Joe Rogan Experience #1559 - Steven Rinella

1. 0:00 – 15:00

   (drumming music) Joe Rogan podcast,…

   1. NANarrator0:02

      (drumming music) Joe Rogan podcast, check it out.

   2. NANarrator0:04

      The Joe Rogan Experience.

   3. NANarrator0:06

      Train by day, Joe Rogan podcast by night. All day. (rock music) You were just telling me about your friend who has a dick collection?

   4. SRSteven Rinella0:14

      (laughs)

   5. JRJoe Rogan0:17

      (laughs) I wish he was my friend still. It was, um ... When I was younger, I don't know how I h- I came into his orbit, but there was a fur buyer and taxidermist and muskrat trapper in Muskegon County, um, where I grew up in Michigan, and he had amassed a very impressive collection of baculums. And you brought this up because Frank von Hippel had given us this, uh, fossilized walrus, ancient walrus dick bone.

   6. SRSteven Rinella0:47

      Pecker bone, swizzle stick.

   7. JRJoe Rogan0:49

      (laughs)

   8. SRSteven Rinella0:49

      Yeah. Uh, uh, a friend of mine, Clay Newcomb, he, uh, he, uh, he, he uses them for very ... Like, the bl- he, he saves the black bear ones and, and people use them as drink stirs and stuff.

   9. JRJoe Rogan1:02

      The first deer I ever killed, you gave me one, and I was using it as a coffee stirrer for a while.

   10. SRSteven Rinella1:07

       Oh, like, an a- no, it's not like, an actual bone bone in there.

   11. JRJoe Rogan1:10

       It's ... Isn't there a bone bone in there?

   12. SRSteven Rinella1:12

       No.

   13. JRJoe Rogan1:12

       Well, you gave me one. You may- might not have given to me one from that. You gave me one from something else, like a hat.

   14. SRSteven Rinella1:18

       Maybe a rac- maybe a raccoon or a bear or something. I'd have to look at it.

   15. JRJoe Rogan1:21

       I don't know, but you gave me a dick bone, and I had it in my backpack for a long time.

   16. SRSteven Rinella1:24

       Oh. Huh.

   17. JRJoe Rogan1:26

       (laughs)

   18. SRSteven Rinella1:26

       Yeah, so, he ha-

   19. JRJoe Rogan1:27

       (laughs) How often do you give away dick bones that you don't even remember them?

   20. SRSteven Rinella1:30

       (laughs) Well, I wi- I wish I had, I wish I had more to share.

   21. JRJoe Rogan1:33

       (laughs)

   22. SRSteven Rinella1:34

       This guy, this Bob Farris guy, we used to laugh 'cause he looked like Bob Farris looked exactly like Bob Dylan. Um, and he's gotta be around still. I remember being over his house one day and him advising someone over the phone within earshot of me. I remember this guy was going out to set muskrat traps. And I remember, uh, Bob Farris advising him, uh, "If anybody fucks with you, shoot them." And, uh, I was young enough that I didn't, like, get that that was a humor thing. You know, the whatever, just, like, a thing you'd say to your buddy to have a laugh.

   23. JRJoe Rogan2:05

       Right.

   24. SRSteven Rinella2:05

       And I remember being like, "Man, these guys are serious about muskrats." (laughs)

   25. JRJoe Rogan2:10

       (laughs)

   26. SRSteven Rinella2:10

       I was like, "I hope I don't run into that dude in the marsh." (laughs)

   27. JRJoe Rogan2:14

       (laughs)

   28. SRSteven Rinella2:14

       And now I'm like, "Oh, yeah, I could totally see saying that to somebody," and then we'd have a laugh and get off the phone.

   29. JRJoe Rogan2:18

       How many animals have that bone?

   30. SRSteven Rinella2:19

       Man, I, you know-
2. 15:00 – 30:00

   You were free. …

   1. SRSteven Rinella15:00

      I was at the height of my writing powers because I hadn't had, um ... I was just a writer. I wasn't married. I didn't have kids. Uh-

   2. JRJoe Rogan15:09

      You were free.

