The Joe Rogan ExperienceJoe Rogan Experience #1505 - Hannibal Buress
EVERY SPOKEN WORD
150 min read · 30,037 words- 0:01 – 0:59
Thailand reunion: Chiang Mai run-in and Hannibal’s Muay Thai “reset”
- JRJoe Rogan
Hello, Hannibal.
- HBHannibal Buress
What's happening, man?
- JRJoe Rogan
Good to see you, my friend.
- HBHannibal Buress
Good to see you too.
- JRJoe Rogan
It's been a wh- Last time I saw you was in Thailand.
- HBHannibal Buress
It was in Thailand.
- JRJoe Rogan
Dude.
- HBHannibal Buress
Yeah.
- JRJoe Rogan
That was crazy.
- HBHannibal Buress
And that was...
- JRJoe Rogan
Two years ago?
- HBHannibal Buress
Two years. 2018, yeah.
- JRJoe Rogan
Yeah.
- HBHannibal Buress
Yeah.
- JRJoe Rogan
That was random.
- HBHannibal Buress
That was very random.
- JRJoe Rogan
(laughs)
- HBHannibal Buress
(laughs)
- JRJoe Rogan
That's so crazy, though.
- HBHannibal Buress
Yeah.
- JRJoe Rogan
I mean, we had dinner, hung out in Thailand. I was like, "This is wild."
- HBHannibal Buress
Yeah. Yeah, at the, uh, it was in Chiang Mai.
- JRJoe Rogan
Chiang Mai, yeah.
- HBHannibal Buress
Yeah, I was doing Muay Thai out there.
- JRJoe Rogan
Yeah, that's crazy. So you just decided, just up and decided, "I'm gonna go there by myself-"
- HBHannibal Buress
Yeah.
- JRJoe Rogan
"... for several months."
- HBHannibal Buress
Uh, just a month.
- JRJoe Rogan
Oh, you went for a month?
- HBHannibal Buress
Yeah.
- 0:59 – 4:45
Learning Muay Thai late: weak kicks, bowlegged mechanics, and training advice
- JRJoe Rogan
What was that, had you ever trained Muay Thai before then?
- HBHannibal Buress
No.
- JRJoe Rogan
What was it like first day?
- HBHannibal Buress
I mean, I took some classes. The first day, so I went in, in Bangkok first. I, I went to, like, a small class.
- JRJoe Rogan
That's the mother land.
- HBHannibal Buress
I just d- went to one, and then my camp was in Phuket.
- JRJoe Rogan
Oh.
- HBHannibal Buress
And so the, it was, all the, all the gyms are outside. So to warm up, I was drenched in sweat in, like, 10-minute warmup. I'm like, "Oh, this is, this is good." But it was, it was dope, man. It was just, it was, it was nice to, I stayed on the camp for a little bit, so it was, it was nice to just have that focus and live there and be there and, and just, uh, work out and, and, and lean into it. It was cool.
- JRJoe Rogan
How into it did you get? Did you ever, were you ever, like, hitting the pads going, "I think I should take a fight"?
- HBHannibal Buress
No, I didn't-
- JRJoe Rogan
No?
- HBHannibal Buress
... wanna take a fight. I, uh, but it was, it was some times where, uh, my, uh, my kicks, I'm bowlegged, so my kicks are weird. So, like, doing a roundhouse, I wouldn't be able to, so my elbows were, were decent, and my knees. And so some of the trainers, they called it, they started, uh, that was my nickname. It was Elbow. "Elbow, come over here. Elbow!"
- JRJoe Rogan
(laughs)
- HBHannibal Buress
But my kicks would be so weak. They would be so weak, it'd just, (slaps hands) like, hit the pad and it'd just have a pitiful sound.
- JRJoe Rogan
It's not a thing that comes easily, especially, you know, when you're in your 30s and you're just starting to train.
- HBHannibal Buress
Yeah.
- JRJoe Rogan
Like, Muay Thai is, there's, like, the, the, to move your legs like that and that kind of dexterity takes a while. It's a slow, gradual buildup.
- HBHannibal Buress
Yes, the, the hips have to be looser and hit.
- JRJoe Rogan
Mm-hmm.
