Joe Rogan Experience #1518 - David Choe

1. 0:00 – 15:00

   (laughs) Hello, David. (laughs)…

   1. JRJoe Rogan0:00

      (laughs) Hello, David. (laughs)

   2. DCDavid Choe0:05

      (laughs) .

   3. JRJoe Rogan0:05

      What's up, buddy?

   4. DCDavid Choe0:06

      If I leave right now, this will be the shortest-

   5. JRJoe Rogan0:08

      Yeah.

   6. DCDavid Choe0:08

      ... one you've ever done.

   7. JRJoe Rogan0:09

      Ever, ever now. You don't have to do this. I know you're worried you're gonna say some crazy shit, and, uh-

   8. DCDavid Choe0:15

      (laughs)

   9. JRJoe Rogan0:15

      ... you're going to torpedo your life. Now that you're a cult guru with strawberry blond hair. (laughs)

   10. DCDavid Choe0:21

       It's more, uh-

   11. JRJoe Rogan0:22

       Strawberry blond.

   12. DCDavid Choe0:23

       Well, I did, it's a home job. It's a-

   13. JRJoe Rogan0:25

       It's beautiful.

   14. DCDavid Choe0:25

       ... do it yourself, so it's more, um, my therapist would always say, "Lean into the discomfort, what you don't like." And I hate gingers, so I said-

   15. JRJoe Rogan0:33

       (laughs)

   16. DCDavid Choe0:33

       ... "Why don't I just become one?"

   17. JRJoe Rogan0:35

       I'm like, your therapist says lean into discomfort?

   18. DCDavid Choe0:39

       Yeah, if- if there's something that, like, I'm in a men's group also, and they said... And I told them, I said, "I'm gonna go back on the Joe Rogan Experience after four, five, six years." I don't know when the last time I was here.

   19. JRJoe Rogan0:51

       Probably five, right?

   20. DCDavid Choe0:53

       I don't know. It's been a while. And so they go, "Lean into the discomfort."

   21. JRJoe Rogan0:59

       Mm.

   22. DCDavid Choe1:00

       "Start with what you least wanna share."

   23. JRJoe Rogan1:02

       Mm.

   24. DCDavid Choe1:03

       And I go, this is me trying to-

   25. JRJoe Rogan1:05

       They don't know you that well. (laughs)

   26. DCDavid Choe1:08

       (laughs)

   27. JRJoe Rogan1:08

       That's fucking terrible advice for you. (laughs)

   28. DCDavid Choe1:12

       (laughs) So I sit there, I'm driving over here, and I go, "Okay, start with what I least wanna share." I pulled over on, uh, uh, Van Nuys Boulevard, and I puked.

   29. JRJoe Rogan1:21

       Really?

   30. DCDavid Choe1:21

       Yeah, I puked. I-
2. 15:00 – 30:00

   It's the killer of…

   1. DCDavid Choe15:00

      it'll live on for generations. And it's like, oh, it's, like, the Picasso and, and, uh, van Gogh and all the comedians that fucking hate their... It's, it wasn't a debate for me. When I look at the art that I enjoy, the comedy that I like, the music that I like, you must fucking suffer. You must suffer. You have to suffer. Uh, comfort is the, is the killer of creativity, that's what I used to say. And, you know, and I, and, you know, I'm saying it now. But, like, I'd be, like, in a room, like, ranting this, "Comfort is the killer of creat... You gotta fucking..."

   2. JRJoe Rogan15:35

      It's the killer of everything, man.

   3. DCDavid Choe15:37

      But I'm rich as fuck.

   4. JRJoe Rogan15:38

      Yeah.

   5. DCDavid Choe15:38

      I'm very comfortable. (laughs)

   6. JRJoe Rogan15:39

      But you're, you're comfortable financially, but that's how you keep sharp. You keep sharp by not being comfortable in other ways.

   7. DCDavid Choe15:45

      So I sit there and, and I'm going off on this rant, I'm, like, in a fucking echo chamber. They're like, "How long you been telling this story for?" "My whole life. I have beli-" It's not a debate for me.

   8. JRJoe Rogan15:53

      Right.

   9. DCDavid Choe15:54

      For, do you, do you know great artists that are comfortable and they're happy and they're, like, they have loving families and, and they're h-

   10. JRJoe Rogan16:01

       There's always something. There's always something.

   11. DCDavid Choe16:03

       Right.

   12. JRJoe Rogan16:03

       I think you can have a balance, but you have to have this thing.

   13. DCDavid Choe16:08

       Right.

   14. JRJoe Rogan16:08

       Whatever that thing is. There's gotta be some sort of a struggle.

