Joe Rogan Experience #1514 - Joe De Sena

1. 0:00 – 15:00

   (singing) …

   1. JRJoe Rogan0:00

      (singing)

   2. JSJoe De Sena0:00

      Thanks for doing this.

   3. JRJoe Rogan0:01

      My pleasure. Hello, Joe.

   4. JSJoe De Sena0:02

      That's right. (laughs)

   5. JRJoe Rogan0:02

      How are you? We're rolling.

   6. JSJoe De Sena0:03

      Oh, we're rolling.

   7. JRJoe Rogan0:03

      What's going on, man?

   8. JSJoe De Sena0:04

      All right.

   9. JRJoe Rogan0:04

      Nice to meet you.

   10. JSJoe De Sena0:05

       Thanks for having me.

   11. JRJoe Rogan0:06

       So, uh, the kettlebell, you bring this fucking thing everywhere you go.

   12. JSJoe De Sena0:10

       I, I do.

   13. JRJoe Rogan0:10

       Literally everywhere?

   14. JSJoe De Sena0:10

       I, I, uh, lived overseas and I started at... You know why I started it? I had a, um, 696-pound guy come to the farm, uh, six years ago, and he wanted, he wanted help losing weight. And I, I helped him, uh, over 18 months get down to 265 pounds.

   15. JRJoe Rogan0:31

       Wow.

   16. JSJoe De Sena0:31

       And one of the methods I used to motivate him was I said, "As you lose weight, I'll carry weight." And e- eventually I was carrying a 100-pound sandbag. Fast forward, and, and we can get into it, I moved overseas with my family and I tried to carry that 100-pound sandbag 'cause I had made that commitment to him and they wouldn't let it through TSA. So when I landed in, in, uh, Asia, I asked my wife, I said, "Hey, could you order a 20-count po-" It's stupid that I'm carrying a sandbag. "Can you order a 20-pound kettlebell? I'll just carry a 20-pounder around so I'm not a complete fraud." And she confused pounds with, uh, ke- kilograms and I ended up with a, a 44-pounder and it just became my shtick, my thing. (laughs)

   17. JRJoe Rogan1:13

       (laughs)

   18. JSJoe De Sena1:13

       (laughs)

   19. JRJoe Rogan1:14

       So when you... You say you carry it everywhere, I mean, you go everywhere with it.

   20. JSJoe De Sena1:17

       I go everywhere with it. So on pande... During the pandemic, I haven't... Like I wouldn't carry it if we were going to a grocery store, but if, if I'm traveling to see you or I'm going anywhere in the world, kettlebell's coming with me. Vegas, anywhere.

   21. JRJoe Rogan1:27

       Do you take it as a carry on? Like how does-

   22. JSJoe De Sena1:29

       Depends on the country. Um, we operate in a lot of countries and, and every country treats it differently. So some US flights, they'll let me carry it on, which is strange. Uh, others, they, they ask me to check it.

   23. JRJoe Rogan1:40

       You know, they won't let you bring a pool cue on a plane?

   24. JSJoe De Sena1:43

       Yeah.

   25. JRJoe Rogan1:43

       'Cause they say it's like a weapon.

   26. JSJoe De Sena1:44

       Well, the stuff-

   27. JRJoe Rogan1:45

       How is that not like a weapon?

   28. JSJoe De Sena1:46

       Well, uh, my answer to them is, "You'd have to be pretty fucking strong." (laughs)

   29. JRJoe Rogan1:50

       You, you're pretty fucking strong.

   30. JSJoe De Sena1:51

       I'm not that strong. (laughs)
2. 15:00 – 30:00

   Yogi. Yo- Had monks…

   1. JRJoe Rogan15:00

      yoga?

   2. JSJoe De Sena15:00

      Yogi. Yo- Had monks in the living room. It was very embarrassing.

   3. JRJoe Rogan15:03

      (laughs)

   4. JSJoe De Sena15:04

      So, and the reason that happened was 'cause her mom died of cancer, and she walked into a health food store to kinda figure things out. This is like in the '70s. There's probably one health food store in New York at the time. There's no Yoga Journals, no Whole Foods.

   5. JRJoe Rogan15:18

      People don't even know what a health food store is now.

   6. JSJoe De Sena15:20

      That's right.

   7. JRJoe Rogan15:20

      You say, "Health food store," they look at you like, "What are you talk- Health food?"