- HBHannibal Buress
Yeah, it was just, but I'm also bowlegged, so certain yoga things that I can't do or even sitting Indian style.
- JRJoe Rogan
But you seem normal when you're walking around. How are you bow, 'cause I know some-
- HBHannibal Buress
Mm-hmm.
- JRJoe Rogan
... dudes that are really bowlegged.
- HBHannibal Buress
My walk is a little bit, it, it has a little bit to it. And s- and when I run, it gets really crazy. I don't look how I think I look in my head-
- JRJoe Rogan
(laughs)
- HBHannibal Buress
... while I'm walking. I think, like, the music in my head is... (singing) But my walk is kind of (singing) .
- JRJoe Rogan
(laughs)
- HBHannibal Buress
Like, my walk is way weird. I look at, on camera, "Who is that guy?"
- JRJoe Rogan
And what causes bowleggedness? Is it a anatomy thing? Is it just, like, your-
- HBHannibal Buress
I think it's an anatomy thing. Yeah, it's just, like-
- 4:45 – 11:30
Thai fight culture and the monarchy’s weird power: king videos, rules, and concubine drama
- HBHannibal Buress
Yeah. It was, uh, seeing the kids, I went to some of the fights out there and it's wild seeing the kids in the, in the undercard where you're seeing seven-year-olds-
- JRJoe Rogan
It's crazy, right?
- HBHannibal Buress
... fighting. And you're like, "This is wrong, but I gotta see the main event too," so I can't leave. (laughs)
- JRJoe Rogan
It's their culture. It, it is, it is ki- it feels wrong, but it's their culture.
- HBHannibal Buress
Yeah.
- JRJoe Rogan
And it's also how a lot of the families make money. I mean, they literally send their kid off to the camp.
- HBHannibal Buress
But I was alwa- I was trying to figure out, and so it's, it's part of the culture.
- JRJoe Rogan
Mm-hmm.
- HBHannibal Buress
It's national sport, but it doesn't seem, uh, you know, you have people, uh, it's, it's some, some fighters that are legends there that's the equivalent to Mike Tyson or something. And you could probably get a private with them for 400 bucks.
- JRJoe Rogan
Yup.
- HBHannibal Buress
So what's going on with the motto over there where it's been a national sport for a while, but it, it seems like-... the, the, the money isn't there? Is it corruption, or what happened?
- JRJoe Rogan
Well, first of all, it's very inexpensive to go to the fights. You know that.
- HBHannibal Buress
Yeah.
- JRJoe Rogan
E- everything's inexpensive in Thailand. And I mean, everybody's wearing flip-flops, right?
- HBHannibal Buress
Mm-hmm.
- JRJoe Rogan
It's an interesting place. Like, um, my friend, Jon Lien Par, went there when he was a boy. Uh, he was a young teenager and lived there. Lived as a monk, you know, he's a Australian multiple time world Muay Thai champion. And he, he spent like a good deal of his time growing up there and really embraced the culture. And he's like, they're just ... First of all, the cu- it's the land of smiles. Like everyone's-
- HBHannibal Buress
Right.
- JRJoe Rogan
... everyone's friendly. Like you, one of the things I noticed there, like people are g- genuinely very friendly. There's very little materialism there. People are, uh, generally happy with, like wearing a pair of shorts. It's never h- cold out, so you could wear shorts and flip-flops. And that's how everybody's walking around. And I don't think there's a lot of money in the business.
- HBHannibal Buress
Yeah.
- JRJoe Rogan
You know? I think there's enough-
- HBHannibal Buress
The king takes it.
- JRJoe Rogan
The king takes it. King takes a lot ... We, remember we took, we took a picture in front of the king.
- HBHannibal Buress
We did.
- JRJoe Rogan
We took a picture in front of ... I was like, "I don't know if we should post this." Like you and me-
- HBHannibal Buress
Yeah.
- JRJoe Rogan
... p- smiling in front of a picture of the king. Like you might get in trouble for that. There's weird rules over there for the king.