   15. DCDavid Choe16:11

       And, and that was never a debate for me. I go, "There has to be that struggle." And they go, "But what if you take it away? Like, what if you chose happiness over great art? What if you chose..." (sighs) And they go, "Dave, for someone who's rebelled and, like, made your own rules and done everything your own way, it's so weird that you just kind of accept this." They go, "Can..." Like, what you just said, "Can great, transcendent, next level art be c- created without that thing, without that edge, without, with you pursuing joy and peace and love in your life?" And I go, "You know what? I've never tried it. I never tried it." "Well, why haven't you tried it?" "Fpsh." "What'd you just say?" "Fpsh." "I don't know." "F-E-P-S-H." "Fpsh." "Fear, ego, pride, shame, humiliation. That's why you never tried it." "Fpsh." "All right, fuck." (laughs)

   16. JRJoe Rogan17:04

       (laughs)

   17. DCDavid Choe17:05

       You know? And I go, "You know what? I'll try it." And I'm, I'm, today I'm the happiest I've ever been, you know? Like, uh, I, I think I might be a little bit sick 'cause I'm sitting here, 'cause I'm like, wh- (laughs) why, why would I risk how awesome my life is right now?

   18. JRJoe Rogan17:20

       But why do you keep saying that? Why, why do you think that you're gonna risk... You're, you're a fun guy to talk to. We're gonna have fun.

   19. DCDavid Choe17:27

       We, we're definitely-

   20. JRJoe Rogan17:27

       You, but you associate public speaking and podcasts with causing trouble because you were so... But people don't know, your podcast was legendary-

   21. DCDavid Choe17:37

       Jamie-

   22. JRJoe Rogan17:37

       ... for being so ridiculous.

   23. DCDavid Choe17:39

       Jamie, you're moving, you guys are moving to Texas, right?

   24. NANarrator17:41

       Yeah.

   25. DCDavid Choe17:42

       Will there be any vacation or break between-

   26. NANarrator17:45

       Yeah, we'll look small, but, like, you know.

   27. DCDavid Choe17:49

       I associate-

   28. JRJoe Rogan17:49

       Yeah.

   29. DCDavid Choe17:49

       ... I, I, I guess because m- I tell myself a story. I know a lot of podcasters, I know a lot of comedians, and they don't... Oh, okay, you know what? F- fuck that, forget, I'll s- I'll, I'll use I statements. I had a podcast and-... as-

   30. JRJoe Rogan18:09

       You're buck wild podcast-
3. 30:00 – 45:00

   I'm gonna... How many…

   1. JRJoe Rogan30:00

      I'm gonna... How many hours does it go for?

   2. DCDavid Choe30:03

      Three and a half hours.

   3. JRJoe Rogan30:04

      I still don't understand why you wouldn't have stopped after the first few seconds.

   4. DCDavid Choe30:07

      Because it was actually something ..........................

   5. JRJoe Rogan30:11

      Mm-hmm. That's a hell of a butt plug. Like, a water bottle, an eight-ounce... What is it? S- eight ounces?

   6. NANarrator30:17

      16.

   7. JRJoe Rogan30:18

      16, 16 ounces?

   8. DCDavid Choe30:19

      Mm-hmm, mm-hmm.

   9. JRJoe Rogan30:20

      Yeah, eight ounces, I mean, not that big a deal.

   10. DCDavid Choe30:21

       Mm-hmm, mm-hmm, mm-hmm.

   11. JRJoe Rogan30:23

       I get it.So the-

   12. DCDavid Choe30:25

       So you gotta ask her. (laughs)

   13. JRJoe Rogan30:25

       ... the language thing that you did, d- did you talk any English or just get in there and, like, the first podcast, just-

   14. DCDavid Choe30:32

       My, my goal was don't, don't try to... I, I want this to sound like complete gibberish.

   15. JRJoe Rogan30:38

       Right.

   16. DCDavid Choe30:39

       And-

   17. JRJoe Rogan30:39

       So from the moment you started, there was no, like, "Hello. Uh, I'm gonna try something right now."

   18. DCDavid Choe30:43

       (laughs) No, no, no, no.

   19. JRJoe Rogan30:45

       (mimics gibberish) You know who did that, man? It was real weird. Uh, McKenna used to do that. Terence McKenna used to, uh, he used to do it... I think he did it under the influence of psychedelics. He would talk in, like, these weird, uh, crazy fake words. What is that called? There's a, there's a term for it, not just speaking in tongues. Glossolalia?

   20. DCDavid Choe31:05

       Gibber- gibberish at it?

   21. NANarrator31:06

       That's what you got there?

   22. JRJoe Rogan31:06

       Oh, yeah.

   23. DCDavid Choe31:06

       Oh, uh, a scat?

   24. JRJoe Rogan31:07

       Glo- it's called glossolalia. Yeah. Oh, is this McKenna? Yeah, play this just so you can listen to some of this.

   25. NANarrator31:13

       Um, seems to be a, uh, lang- ... sometimes I'll define it. Sa-tetched. It's, it's language-like activities-

   26. DCDavid Choe31:23

       'Cause he talks about it.

   27. NANarrator31:24

       ... in the absence of meaning.

   28. JRJoe Rogan31:25

       Oh, he talks about it.

   29. NANarrator31:26

       And it's very interesting thing neurologically.

   30. JRJoe Rogan31:27

       Well, he- I've heard him do it in, there was a, a song. He did a thing with, uh-
4. 45:00 – 1:00:00

   Yeah. They're like- …

   1. JRJoe Rogan45:00

      it's Korean?

