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The Joe Rogan ExperienceThe Joe Rogan Experience

Joe Rogan Experience #1524 - Ron Funches

Ron Funches is a comedian, actor and writer. His podcast "Gettin' Better" is available on Apple Podcasts & Spotify. On September 5 , his live stand up event "Awakening" will be streaming on YouTube and tickets are now available here: eventbrite.com/e/ron-funches-awakening-tickets-113410704470 @ronfunc1

Joe RoganhostRon FunchesguestGuest (third voice, likely Jamie reading/providing info)guest
Aug 13, 20202h 12mWatch on YouTube ↗

EVERY SPOKEN WORD

  1. 0:00 – 15:00

    Hello, Ron. …

    1. JR

      Hello, Ron.

    2. RF

      Hello, Joe.

    3. JR

      How are you?

    4. RF

      I'm good, man.

    5. JR

      You are good. You got double water bottles.

    6. RF

      One water, one protein shake.

    7. JR

      Oh.

    8. RF

      Mm-hmm.

    9. JR

      You're not fucking around.

    10. RF

      No. And new... You know, last time I wasn't aware how long I would be here.

    11. JR

      Ah.

    12. RF

      Now I'm prepared, I'ma settle in. I'm not gonna be hungry. My wife got me all set up.

    13. JR

      Nice.

    14. RF

      Water, protein shake. We're all good.

    15. JR

      Make sure that your blood sugar doesn't drop.

    16. RF

      Mm-hmm.

    17. JR

      Maintain energy levels.

    18. RF

      Mm-hmm.

    19. JR

      You are, uh, a man who has done one of the most difficult things a person could do. You lost a ton of weight.

    20. RF

      Yeah, and then maintain, keeping it off.

    21. JR

      Yes.

    22. RF

      That's the harder.

    23. JR

      Right, that's the hard part.

    24. RF

      Yeah.

    25. JR

      Yeah. The momentum of losing the weight is f- good but most people, they get to a point and they wanna take a break.

    26. RF

      Mm-hmm.

    27. JR

      And then once they take a break, then it all slides.

    28. RF

      Yeah. It's a bit of both. Sometimes I wanna take a break, but then I wanna get to that next level.

    29. JR

      Mm-hmm.

    30. RF

      So then-

  2. 15:00 – 30:00

    Yeah. Um, you have…

    1. RF

      where I was like, "Okay, I'm gonna have to just..." 'Cause before I was like, "Oh, no Zoom shows, nothing like that. I don't like how it's fucking with my rhythm. I don't like how I'm not getting feedback." Um, but after that I was like, "You know, I just kinda have to adapt and go with the flow and hope things change and know that things change in time no matter what. But if this is how it is, I gotta stop fighting it and start just, like, you know, finding my lane in it." So, uh, you know, I'm just trying to do that now.

    2. JR

      Yeah. Um, you have a podcast luckily.

    3. RF

      Mm-hmm.

    4. JR

      I felt bad for dudes who didn't.

    5. RF

      Yes.

    6. JR

      For the folks, the guys and the gals that didn't have podcasts, I was like, "Ooh," like, you got no way to keep in touch with people.

    7. RF

      Yeah. It, I mean, and that was exactly the reason why I started my podcast 'cause I was like, "Oh, I'm like, everything I'm doing is a guest in other people's shit."

    8. JR

      Mm-hmm.

    9. RF

      Like, "I'm, I'm a guest in everyone else's home and I don't have a home for people to come hang out with me."

    10. JR

      Mm-hmm. Yeah.

    11. RF

      And so, I was, been thinking that for a long time and that's the reason why I started my podcast. And when all this stuff happened, I was like, I was very happy, um, because I've always been of two minds when it comes to comedy. I love specialists. I love people who are just like, "I do standup, straight standup. I'm gonna be the best fucking standup in the world." Like, I love being that competitive, but I also have this part of me that's just like, "I love new challenges of all types." And so I got into voice acting, regular acting, all that stuff. And when this thing came down I was like, "Oh, fuck. Actually, you know, just like in business, it is good to diversify."

    12. JR

      (laughs)

    13. RF

      Because voice acting is saving my-

    14. JR

      Yeah.

    15. RF

      ... fucking life right now.

    16. JR

      Mm. Yeah. Yeah, yeah. You, as a person in show business, you must have as many forms of revenue as you can. You really ha- and you have to save for a rainy day. You have to do those two things. And I've been real lucky that I have weird taste. I'm into weird shit, so I have, you know, cage fighting commentary.

    17. RF

      Mm-hmm.

    18. JR

      And then I also have the podcast and I also have this standup thing, which is just on hold indefinitely, you know? You could do it right now. I mean, uh, have you thought about doing one of those, uh, drive-in movie shows?

    19. RF

      I talked to my Bert about it. He made it sound interesting.

    20. JR

      He loves it.

    21. RF

      Yeah.

    22. JR

      He loves it.

    23. RF

      He, the way he sells it-

    24. JR

      Yeah.