   3. SRSteven Rinella15:11

      I, I could j- I, I could spend a couple years just, like, focused on something, you know?

   4. JRJoe Rogan15:18

      (laughs)

   5. SRSteven Rinella15:18

      And so I do. I, like, the fact that that thing still, th- th- the fact that that book still works and people still read it, um, like, m- I'm happy about that, you know? 'Cause I look at it and be like, "Yeah, man." Like, I feel like, like, that was a reasonable book. (laughs)

   6. JRJoe Rogan15:34

      That's an interesting way of ... It's a very good book. I really enjoyed it. But it's a, it's a f- interesting way of talking about it, that you were at the height of your writing powers because you were free, 'cause you really could just concentrate on that. You know, I think about that a lot with, with anything, you know, like, uh, that's the case with, uh, standup comedians. It's the case with fighters, for sure. When fighters have families and then they start getting, uh, uh, distracted by a bunch of other businesses and other things that they're doing, it's almost always signifies a, a downslide in their skills.

   7. SRSteven Rinella16:06

      Yeah.

   8. JRJoe Rogan16:06

      Almost always.

   9. SRSteven Rinella16:07

      For sure, man. I'm watching right now on, on Netflix, I'm watching The Last Dance, um, the Jordan-

   10. JRJoe Rogan16:13

       Oh.

   11. SRSteven Rinella16:13

       ... documentary. And I'm not a basketball fan at all, and, and most of this stuff's new information to me, but in watching it and, like, that study of, um, focus and discipline. And I wonder, like, uh, i- in looking at him, I couldn't help but think, let's say there was an undecided election, you know? It was, like, a contested undecided election, and there's a global pandemic. That guy would still go on that field, or on the court, sorry, and probably be just as good as he always is. And I think that a decade ago, uh, whatever, like, at that point in life when you're just like, "I don't pr-" maybe more self-absorbed or something, I could be sitting right now in this current climate. Like, I'd be sitting right now just, like, singularly focused on this thing.

   12. JRJoe Rogan17:02

       Hm.

   13. SRSteven Rinella17:03

       Instead of, um, the school board is voting, like, whether or not kids are going back to school full time. And, and, like, I need to pay attention to that because I have kids. I need to pay attention, like, you know, I feel obligated to pay attention politically, and I have other mediums that I work in now. And it's ju- yeah, you just get, like, spread out, um, doing stuff. I feel like maybe that doesn't happen to you?

   14. JRJoe Rogan17:28

       No, it does. Yeah, it does.

   15. SRSteven Rinella17:30

       I remember you telling me you have three jobs.

   16. JRJoe Rogan17:31

       Yeah.

   17. SRSteven Rinella17:32

       (laughs)

   18. JRJoe Rogan17:32

       I do.

   19. SRSteven Rinella17:33

       Do you jump from one to the other?

   20. JRJoe Rogan17:34

       Uh, they connect.

   21. SRSteven Rinella17:35

       Yeah.

   22. JRJoe Rogan17:36

       Fortunately. They help each other. The, the thing about, uh, well, you know, o- obviously I haven't been doing much standup during the pandemic. I only did one weekend. I did one weekend in Houston, and then I got real weirded out thinking, like, "What if I caught COVID and then I gave it to somebody," particularly if I gave it to a guest. But, um, standup comedy for sure helps podcasting. Podcasting for sure helps standup comedy.

   23. SRSteven Rinella17:59

       Mm-hmm.

   24. JRJoe Rogan17:59

       They ma- you get more comfortable doing each one of them because the fact that standup comedy's live and then podcasting is also live, right? You're, you're ... there's no net. There's no script. And you get more comfortable expressing yourself. In standup comedy, the fear of doing it in front of live audiences, you, you get accustomed to people paying attention to you and watching you. That makes UFC commentary easier 'cause when the cameras are on at UFC, I never think, "Oh, shit, all these people are watching now." I never think that 'cause people are always watching. I don't care 'cause it doesn't-

   25. SRSteven Rinella18:29

       Yeah.