- HBHannibal Buress
The king, I, I actually had a, a bit about him. I cut it not 'cause I was scared, but just 'cause it didn't, it didn't fit. But it's about how he, you know, you have to stand up, uh, during the national anth- ... And they play it at certain times during the day and they play it before the movies. So I went to the movies out there to see Ant-Man 2 and after the previews, the king of Thailand's hype video comes on and everybody has to stand up.
- JRJoe Rogan
In the movie theater?
- HBHannibal Buress
In the movie theater. But it was the worst produced-
- JRJoe Rogan
(laughs)
- 11:30 – 16:29
From Muay Thai to Lethwei: the “too intense” combat sport rabbit hole
- JRJoe Rogan
Myanmar. I wanna go see, uh, have you ever seen, um, Lethwei? Do you know what that is?
- HBHannibal Buress
No.
- JRJoe Rogan
That's like, if you think muay Thai boxing is extreme-
- HBHannibal Buress
Mm-hmm.
- JRJoe Rogan
... they take it another level. Lethwei, they use headbutts and they, they kick you when you're down. They do all kinds of crazy shit.
- HBHannibal Buress
... yeah, nah.
- JRJoe Rogan
No?
- HBHannibal Buress
Yeah, I don't wanna kick, kicked while down. It's, it's, it's, it looks, it's too intense. It's, it's too-
- JRJoe Rogan
It's in Te... We had, uh, David Leduc, who's the, uh, the King of Lethwei. He came on the podcast. He's a w- wild man. He's a wild man.
- HBHannibal Buress
Yeah. I, I think about-
- JRJoe Rogan
Oh, they're bare knuckle, too.
- HBHannibal Buress
Mm. Yeah.
- JRJoe Rogan
(laughs) There it is.
- HBHannibal Buress
Nope, I just want some cardio, you know?
- JRJoe Rogan
This is Lethwei. Look at this.
- HBHannibal Buress
That's-
- JRJoe Rogan
This is how they, they fight.
- HBHannibal Buress
Okay. Wow.
- JRJoe Rogan
Bare knuckles. They just ... It's basically like Muay Thai, but way ha- way more hardcore. Like, see that? You can knee a dude on the, when he's on his way down. It's just, it's way more hardcore. It's like one more level of hardcore. And headbutts. A lot of headbutts.
- HBHannibal Buress
(laughs)
- JRJoe Rogan
Yeah. But they basically use all the techniques of Muay Thai but they just take it to a totally different level.
- HBHannibal Buress
This, the second time I went, when I went to, um, Koh Samui, uh, in, uh, last year. And, uh, this girl I was seeing, she ... We, we go to a couple classes and I didn't know she had done Muay Thai before. (laughs) So when we were ... We had a private ... And she was lighting the bag up with the kicks. (laughs) She-
- JRJoe Rogan
Oh, no.
- HBHannibal Buress
Bow, bow, bow. And I was like, "Oh." And then I get up there with my bowlegged kicks.
- JRJoe Rogan
(laughs)
- HBHannibal Buress
(laughs) Bip. (laughs)
- JRJoe Rogan
Oh, no.
- HBHannibal Buress
Then the trainer's like, "Come on, you can do better. Look at ..." (laughs)
- JRJoe Rogan
Oh, no.
- HBHannibal Buress
She light it ... Bow, bow. And I'm like, "Let's not do kicks and knees."
- 16:29 – 21:21
Quarantine life and risk anxiety: rooftop jam session + mushroom paranoia spiral
- HBHannibal Buress
I might ... So COVID and just kinda being cooped up, it really made me think about how you ... The places that I've lived and what, what was keeping me from living elsewhere and, and moving, um, internationally. Is it 'cause, oh, you need to be here for work. Uh, uh, uh some ... You have to be-
- JRJoe Rogan
Right.
- HBHannibal Buress
... you know, within a couple hours of these places to either tour or film. But now touring's super weird. Um-
- JRJoe Rogan
Are you doing any touring at all?
- HBHannibal Buress
Uh, no.
- JRJoe Rogan
When was the last time you did standup?
- HBHannibal Buress
Beginning of March.
- JRJoe Rogan
Me too. Until I did-
- HBHannibal Buress
The beginning of March in Denver.
- JRJoe Rogan
Two weeks ago I did Houston.
- HBHannibal Buress
How was that?
- JRJoe Rogan
Weird.