    25. RF

      ... made it sound fun. Uh, but, but-

    26. JR

      You gotta realize he's drunk though.

    27. RF

      Yeah. D- I do, and I realize it's a thing. (laughs)

    28. JR

      (laughs)

    29. RF

      I do realize that.

    30. JR

      (laughs)

  3. 30:00 – 45:00

    Yeah, a bit. Yeah.…

    1. JR

      Do you, do you take CBD at all?

    2. RF

      Yeah, a bit. Yeah. I'ma get my, get some to my wife whenever her back is hurting.

    3. JR

      That's one of my daily things, which is a thing that's so good for you. CBD is so good for you. Just anything you can do to reduce inflammation.

    4. RF

      Mm-hmm.

    5. JR

      It's fantastic for the body, for the brain. I didn't even know I had anxiety till I started taking CBD.

    6. RF

      (laughs) I'm telling you.

    7. JR

      How do you know?

    8. RF

      Well, maybe you didn't. (laughs)

    9. JR

      Well, it's relative.

    10. RF

      (laughs)

    11. JR

      I mean, I didn't have anxiety compared to people who have anxiety.

    12. RF

      (laughs)

    13. JR

      But, uh, I took CBD, I was like, "Man, I feel really relaxed." And I was like, "Oh, okay. I see what's going on."

    14. RF

      Yeah. No, I like a good CBD. I'll just smoke just a straight CBD sometimes.

    15. JR

      Oh, yeah?

    16. RF

      After a workout or something.

    17. JR

      Yeah. I always say, "I'm gonna do that," and then I grab a regular joint.

    18. RF

      Yeah. Well, sometimes I'll mix them up too.

    19. JR

      Do you ever smoke weed and then work out?

    20. RF

      Uh, y- yeah. My trainer hates that, but yeah. (laughs)

    21. JR

      (laughs) Why does your trainer hate that?

    22. RF

      He's always like, "I can always tell when you high, when you smoking weed." He's Dutch, so-

    23. JR

      Ah.

    24. RF

      ... that's how he talks to me.

    25. JR

      Yeah. I, I, I had a Dutch kickboxing trainer for a while.

    26. RF

      They have a different way of talking.

    27. JR

      Yeah.

    28. RF

      The Dutch way.

    29. JR

      Yeah.

    30. RF

      Yeah.

  4. 45:00 – 1:00:00

    (laughs) …

    1. RF

      I know she was scared shitless about that 10%.

    2. JR

      (laughs)

    3. RF

      A guaranteed season.

    4. JR

      Yeah.

    5. RF

      And she was like, "No, this isn't..." She's like, "This will..." She's like, "You've already done parts like this three or four times. You, you, you can do this. This will be there for you. We're shooting for bigger things for you." And just, like, her belief in me and, and drive for me have always been there. Like, I never ever feel like she's ever sold me short so that she can get a check. Ever.

    6. JR

      That's huge. That's huge. It's rare.

    7. RF

      Yeah.

    8. JR

      You don't get-

    9. RF

      I do, I do know that.

    10. JR

      I have many friends that have really bad managers that give them terrible advice, that take projects that are just short-term financial gain for... At the sacrifice of long-term career options.

    11. RF

      Mm-hmm. Oh, my manager, if she sees the word exclusive in any contract, (laughs) she's just like, "We ain't fucking with them." (laughs)

    12. JR

      (laughs)

    13. RF

      "You are not exclusive to anybody. You are dating around." (laughs)

    14. JR

      (laughs) That's great. That's, that's a great attitude, man. That's what's interesting about today's climate. It's like, you don't get a lot of real managers anymore.

    15. RF

      Mm-hmm.

    16. JR

      You almost get... Y- you almost have, like, comics who have two agents. You have your agent-agent, and then you have your manager who's kinda acting as an agent instead of acting as a manager, because they're all desperado. Or, maybe they don't really have faith in you so they just want that money.

    17. RF

      Mm-hmm.

    18. JR

      They, they, they don't really think that you're going to be that person who has a, a long career or that you could keep accelerating and-

    19. RF

      They don't believe in the development.

    20. JR

      Yes. Yeah.

    21. RF

      Yeah. I feel like, yeah, m- my manager's always been the... Uh, she's always kinda seen me two years ahead of where I've been at. Like, I'm, I'm... I have that story about recently, but I remember when I first was in Portland and there's this commercial that reached out to me and they wanted me to play a roach in a fucking bug spray commercial. And I was broke as fuck, and she was just like, "No." She's like, "Because we don't know what you're gonna be in the next couple of years, and that commercial could be around forever."

    22. JR

      Smart woman.

    23. RF

      "And so if you need the money that bad, I'd rather just give you the money." (laughs)

    24. JR

      (laughs) Wow. Good for her, man.

    25. RF

      Yeah, she's dope. And I have many friends who, like, they just are tremendous, tremendous comedians, tremendous joke writers. One friend who's, uh, comes to mind immediately, and I've always told him, I was like, "You need to... You need to dump your manager and get a better manager because you're doing... You're doing your part, and I don't see why you're not getting more money, you're not getting more chances, you're not advancing at things, they're not putting you on these talking head shows."