   2. DCDavid Choe45:01

      Yeah. They're like-

   3. JRJoe Rogan45:01

      Wow.

   4. DCDavid Choe45:01

      ... "You must be so proud of your people," like, "You, you did it, man."

   5. JRJoe Rogan45:04

      Let me ask you this. Is that racist-

   6. DCDavid Choe45:06

      Yeah.

   7. JRJoe Rogan45:07

      ... for them to do that?

   8. DCDavid Choe45:08

      (sighs)

   9. JRJoe Rogan45:09

      It seems a little racist. It's a racist congratulatory thing.

   10. DCDavid Choe45:13

       (laughs)

   11. JRJoe Rogan45:13

       Like your people...

   12. DCDavid Choe45:14

       Yeah, people-

   13. JRJoe Rogan45:14

       Like if somebody called me up and congratulated me for something Italians did, I'd be like, "What?"

   14. DCDavid Choe45:20

       Beautiful meatball.

   15. JRJoe Rogan45:20

       "Fuck is wrong with you?"

   16. DCDavid Choe45:21

       Beautiful meatball. (laughs)

   17. JRJoe Rogan45:23

       That... I don't even know that guy.

   18. DCDavid Choe45:25

       So that's what I'm saying. I'm in the car going, "I don't even fucking know that guy."

   19. JRJoe Rogan45:28

       (laughs) Is it all white people that are calling you congratulating you?

   20. DCDavid Choe45:30

       One, one Mexican guy-

   21. JRJoe Rogan45:32

       (laughs)

   22. DCDavid Choe45:32

       ... two, two white guys. It's three people.

   23. JRJoe Rogan45:34

       Okay.

   24. DCDavid Choe45:34

       Three people and it's... The news just hit.

   25. JRJoe Rogan45:37

       Oh, okay.

   26. DCDavid Choe45:37

       "First time in history non-American film wins," you know, it's a big deal.

   27. JRJoe Rogan45:42

       Yeah.

   28. DCDavid Choe45:42

       The Koreans are fucking r- like, going crazy in Koreatown. And, and then my mom, who's in another car, calls me and she's like, "Get that guy over to our house for dinner. I wanna cook for him."

   29. JRJoe Rogan45:53

       (laughs) That's awesome.

   30. DCDavid Choe45:54

       And I go, "Mom."
5. 1:00:00 – 1:11:35

   That's not soft. …

   1. DCDavid Choe1:00:00

      I'm trying to set up how soft I am.

   2. JRJoe Rogan1:00:01

      That's not soft.

   3. DCDavid Choe1:00:02

      I'm not hard. I don't have... I'm not on it.

   4. JRJoe Rogan1:00:05

      Okay.

   5. DCDavid Choe1:00:05

      I'm not on it.

   6. JRJoe Rogan1:00:05

      Listen, let me pause you for a second.

   7. DCDavid Choe1:00:06

      Okay.

   8. JRJoe Rogan1:00:07

      Let me he- help you out here. First of all, if you just sta- sat there and you weren't busy and you stared at your phone and let it ring three times, you'd be a fucking idiot.

   9. DCDavid Choe1:00:16

      (laughs) But people do that.

   10. JRJoe Rogan1:00:17

       But just if you... There's people who are idiots.

   11. DCDavid Choe1:00:18

       People do that.

   12. JRJoe Rogan1:00:18

       You should f- You should record them. Everyone should have like a secret video of your friend staring at their phone-

   13. DCDavid Choe1:00:23

       (laughs)

   14. JRJoe Rogan1:00:24

       ... deciding whether or not to talk to you or whether or not to let it ring three times.

   15. DCDavid Choe1:00:28

       You h- you see the phone ring and you pick it up right away?

   16. JRJoe Rogan1:00:30

       Yeah, if I can.

   17. DCDavid Choe1:00:31

       Y-

   18. JRJoe Rogan1:00:31

       If I can't talk to someone-

   19. DCDavid Choe1:00:31

       You don't do the... You don't do cool guy, like...

   20. JRJoe Rogan1:00:33

       No.

   21. DCDavid Choe1:00:34

       Let me, let me-

   22. JRJoe Rogan1:00:34

       I'm not cool guy.

   23. DCDavid Choe1:00:36

       (laughs)

   24. JRJoe Rogan1:00:36

       Someone calls me, I'm like, "What's up?"

   25. DCDavid Choe1:00:37

       Jamie, first ring? First ring?

   26. JRJoe Rogan1:00:38

       "I miss you." I tell my friends I miss 'em, I tell 'em I love 'em. I'm not cool guy. I answer the phone.

   27. DCDavid Choe1:00:42

       I'm not... I'm, I'm thirsty, desperate as fuck guy.

   28. JRJoe Rogan1:00:45

       Do not answer that motherfucker, you won't even think it rang.

   29. DCDavid Choe1:00:47

       (laughs)

   30. JRJoe Rogan1:00:47

       How about that?

Episode duration: 3:51:38