- HBHannibal Buress
Yeah?
- JRJoe Rogan
Weir- ... First show was weird. Second show was normal. Second show was a show. First show was like, "I can't believe I'm gonna do standup again."
- HBHannibal Buress
Yeah.
- JRJoe Rogan
Do you know Moses, Brian Moses?
- HBHannibal Buress
Yeah.
- JRJoe Rogan
Roast Battle? Me, Moses, and Tony Hinchcliffe, we went to the Houston Improv. It was awesome. We had a good time. It was really fun, man. It was like the old days but I got weirded out and I was like, "Man, I don't wanna catch this shit." Like, "Is this worth it?" Like, "Why am I ... What am I doing?" And then Houston, while we were there, they got this thing that they're moving back to stage one. So they're-
- HBHannibal Buress
Mm-hmm.
- JRJoe Rogan
They're going back. So they're shutting all the bars down. Restaurants are down to 50% capacity.And I was like, "Look," you know, "we're not in the crowd. The- the stage at the Hou- " You been to Houston Improv?
- HBHannibal Buress
Uh, has it moved in years? I- it's been s- I haven't been in seven-
- JRJoe Rogan
It's my first time ever.
- HBHannibal Buress
Okay.
- JRJoe Rogan
It's nice.
- HBHannibal Buress
Yeah.
- JRJoe Rogan
It's a nice place. And it's got a high stage, so you're above everybody. It's not like they're spitting in your face. You're above them. Everyone was wearing masks. So I was like, "This is probably safe," but (sighs) afterwards, you know, it's just odd. It was just odd, and I was like, "I don't wanna- I don't wanna get sick," and most importantly, "I don't wanna get anyone sick."
- HBHannibal Buress
Right.
- JRJoe Rogan
So I was like, you know, my m- my wife's mom lives down the street from us, and I don't... You know what I mean? It's like-
- HBHannibal Buress
Yeah.
- JRJoe Rogan
... "What if I get a guest sick?"
- 21:21 – 34:40
COVID’s unpredictability and the urge to escape: Hannibal’s Ghana plan
- JRJoe Rogan
And we were just ... Uh, uh, Jamie and I were just reading this story about, uh, was it from the UK?
- JVJamie Vernon
Uh, y- ... I will check on it.
- JRJoe Rogan
Uh, uh ... I think it was The Mirror. Um, all these people that they're finding that have very minimal symptoms, but then they have this brain disease.
- HBHannibal Buress
Damn.
- JRJoe Rogan
Yeah. Like some inflammation of the brain, and, uh, some of 'em, uh, had to be on anti-psychosis medicine. One, one lady, what did she say, lions in her fucking house?
- JVJamie Vernon
Mm-hmm.
- JRJoe Rogan
Yeah, a new study that potentially warned, uh, that warned that potentially deadly brain disorders may be a symptom of COVID-19 even in people with otherwise mild disease. The research, published today by the journal Brain, looked at 40 adult patients with COVID-19 in the UK, finding that they showed symptoms of a wide range of serious brain diseases. Many of the patients had only mild, typical COVID-19 symptoms such as fever or respiratory issues, and for some, their neurological symptoms were the only sign that they were sick. One 55-year-old woman with no known current or historical mental illness was, uh, uh, admitted to a hospital with recognized COVID-19 symptoms, including fever, cough, and muscle aches. She was discharged after two weeks having been treated with oxygen, but four days later, her husband reported she was confused and behaving strangely. She then experienced hallucinations, reporting that lions and monkeys ... She was seeing lions and monkeys in her house, and became delusional and aggressive with her family and hospital staff. She was treated with anti-psychotic medication, and her symptoms improved over the course of three weeks, although the study did not c- does not confirm whether she made a full recovery. What?
- HBHannibal Buress
Yeah, that's pretty bonkers right there.
- JRJoe Rogan
This fucking disease is bonkers, because for some people it ain't shit.
- HBHannibal Buress
Right. It's-
- JRJoe Rogan
I know some people that were asymptomatic, they went through the whole thing with nothing. They, they, they had like ... They tested positive, they didn't feel it. They t- they, they chilled, they just quarantined for two weeks. They got retested, they don't have it anymore. They never felt anything. And then I know other people that, months later, they can't go up flights of stairs, they're exhausted all the time, they ke- they got no motivation. Their just everything feels ... Just the world's like, they got a weight vest on everywhere they go.