   26. JRJoe Rogan18:29

       I can just express myself.So, all th- they feed into each other.

   27. SRSteven Rinella18:33

       What do you, uh ... 'Cause you get increasingly, at, at least from my perspective, increasingly you get scrutinized and over-scrutinized in the media. Is it hard to tune it out?

   28. JRJoe Rogan18:45

       It's easier than ever.

   29. SRSteven Rinella18:46

       Really?

   30. JRJoe Rogan18:47

       Yeah. It's interesting. (laughs)
3. 30:00 – 45:00

   Yeah. (laughs) …

   1. JRJoe Rogan30:00

      one?

   2. SRSteven Rinella30:00

      Yeah. (laughs)

   3. JRJoe Rogan30:00

      I get it. Do you, are you enjoying doing podcasts? Is it...

   4. SRSteven Rinella30:05

      Man, yeah. Uh, it has, it's my... So of all, of, of the things I do, okay? O- of the, the, the various things I do for, you know, a living, um, it's the thing I enjoy most actually doing it, right? Like, having a, a guest on, um, for, for inst- there's, there's this guest we have, uh, I, I bring him up 'cause I was thinkin' of him ear- this guy Jim, Jim Hefflefinger from Arizona. Um, I bring him up because we're talkin' about criticism. Um, I'll always read criticism that he sends.

   5. JRJoe Rogan30:46

      Mm.

   6. SRSteven Rinella30:46

      If he listens to something or, or-

   7. JRJoe Rogan30:47

      Right.

   8. SRSteven Rinella30:47

      ... and he's like, "That's just not right."... it, it's not coming from a mean place. It's coming from a place where he is trying to be additive to a conversation.

   9. JRJoe Rogan30:55

      Right.

   10. SRSteven Rinella30:55

       And he'll send me some things and be like, "Hey man, you might, um... This is a thing you should think about and, and maybe wanna clarify." Like, I will open that email every single time. And he gives me a lot of them.

   11. JRJoe Rogan31:03

       Yeah, that's different. That's like a person, you know-

   12. SRSteven Rinella31:04

       It's a, it's a beautiful relationship, you know?

   13. JRJoe Rogan31:06

       Yeah.

   14. SRSteven Rinella31:06

       And it's like... Uh, but, but all critic- criticism doesn't go that way, 'cause people like to... People want to see people bleed.

   15. JRJoe Rogan31:13

       Yeah.

   16. SRSteven Rinella31:14

       Right? But here's this guy that, like, doesn't wanna see people bleed. He just wants to advance the conversation. But having, you know, to, to ha- the time I had him on, I had... And we were having a conversation about biology, um, wildlife management. And I'm just like, the whole time, I'm like, thrilled by what I'm hearing.

   17. JRJoe Rogan31:31

       Yeah.

   18. SRSteven Rinella31:32

       Like, thrilled by the presentation, thrilled by what I'm hearing. It's great information. It's delivered well. Um, that, if you had a joy meter in your head, like of all the things that, like, you actually do, that to me is, is... That interaction to me is great.

   19. JRJoe Rogan31:49

       Yeah.

   20. SRSteven Rinella31:49

       Um-

   21. JRJoe Rogan31:49

       'Cause you're getting something out.

   22. SRSteven Rinella31:50

       ... In the moment.

   23. JRJoe Rogan31:51

       You're learning. Yeah.

   24. SRSteven Rinella31:51

       Yeah. Whereas writing, um... Yeah, it's almost trite to say, but like, like, I, I don't... I, I, I kinda hate the actual act of doing it.

   25. JRJoe Rogan32:02

       Mm.

   26. SRSteven Rinella32:02

       Not enjoyable. Like, actually doing it is not enjoyable.

   27. JRJoe Rogan32:05

       Totally.

