When you go on a ventilator, they- they kind of-

    22. MY

      Knock you out.

    23. JR

      ... put you out. Yeah.

    24. MY

      Yeah, you're unconscious. Literally, that machine is doing all your breathing.

    25. JR

      (exhales) So what did they give you? What kind of medication did they give you while you were out? While- while you were down?

    26. MY

      I'm- I'm healthy, don't drink, don't do drugs. I was the perfect test subject.

    27. JR

      Maybe that's the problem. (laughs)

    28. MY

      (laughs)

    29. JR

      Your body's not used to fighting off bullshit.

    30. MY

      I know, right? (laughs) That's it.

  6. 31:211:12:11

    Long recovery and ‘not magically fine’: lingering lung fluid, weakness, and hospital realities

    1. MY

      drug and whatever else they were giving to me. But it was ... It's like I still have fluid in my lungs. They said it would take 12 weeks-

    2. JR

      Still?

    3. MY

      I... Yeah. Yeah. They said, and I-

    4. JR

      How many weeks have you been out now?

    5. MY

      Eight.

    6. JR

      Wow.

    7. MY

      And I'm so weak. Literally, I just, they just approved ... I am like ... They just approved me to start working out last week. So I did my first Lift Society class online and I could... Like, usually I could do, like, 10 to 15 pull-ups each set. I could do two.

    8. JR

      Two pull-ups?

    9. MY

      And I'm just weak. Like, I still get winded. Like when I talk a lot, I'll get winded and I'll just have to catch my breath.

    10. JR

      Wow, like a old man.

    11. MY

      I'm telling you.

    12. JR

      Wow.

    13. MY

      Like, it, for me, people win it real bad. It's just not, oh, you're over it and you can move on. You gotta build back into it. It's like rebuilding your body-

    14. JR

      Jesus.

    15. MY

      ... and your mind. You know?

    16. JR

      Did they, um, recommend anything as far as supplements or any- anything along those lines?

    17. MY

      No.

    18. JR

      No?

    19. MY

      Nothing. He, he says j- it's just rest.

    20. JR

      Well, he's basically done his job, right? He's like-

    21. MY

      Yeah.

    22. JR

      ... "Motherfucker, you're alive."

    23. MY

      (laughs)

    24. JR

      "Figure this shit out on your own."

    25. MY

      Right?

    26. JR

      "Go get strong."

    27. MY

      And literally, I was the first person there, and then by the time I left, eight days later, that place was filled with people. That's how fast it happened.

    28. JR

      Wow.

    29. MY

      That's how fast it happened. And I saw people, like, tapping out. You know, I didn't see it, but I saw, you know, the bodies (thumps chest) passed the line and I'm like, "Wow."

    30. JR

      How many people died while you were there?

  7. 33:3045:20

    Pandemic politics and social tension: masks, protests, racism, and polarization

    1. MY

      And it's a thing where I just want people to know, look, they're opening up the country. And I get it. I get the other side too. That's, that's why ... You know, I get that people gotta work. I g- people gotta get their lives back, you know? But you need to be safe. You need to be safe, because it's a thing like if, if President Trump, say, comes out and goes, "Hey, we're gonna do herd immunity." You know? You're prepared for that. But right now, we don't know what to expect. We've gone from 60,000 deaths, now they're saying it's gonna be 137,000. Like, what's going on? You know, we only know what they tell us.

    2. JR

      Mm-hmm.

    3. MY

      You know? But I'm finding out there's so much more stuff we don't know because they don't know.

    4. JR

      Right.

    5. MY

      Now you're finding out that kids, like a, a very small amount of kids, are getting it, you know?

    6. JR

      Yeah.

    7. MY

      And w- I don't understand the whole thing about just not being careful or safe, because it's not about you. It's about other people. Like, these f- like, the whole thing about, well, you know, a lot of Blacks and Hispanics are getting it. You know? Yeah, because they're working at all these essential jobs. They're at your grocery stores. They're, they're, they're doing the jobs that a lot of people don't do.

    8. JR

      Well, anybody that's in poverty-

    9. MY

      And, and, yeah.

    10. JR

      ... as well would ... Y- you're working those essential jobs, but on top of that, you're probably not eating well.

    11. MY

      Exactly.

    12. JR

      Yeah, that's a, that's a real problem.

    13. MY

      It goes hand in hand.

    14. JR

      Oh, yeah.

    15. MY

      You know? Like, their, their whole thing ... Like, if you can get a whole meal, two burgers and two fries and two Cokes for $3.99-

    16. JR

      Right.

    17. MY

      ... it's a problem with that food.

    18. JR

      Yeah.

    19. MY

      You know?

    20. JR

      Right, right. Good point.

    21. MY

      (laughs) Like, it's, it's making you sick.

    22. JR

      Yeah. Good point.

    23. MY

      You know? But that's all you can afford.

    24. JR

      Right.

    25. MY

      You know?

    26. JR

      Yeah, it is crazy that the cheapest food is the worst for you and the most fattening.

    27. MY

      But that's the one they, you go to-

    28. JR

      Yeah.

    29. MY

      ... because you can't afford anything else.

    30. JR

      Yeah, yeah. Yeah.