   8. JSJoe De Sena15:23

      There was, there was incense burning. That's exactly right. So-

   9. JRJoe Rogan15:26

      Mm-hmm.

   10. JSJoe De Sena15:26

       ... she walks in, there happens to be an elderly yogi that just landed in JFK from India in the health food store. She strikes up a conversation with this yogi, changes her whole life, right? Comes home, throws away sausage, peppers, eggplant pots, all out of the house.

   11. JRJoe Rogan15:43

       Wow.

   12. JSJoe De Sena15:43

       Parents get divorced for obvious reasons. She's gonna go in a different direction. And I am trying my best for the next 10 years to have my friends not come over because I'm embarrassed, right? There's like Indian pictures on the wall, there's beads, there's chanting.

   13. JRJoe Rogan15:57

       (laughs)

   14. JSJoe De Sena15:57

       There's monks. And I wanna be a gangster. (laughs)

   15. JRJoe Rogan16:03

       (laughs)

   16. JSJoe De Sena16:03

       And so, um, yeah. So, so anyway, so she, maybe through just repetition would, would just instill this idea that, um, you gotta eat healthy.

   17. JRJoe Rogan16:14

       Mm-hmm.

   18. JSJoe De Sena16:14

       You know, you gotta get on raw foods and we're gonna go vegan. All the, all the things that are somewhat popular now. And, uh, you gotta do yoga and you gotta sweat every day. Cold showers way before Wim Hof. Like, she was into the cold showers.

   19. JRJoe Rogan16:25

       Really?

   20. JSJoe De Sena16:26

       Oh my God. This was like proper food combining. Um, uh, th- this idea of intermittent fasting. We were fast... My mom, my mom fasted for 30 days. Okay?

   21. JRJoe Rogan16:35

       Wow.

   22. JSJoe De Sena16:35

       This is back in the '70s. While meditating. So, so, um, so anyway-

   23. JRJoe Rogan16:40

       Wait, wait. What was that like? You were at home while she was doing this?

   24. JSJoe De Sena16:43

       Yeah, my grandfather, her, her father had to come to the house and rip her out of the room 'cause he thought she was gonna die. Like, she was getting thin.

   25. JRJoe Rogan16:51

       Oh my God.

   26. JSJoe De Sena16:51

       She's sitting mediating. She was pretty extreme. And, and, um, and so I had to balance these two things. Like, like... And so, yeah, I guess what I do now is, is, uh, a little tough guy, a little yoga.

   27. JRJoe Rogan17:04

       (laughs)

   28. JSJoe De Sena17:05

       I guess (laughs) I guess that's what it is.

   29. JRJoe Rogan17:08

       But this guy's diet-

   30. JSJoe De Sena17:09

       Yeah, so it came from my mom.
3. 30:00 – 45:00

   Yeah. …

   1. JRJoe Rogan30:00

      fucking man, you know? And, and they get fat. Like, Roberto Duran was famous for that, right? He'd get real fat in between fights and then he'd have to lose weight. And just, you know ... That, there's guys that don't, like Bernard Hopkins never, never gained weight and he was super disciplined and always ate really clean.

   2. JSJoe De Sena30:18

      Yeah.

   3. JRJoe Rogan30:18

      And was a elite athlete deep into his 40s. I mean, he was a world champion deep into his 40s-

   4. JSJoe De Sena30:23

      Yeah.

   5. JRJoe Rogan30:24

      ... which is very unusual for a boxer.

   6. JSJoe De Sena30:26

      And, and so my question is, is, um ... It makes sense why they go in and out and they don't, they don't maintain it, but then the very disciplined fighters would perform better, I would imagine, right? Because-

   7. JRJoe Rogan30:37

      Then, yeah, and for the most part, yeah.

   8. JSJoe De Sena30:40

      ... do you think, 'cause this is the way... I, I call it the Spartan paradox, right? You probably have a better name for it from all the years of fighting, but, like, if you have a date on the calendar... The Spartans knew they were going to battle.

   9. JRJoe Rogan30:51

      Mm-hmm.

   10. JSJoe De Sena30:51

       If you know you got a fight coming up, you'll do those pushups, those squats, right? And those crunches.

   11. JRJoe Rogan30:57

       Some guys will.

   12. JSJoe De Sena30:58

       But if you know you got a battle coming-

   13. JRJoe Rogan31:00

       Okay, I'll give you an example.

   14. JSJoe De Sena31:01

       Okay.