   28. SRSteven Rinella32:05

       Everything that comes out of it, I love. Doing it is not enjoyable.

   29. JRJoe Rogan32:08

       It's such a common thing to say. I mean-

   30. SRSteven Rinella32:10

       Yeah.
4. 45:00 – 1:00:00

   Yeah. …

   1. JRJoe Rogan45:00

      questions, you responding to those questions. And, you know, it was very historic, that show. Like, he was the, he's the first guy. He, like... If it wasn't for him, uh, h- there would be none of this. Like, there was guys before, you know, there was, like... I guess Imus was one of those guys. I, I was never an Imus guy. But he was the guy who's nationally known as the man who's, who had this, uh, outrageous radio show.

   2. SRSteven Rinella45:26

      Yeah.

   3. JRJoe Rogan45:27

      You know? So... And that sort of helped The Opie and Anthony Show come to fruition. And then that... I think The Opie and Anthony Show was the, in a lot of ways, the nexus. It was a, it was a lot of ways, it was the idea that led to podcasts. But when I was doing it, there was no thought in my head like, "This is gonna be just like The Opie and Anthony Show," or, "This is gonna be just like Howard Stern." The just y- just you wait, just you wait.

   4. SRSteven Rinella45:52

      (laughs)

   5. JRJoe Rogan45:52

      There was none of that.

   6. SRSteven Rinella45:53

      I, uh-

   7. JRJoe Rogan45:53

      I would just keep showing up, and then one day l- I was at the Chicago Theater. I did this gig at the Chicago Theater, it was 3,700 people, right? Sold out show. And I go... I had a story I was gonna tell. I go, "How many k- how many people listen to the podcast?" "Yeah." (screams)

   8. SRSteven Rinella46:08

      Oh, is that right?

   9. JRJoe Rogan46:09

      And I went, "Oh, shit."

   10. SRSteven Rinella46:11

       I'm putting that into my movie, man.

   11. JRJoe Rogan46:13

       And I remember thinking, "Oh."

   12. SRSteven Rinella46:13

       It's gonna be called... My movie's gonna be called The Joe Rogan Experience. (laughs)

   13. JRJoe Rogan46:17

       (laughs) But I remember very clearly being, "Oh, no." Like, uh, like, I... Like almost a sense of dread. Like, "Shit." Like, "This is, uh... This has gotten to a place where I didn't know where it was and it's already there."

   14. SRSteven Rinella46:30

       Yeah.

   15. JRJoe Rogan46:31

       'Cause I, I'd been just doing it... You know what? And I think by that time, we were doing it at the Icehouse. We had this little room off the, uh, the, The Comedy Club at the Icehouse. We'd show up there and do it there. And, uh, it was just bizarre. I was like, "What happened?" Like, 'cause you're just doing it like this, right? You don't have to just do-

   16. SRSteven Rinella46:46

       Yeah, but you know, you know what you could say if you wanted to twist this and make it... I think the, a thing you could say in your own defense is... Maybe I'm wrong here, but maybe you knew something. Maybe you knew more than you thought because you probably weren't doing 10 goofy things.

   17. JRJoe Rogan47:03

       How so? What do you mean?

   18. SRSteven Rinella47:04

       Meaning, like, let's say I, um, s- went out and started 20 business, 20 goofy little businesses.

   19. JRJoe Rogan47:12

       Right.

   20. SRSteven Rinella47:13

       Right? And then at, at some point, like, "Holy shit," like-

   21. JRJoe Rogan47:17

       One of 'em took off.

   22. SRSteven Rinella47:18

       Yeah.

   23. JRJoe Rogan47:18

       Yeah.