  8. 45:201:07:41

    Religion, taxes, and moral contradictions: faith as comfort vs. hard questions

    1. MY

      Two things on God and religion.

    2. JR

      Mm-hmm.

    3. MY

      I think religion is looking really bad right now. You know, if you believe, that's great. But it's looking really bad because you're contradicting yourself all over the place.

    4. JR

      Let me stop you right there.

    5. MY

      Uh-oh.

    6. JR

      This is the same as you saying white people. When you say religion is looking really bad, that's the same as saying white people look really bad. It's a giant generalization.

    7. MY

      You're true. Very true, and I take that back. Some religious people-

    8. JR

      Yes.

    9. MY

      ... are looking very bad right now.

    10. JR

      But do you know why? 'Cause they're scared.

    11. MY

      But how can you ... Look-

    12. JR

      How are they looking bad? In what way?

    13. MY

      Well, I'm saying, for instance ... God, I hate to make this political, 'cause I'm not that dude.

    14. JR

      (laughs)

    15. MY

      I stay away from it, but th-

    16. JR

      Too late.

    17. MY

      Too late. But Trump, for instance.

    18. JR

      Okay.

    19. MY

      Let's look at his a- let's look at his past. Let's look at ... There's proof of him lying pretty much every day. So for religious groups to support this man, you're contradicting your whole-

    20. JR

      Yeah, I think that falls into what we were talking about earlier, this, this political ideology that, like, he is with us. You know, he is against abortion. He is against certain things. But-

    21. MY

      So w-

    22. JR

      He's actually pro-gay. You know, Donald Trump is ... The, one of the, one of the weird things about Trump is, before he ran for president, he was universally liked. You know, it was the-

    23. MY

      Oh, rappers used to talk about him in their songs all the time.

    24. JR

      All the time. Well, he was always on talk shows and, you know, he would go on Letterman and shit. And he would even go o- on those talk shows and, like, talk shit about Rosie O'Donnell and people thought it was funny. And now it's h- horrendous. It's like the same things that he, uh, has always done, now when you're in a position of being the president, you're supposed to be a different person.

    25. MY

      But you don't feel there's a contradiction with churches right now?

    26. JR

      Oh, well, certainly with people that are ... Look, there's a lot-

    27. MY

      Some churches. Excuse me. Let me-

    28. JR

      Yeah.

    29. MY

      ... let me rephrase that. Some people at some churches.

    30. JR

      There's a lot of people that will support values that are contrary to what they supposedly believe in if that aids them politically, if it helps them. For ... L- look, there's a lot of churches that make a lot of money and then they don't pay taxes. That, to me, is one of the most offensive things about religion. The idea that Joel Osteen should have a giant arena and fly around in private jets and live in a castle, live in a mansions, or that ... What's that other guy, the fucking, the, the, uh ... COVID be gone!

  9. 1:07:411:57:20

    Motivation, discipline, and ‘comfort culture’: Goggins/Jocko and the value of struggle

    1. MY

      Well, I also think that even people like me, I, I'll hear inspiring people and you ... It kinda kick-starts you. It kicks you in the ass and say-

    2. JR

      Yeah.

    3. MY

      ... "Hey, you need to get it going." Like, I, I, I told you about David Goggins last time I was here.

    4. JR

      Yeah.

    5. MY

      I read his book and-

    6. JR

      Yeah.

    7. MY

      ... you know, posted shit on my mirror, you know, and trying to make strides to... But I think, I think we all need that. It's not just lazy people. Even people that are out there hustling-

    8. JR

      Oh, yes.

    9. MY

      ... sometimes you need that.

    10. JR

      Oh, I need it. I need it all the time.

    11. MY

      You know?

    12. JR

      Yeah. I'm, I'm very fortunate to know people like David or, uh, my friend Jocko, Jocko Willink, who's very similar as well. Like, he's got a video that he put up today. Um, go to, go to Jocko's Instagram, and he, he puts these up all the time. He gets up at 4:30 in the morning every day.

    13. MY

      It seems that's the time.

    14. JR

      He takes a picture of his watch. For him, it's the time. Um-

    15. MY

      David Goggins too. 4:30.

    16. JR

      Does he get up at 4:30 too?

    17. MY

      4:30 every morning, stretches for two hours and then he hits his run.

    18. JR

      He's an animal. But pre- play this. This is Jocko.

    19. NA

      It's so easy. So easy to put things off.

    20. JR

      Dripping with sweat.

    21. NA

      So easy to say you're gonna do it tomorrow. Well, I want you to reprogram your brain and tell yourself that tomorrow is not a viable option. Tomorrow doesn't work! You do it today! You get it done today! That's what you do! Have a good Monday, y'all. Go get some! Out.

    22. JR

      That's all you need. You need people-

    23. MY

      (sighs)

    24. JR

      ... like that in the world.

    25. MY

      I'm gonna follow this dude.

    26. JR

      You should follow that dude.

    27. MY

      Wait, wait, who is he?

    28. JR

      That's Jocko Willink.

    29. MY

      Yeah, man.

    30. JR

      He's a, a former Navy SEAL-

Episode duration: 3:03:05

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