    26. JR

      Mm-hmm.

    27. RF

      "Like, you're doing your part, and, and I don't..." Your fucking... Like, you know, he opened for me once, and I was like, "Dude, you're fucking... You're crushing me, and I'm the one getting the bigger check. Like, what the fuck is that?"

    28. JR

      Mm-hmm.

    29. RF

      "Like, get your, get your business in order." And I've always... Um, I think that from having a kid, I've always been very much into the art and very much into the business.

    30. JR

      Yeah, it's just... It's hard for people to find someone like your manager that, that is dedicated. I got real lucky. I found mine when I was an open mic-er.

  5. 1:00:00 – 1:08:24

    Wow. It's not the…

    1. RF

      normally and just been chill and been talking and doing all the things pretty normally. And then we got him the vaccine, and me and my ex-wife, and we just remember he just kinda, like, was out of it. And we even... 'Cause me and my ex-wife are big potheads. We were both like, "Oh, he's... Look how stoned he looks. Look how fucking... He looks so stoned, and he's out of it." But he fucking never came back. And so that was a moment where I was like... You know? I was like, "I don't know if it caused it or that," but I was like, this is... That's the story I can tell you.

    2. JR

      Wow. It's not the first time I've heard that. You know, I have a, a friend, my friend Johnny, had a very similar situation. I don't... Yeah, I don't know. Uh, I know how adamant the people that make vaccines are that vaccines don't cause autism. And I know it's a fiercely debated issue. And in, in fact, uh, Dr. Peter Hotez, who is an expert in vaccines, who actually has an autistic daughter, um, is adamant about the fact that there's apparently, um, different environmental factors that contribute to autism. And, uh, they think it, all of it takes place during the womb, but I don't know. There's-

    3. RF

      Yeah.

    4. JR

      I, I don't know if-

    5. RF

      I'm not... I, I can never be like, "Well, the vaccine gave my son autism." I would never say that. But I will just tell you that story.

    6. JR

      Yeah. The, the thing is, if that story... If that was the case, how much do you think would ever get out that all these people-

    7. RF

      Mm-hmm.

    8. JR

      ... who have this similar story all have a case?

    9. GA

      ... against the pharmaceutical companies.

    10. RF

      Hmm.

    11. GA

      I mean, do you... Just, just wrap your mind around the legal troubles.

    12. RF

      Hmm.

    13. GA

      And I'm not saying that vaccines cause autism. But what I am saying is, if they did, there would most certainly be an effort to conceal that.

    14. RF

      Yeah. Absolutely.

    15. GA

      Most certainly.

    16. RF

      Absolutely.

    17. GA

      That would be, uh, that would be a crazy lawsuit 'cause, I mean, how many children are autistic in this country? Do you know?

    18. RF

      I don't know, but I know it's a, it's a lot.

    19. GA

      It's a lot. And the question is, the question has always been, are there more now because fathers are older, mothers are older, environmental factors, or that we're diagnosing it now and we didn't diagnose it before-

    20. RF

      Yeah.

    21. GA

      ... we didn't understand it before? I mean, the first that I even heard of autism was Rain Man.

    22. RF

      Mm-hmm.

    23. GA

      Remember the Dustin Hoffman movie?

    24. RF

      Yeah.

    25. GA

      That was the first time-

    26. RF

      Of course.

    27. GA

      ... I ever heard about it. I didn't even know what it was. I, I never met anybody who had autism. So, I saw that and I was like, "Huh, what's going on there?"

    28. RF

      Yeah. Same, same to me. I never thought about it, never had any second thought about it at all and until m- my son was diagnosed. And then had to become much more aware about it and, and it's still a thing that, um, I get hit with 'cause I'll... I'm just a dummy 'cause I'll be like, "Okay, my son's got his high school and he's doing well and he's going to his classes." And then they have to actually sit there and they're going like, "Okay, you know, he's getting a certificate, but you know this isn't a real... He's not a real high school graduate." And I'm like, "Oh, oh, what?" You know? Like, "No, he's a high school graduate and I want my son to go to college." And then I have to sit back and go like, "Oh wait, fuck, I have a d- we have a different road. We have a different life." And actually, this lockdown and everything has really been helpful in going through that and just being like, well, everything's fucking weird and different and, um... 'Cause I'd always been like, "Well, no matter what, I'm gonna pay. My son wants to go to UCLA, so I'll pay to go, him to go to UCLA even if it's just life classes or, or whatever." Yeah.

    29. GA

      But, um, now I've been thinking about more like, "Okay, let's just figure out a way for him to be more independent, um, on his own, physically, financially, whatever he can do." He might not go to college. He might go to college. Um, but, you know, again, if I make my show, I'm gonna be like, "Well, he's got to be a consultant on this show. He's got to do this, he's got to do that." I, I just want him to, um, have a good life basically.

    30. RF

      Of course. Is there anything that helps him? Like, does anything, um, alleviate some of his symptoms?

Episode duration: 2:12:33

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