   24. SRSteven Rinella47:18

       Turns out my business of selling old, um, ranch-worn leather gloves to people who, like, you know, wish they had that look, uh, took off and made a boatload of money. And then later I'm like, "Yeah, you know, I always knew." But people will be like-

   25. JRJoe Rogan47:34

       (laughs)

   26. SRSteven Rinella47:34

       ... "Dude, you were always in, like, you did all kinds of stupid... Everything, nothing ever worked out for you. Then all of a sudden, like, this thing takes off and you wanna now act like you, like, saw it coming?" So I, I think that probably in the, you know, probably in the back... I- it's good that you don't act this way, but probably in the back of your head, you probably recognize that you were on... Like, maybe you recognize that you were onto something-

   27. JRJoe Rogan47:52

       Nope.

   28. SRSteven Rinella47:53

       (laughs)

   29. JRJoe Rogan47:53

       Definitely not. I'm telling-

   30. SRSteven Rinella47:54

       Dude, I'm trying to, I'm trying to help you out here, man.
5. 1:00:00 – 1:11:03

   Danny or Matt? …

   1. SRSteven Rinella1:00:00

      um... My brother has emerged as someone who's, like, highly critical of my occupation and I like to hear him out about it.

   2. JRJoe Rogan1:00:07

      Danny or Matt?

   3. SRSteven Rinella1:00:08

      No, Matthew.

   4. JRJoe Rogan1:00:09

      Why?

   5. SRSteven Rinella1:00:10

      Um-

   6. JRJoe Rogan1:00:10

      What's he critical of?

   7. SRSteven Rinella1:00:11

      He, he is... Well, uh, give me the counterargument.

   8. JRJoe Rogan1:00:15

      No, what's he critical of? You said-

   9. SRSteven Rinella1:00:17

      Oh, why doesn't he like-

   10. JRJoe Rogan1:00:18

       He's critical-

   11. SRSteven Rinella1:00:18

       ... what I do for a living?

   12. JRJoe Rogan1:00:19

       Yeah.

   13. SRSteven Rinella1:00:19

       Because, um, he feels that me and other individuals and lots of people, uh, um, that by talking about and celebrating, um, uh, uh, uh, the act- an activity, uh, in my case hunting and fishing, um, that it creates... That my enthusiasms become infectious and it increases the number of people and diminishes the quality of the experience that, that people who've always hunted will have because of competition.

   14. JRJoe Rogan1:00:51

       Mm.

   15. SRSteven Rinella1:00:52

       Very valid argument, right? So I, I, I like to-

   16. JRJoe Rogan1:00:55

       Uh... It's very-

   17. SRSteven Rinella1:00:55

       Well, no. No. I, I like to hear him out on it.

   18. JRJoe Rogan1:00:57

       Mm-hmm.

   19. SRSteven Rinella1:00:58

       I like to hear him out on it 'cause he's smart.

   20. JRJoe Rogan1:00:59

       Yeah.

   21. SRSteven Rinella1:01:00

       You know, he's smart, so I like to hear him out on, like, what he's thinking. I'm only doing the same thing with you by, by... Uh, I don't hold your opinion. Um, I, I don't hold the opinion of someone, but I'm just saying, like, it is... Someone might say, "I get it, Joe. It was all fun."It wasn't supposed to happen, but they would say, like, "But here you are-"

   22. JRJoe Rogan1:01:21

       Time to pull the plug. (laughs)

   23. SRSteven Rinella1:01:22

       Like, "Here you are, you now have, um, a level of power that is, um-"

   24. JRJoe Rogan1:01:33

       Uncontrollable?

   25. SRSteven Rinella1:01:34

       "... that could be dangerous."

   26. JRJoe Rogan1:01:35

       But what could be dangerous about it?

   27. SRSteven Rinella1:01:38

       Picture that, picture that you, uh, picture that you said some- like, it's, it's over now and everybody was all worried about it happening during the election, but picture that you said, like, "Man, I think that, um, if you're in that county, you should go down to the polling place and do X."

   28. JRJoe Rogan1:01:58

       Well, okay.

   29. SRSteven Rinella1:01:58

       A lot of dudes, right?

   30. JRJoe Rogan1:02:00

       Yeah.

Episode duration: 3:05:37