- HBHannibal Buress
Oh, man. Yeah, it's, uh, it's a f-
- JRJoe Rogan
Fuck this disease.
- HBHannibal Buress
It's, it's, uh, it's flipped everything upside down, man. Uh, that's why ... So I've been thinking about-
- JRJoe Rogan
Where you going?
- HBHannibal Buress
Uh, thinking about going to Ghana for a couple months. (laughs)
- JVJamie Vernon
I'll it.
- HBHannibal Buress
(laughs) You're not gonna put it on?
- JRJoe Rogan
(laughs)
- HBHannibal Buress
I'm setting you up.
- JRJoe Rogan
Show me the outfit. Come on, man.
- HBHannibal Buress
This is ... You know, this ... I actually, I got this in, uh-
- JRJoe Rogan
(laughs)
- HBHannibal Buress
I got this in, uh, in, uh ... You know, I don't get to go nowhere, so you, you, you know, it's ... You put on something fly every now and then. Actually, and don't, don't show this part. Don't show that part. Make sure you don't catch that in the camera.
- JRJoe Rogan
Uh. (laughs)
- HBHannibal Buress
Uh, (laughs) but this is a ... Where did I ... This is from, uh, Singapore. A random jacket I got over the holiday. I've been thinking about going to Ghana, just 'cause I, I took a, a, African ancestry test. Apparently I'm Ghanaian on my father's side. And I think America is gonna be ... It's very annoying now, and it's gonna be pretty annoying in November. So, if I can get out of here October, uh, at least for two, three months, just as an exploratory trip and get a different perspective to, to live from, write from, work from, and just a whole different zone for a bit and really dive in out there, I think now is the, is the time to-
- JRJoe Rogan
Fuck, yeah.
- HBHannibal Buress
... just shift it. And, and to see-
- JRJoe Rogan
I love the idea. I love it, especially now, right? You just released a special. It's available free on YouTube right now.
- HBHannibal Buress
Yeah.
- 34:40 – 53:21
Low-stakes escapism: Floor Is Lava, MarbleLympics, and why execution matters
- HBHannibal Buress
Yeah. You know what I've been doing just to turn my brain off? Uh, putting on that show The Floor is Lava on Netflix, and just-
- JRJoe Rogan
Yes.
- HBHannibal Buress
... Sound Off, put music on. Sometimes I put, like, the Super Mario theme-
- JRJoe Rogan
(clears throat)
- HBHannibal Buress
... in it, and it- and it lines up, and I'll play the death music when they fall into something just to just... It's just good to zone out for (clicks tongue) a half hour or a- a hour and just look at something that is not intense at all, just low-
- JRJoe Rogan
It's nonsense.
- HBHannibal Buress
Low stakes, chill-
- JRJoe Rogan
(laughs)
- HBHannibal Buress
... entertainment, just escape a little bit, like, watch people try not to fall in the lava.
- JRJoe Rogan
Yeah, my friend Rutledge, Rutledge w-... He's the host of that. He's a car guy.
- HBHannibal Buress
Yeah.
- JRJoe Rogan
Shout-out to Rutledge. Yeah, uh, my kids love that show.
- HBHannibal Buress
Yeah.
- JRJoe Rogan
D-
- HBHannibal Buress
Sound Off is a good Sound Off show.
- JRJoe Rogan
Yeah. Just red water.
- HBHannibal Buress
Yeah. Just red... You get it. You don't need to hear anything they say.
- JRJoe Rogan
(laughs)
- HBHannibal Buress
I don't care about your backstory. Oh, you're all doctors? Well, then, I s-... Okay, I get it. Don't wanna... And I don't what nobody sound like. Play some tunes-
- JRJoe Rogan
(laughs)
- HBHannibal Buress
... and watch Floor is Lava.
- JRJoe Rogan
Just zone.
- HBHannibal Buress
And just let it be a... Yeah, meditation. It's great.