   15. JRJoe Rogan31:01

       Andy Ruiz.

   16. JSJoe De Sena31:02

       Okay.

   17. JRJoe Rogan31:02

       Andy Ruiz, he comes in last minute, knocks out Anthony Joshua, becomes the heavyweight champion of the world. First Mexican heavyweight champion of the world. He's a fucking hero. Gets fat as fuck, balloons up to 280. This is while training for the next fight, weighs in at 280, loses the rematch. Knew it was coming. Got rid of his trainer, had all sorts of fucking problems in camp, partied too much. Knew it was coming. Knew the day it was coming.

   18. JSJoe De Sena31:27

       What, what, wouldn't do the work?

   19. JRJoe Rogan31:28

       W- Wouldn't do the work. Just, just was living the lifestyle. Just got too wrapped up in the fact that he was the champ and too wrapped up in partying and next thing you know, he'd lost the title and now, you know, he- he's faced with this very difficult task of trying to get a fight for the title now, because he's a dangerous fighter still, but people... He's not really the draw that he could've been. If he had beat Joshua the second time, he's a superstar, you know? He's just... He's up there with Tyson Fury.

   20. JSJoe De Sena31:53

       He got cocky.

   21. JRJoe Rogan31:54

       He got... Well, whatever it was, man. He got lost in the lifestyle. The lifestyle gets a lot of these guys. You know, you're hanging out with a lot of, lot of, uh, your buddies that you came up with. You know, maybe you got a buddy who drives you around, maybe you got another buddy who does security and they like to party and there's girls and there's maybe a little bit of cocaine, a little bit of alcohol.

   22. JSJoe De Sena32:13

       Right.

   23. JRJoe Rogan32:14

       Next thing you know, you're fat again. You know, and this is, um, it's real common. It's real common.

   24. JSJoe De Sena32:19

       But would you say... At least I see it in our community is, um, for the most part, most people, if they know they got something hard coming, they'll wake up a little earlier.

   25. JRJoe Rogan32:29

       It's a good motivator, but some people cram for tests.

   26. JSJoe De Sena32:33

       Right.

   27. JRJoe Rogan32:33

       Right?

   28. JSJoe De Sena32:33

       Yeah.

   29. JRJoe Rogan32:33

       Some people push it... Like, if you tell someone they have a fight in three months, some people start drinking water right now and they start eating healthy right now and they, they write down a schedule, they start monitoring their heart rate, maybe they get a Whoop strap and start-

   30. JSJoe De Sena32:45

       Sure.
4. 45:00 – 1:00:00

   Right. …

   1. JRJoe Rogan45:00

      But I think that there's a lot of people that don't have any... There's no one, they're m- they're not modeling their life after someone that they see, that they admire, someone that's successful, someone that is doing something that they enjoy and love. Sometimes kids have to see that.

   2. JSJoe De Sena45:16

      Right.

   3. JRJoe Rogan45:16

      And if their parents are living a bullshit life and their f- neighbors are living a bullshit life and most of their family lives a bullshit life, th- they just fucking lay around, you know?

   4. JSJoe De Sena45:26

      Yeah.

   5. JRJoe Rogan45:26

      And then they, they seek refuge in drugs or video games or something that stimulates them. And video games are a real problem. They're a real problem. You know why? Because they're fucking fun.

   6. JSJoe De Sena45:37

      Addictive.

   7. JRJoe Rogan45:37

      And you don't... Yeah. Well, I'm, I have a real problem with them. And you, you, you do 'em and they're real exciting, but you don't get anywhere.

   8. JSJoe De Sena45:45

      Right.

   9. JRJoe Rogan45:45

      It's like you could do, like, like martial arts, right? You could learn jujitsu. You get obsessed by jujitsu. And then three years later, you're a, you're like an elite jujitsu athlete. Like, you're entering in competitions. You're a purple belt.

   10. JSJoe De Sena45:58

       You're moving up.

   11. JRJoe Rogan45:59

       Yeah, you're doing well.

   12. JSJoe De Sena46:00

       Right.

   13. JRJoe Rogan46:00

       You're thinking like, "I might be able to open my own school one day."

   14. JSJoe De Sena46:02

       You got confidence.