- JRJoe Rogan
Yeah, there's, like, those are the kinda things that are very- they're very popular at times like this. Like, we want cartoons almost. We want s- things that are silly, no stakes.
- HBHannibal Buress
Y- 'cause you can... It's so much...There's so much news, and every area has so much news right now. So if you want it, you can get it right now, 'cause every state has its own individual corona situation, so you can kinda get lost in the... I'm getting, you know, lost in the California and Illinois, 'cause that's where I am, where my family is, but then there's everywhere else. And oh, and then you kind of feel, "Oh, yeah, Atlanta's been open for a while. They're shooting stuff in Atlanta. They've been shooting and filming for a month. Oh, what's going on here? What the fuck going on there?" So it's just if you... I was able to do it earlier at- at- at- and- and kinda, oh, shut off and- and get off of socials at one point, and then things got more intense, the George Floyd thing, and- and then I got back in the news again, like, really looking at stuff. And- and, uh, and yeah, I- I- I need a- I need a cleanse.
- JRJoe Rogan
I don't think people are supposed to take in the news of the whole world. I think it's very bad for you.
- HBHannibal Buress
Yeah.
- JRJoe Rogan
I think 'cause most of the news you're gonna get is the news of things that are dangerous.
- HBHannibal Buress
Yeah.
- JRJoe Rogan
So you're getting things that are dangerous all over the world, so it gives you a distorted perception of the current danger around you. You think-
- 53:21 – 1:17:12
Gaming, apps, and quarantine addictions: Roblox, GTA comedy clubs, and NBA 2K obsession
- JRJoe Rogan
I wish it was easier to make an app. I've looked into having apps made. It's fucking complicated. You ever made an app or had an app made?
- HBHannibal Buress
No, I haven't. I haven't had one made. I-
- JRJoe Rogan
It's complicated.
- HBHannibal Buress
Uh, yeah, you gotta ... I mean, I guess you get a- you gotta get some people. I'm thinking about having a game made.
- JRJoe Rogan
Really?
- HBHannibal Buress
Yeah.
- JRJoe Rogan
What kind?
- HBHannibal Buress
Just, uh, on Roblox.
- JRJoe Rogan
Oh, no. My kids are addicted to that fucking game.
- HBHannibal Buress
Just a game made based on the comedy special Loosely.
- JRJoe Rogan
Oh.
- HBHannibal Buress
Just-
- JRJoe Rogan
Like all the subjects that you talk about in the comedy special?
- HBHannibal Buress
I'm not sure about all, but maybe finding one angle of it and then stretching that out into a game.
- JRJoe Rogan
Like the arrest story?
- HBHannibal Buress
The arrest story maybe, yeah. Something like that.
- JRJoe Rogan
(laughs)
- HBHannibal Buress
And then- and having it be in a game.
- JRJoe Rogan
That could work. Uh, Jamie told me that, uh, it was Grand Theft Auto. They have, like, places you can go, like, you can watch a comedy show, right?
- G2Guest 2
... wasn't that?
- G3Guest 3
Yeah, I'd, for sure, yeah. Uh, I don't, (clears throat) I haven't played it since they've expanded it in the last like two years, 'cause that game came like 10 years ago now.
- G2Guest 2
Yeah.
- G3Guest 3
Which is pretty crazy, right?
- G2Guest 2
No, the, the one in New York, they had the, the, that Laugh Factory, that was in Times Square, was on the game. And Katt Williams was on there, and I think Patrice- And you could just go in there and watch them do stand-up?
- G3Guest 3
... was in the comedy club. Or he, or Patrice was on the radio, but Patrice was definitely on there. Yeah, you could just go in there, yeah, and, and, and watch them perform. I think J.B. Smoove was on the radio, too. Grand Theft Auto is, uh, yeah, that's how-
- G2Guest 2
Look at this.
- G3Guest 3
Yeah, it's Katt, yeah. They animated him and everything.
- G2Guest 2
That is crazy. That is crazy. Look at this.
- HBHannibal Buress
Every day I'm hustling...
- G2Guest 2
(laughs) That's him.
Episode duration: 2:34:34
Install uListen for AI-powered chat & search across the full episode — Get Full Transcript
Transcript of episode amyaoTtZaRE