   15. JRJoe Rogan46:03

       "Yeah, if I have 100 students and those 100 students are paying me X amount of dollars per month, I can make a living. Holy shit, I could have a, this would be amazing." And then you see your jujitsu s- school and your jujitsu instructor has all these students and drives a Mercedes and he's got a nice family and like, that's the future, this way you're doing something exciting and fun and you don't... Or you could just be playing fucking video games. Three years later, you could be that same kid just playing video games, waiting for the next vix, whatever the fuck game is, uh, you know, next Xbox game to come out, and you're gonna waste your time.

   16. JSJoe De Sena46:35

       You, you have children.

   17. JRJoe Rogan46:37

       Yeah.

   18. JSJoe De Sena46:37

       I have, I have children. And, um, it's a big battle in the house.

   19. JRJoe Rogan46:40

       Yes.

   20. JSJoe De Sena46:41

       And, and my kids, I don't know if you're, you're going through this, but my kids are now saying, "Well, dad, this guy made all this money with his video game that he's a man."

   21. JRJoe Rogan46:49

       That's real too.

   22. JSJoe De Sena46:50

       Right?

   23. JRJoe Rogan46:50

       That's real too now.

   24. JSJoe De Sena46:51

       So, so, and like, that's one in a billion, kid. Like-

   25. JRJoe Rogan46:53

       I don't know if it's one in a billion, but you know, look, I heard the same argument about comedy. My, you know, my, my own parents were like, "Do you know how few people make it as a comedian?" I was like, "Okay. Does anybody make it? Somebody makes it, right? They, they figure out how to do it? They make a living?"

   26. JSJoe De Sena47:08

       Yeah.

   27. JRJoe Rogan47:08

       "I'm gonna do that. Just stop. Look-

   28. JSJoe De Sena47:10

       Yeah.

   29. JRJoe Rogan47:10

       ... I know what I'm doing." I was real lucky that my parents were not around very much, so I didn't get much advice. So I, I figured it out myself, so there was no one telling me I couldn't do it.

   30. JSJoe De Sena47:20

       Got it.
5. 1:00:00 – 1:08:34

   I love that sentence.…

   1. JRJoe Rogan1:00:00

      telling the body who the fucking boss is. Like, "No, no, no."

   2. JSJoe De Sena1:00:04

      I love that sentence.

   3. JRJoe Rogan1:00:05

      That's-

   4. JSJoe De Sena1:00:05

      That's great.

   5. JRJoe Rogan1:00:05

      ... what it is.

   6. JSJoe De Sena1:00:06

      Right. Right.

   7. JRJoe Rogan1:00:06

      You go like, "No, bitch." Your body's like, "We gotta, we gotta stop." "Fuck you."

   8. JSJoe De Sena1:00:10

      "We're doing this."

   9. JRJoe Rogan1:00:11

      "Fuck you."

   10. JSJoe De Sena1:00:12

       Yeah.

   11. JRJoe Rogan1:00:12

       You almost like have to have two people-

   12. JSJoe De Sena1:00:13

       Right.

   13. JRJoe Rogan1:00:13

       ... in your brain.

   14. JSJoe De Sena1:00:14

       Right.

   15. JRJoe Rogan1:00:14

       You have to have this general and you have to have a soldier.

   16. JSJoe De Sena1:00:17

       Right.

   17. JRJoe Rogan1:00:17

       And the general's like, "Listen, motherfucker."

   18. JSJoe De Sena1:00:19

       Right.

   19. JRJoe Rogan1:00:19

       "We know what we're doing here."

   20. JSJoe De Sena1:00:20

       Right.

   21. JRJoe Rogan1:00:20

       "We're gonna get this done. This is what we're doing today."

   22. JSJoe De Sena1:00:23

       Right.

   23. JRJoe Rogan1:00:23

       "You got a list of shit on that paper, it's gotta get done. It's 98 degrees outside and you're gonna do it out here in the sun. You got plenty of water, let's go."

   24. JSJoe De Sena1:00:32

       I agree with that. Um, CT, obviously-

   25. JRJoe Rogan1:00:34

       Yeah.

   26. JSJoe De Sena1:00:35

       ... people like that have, have that.

   27. JRJoe Rogan1:00:37

       Well, he's the one, we should tell everybody, he's the one who brought us together, CT Fletcher.

   28. JSJoe De Sena1:00:39

       He's a good man.

   29. JRJoe Rogan1:00:40

       He also broke your kettlebell. (laughs)

   30. JSJoe De Sena1:00:41

       He also broke my kettlebell today. We had a, uh-

Episode duration: 2:29:13