Joe Rogan Experience #1635 - Katie Spotz

1. 0:00 – 15:00

   (drumming) Joe Rogan podcast,…

   1. SPSpeaker0:00

      (drumming) Joe Rogan podcast, check it out.

   2. SPSpeaker0:04

      The Joe Rogan Experience.

   3. JRJoe Rogan0:06

      Train by day, Joe Rogan podcast by night. All day. (rock music plays) Okay. Hello, Katie. How are you?

   4. KSKatie Spotz0:16

      Hi, Joe. Good.

   5. JRJoe Rogan0:16

      What's happening?

   6. KSKatie Spotz0:17

      Yeah, not much. How are you?

   7. JRJoe Rogan0:18

      Not much at all? This is very uneventful for you. It's funny that you're nervous to do this, but yet you're not nervous to row a boat. Well, you might have been nervous. Were you nervous to row across the Atlantic?

   8. KSKatie Spotz0:29

      I definitely was nervous, and I think, like, that is a good thing to be able to channel that energy to, you know, make sure bad things don't happen, but that was definitely more my comfort zone than doing something like this.

   9. JRJoe Rogan0:41

      Is that the cra- ... Well, obviously it's the craziest thing you've ever done, right? I shouldn't say obviously.

   10. KSKatie Spotz0:46

       Um, well, I think that, like, the last endurance challenge, it was, like, running 33 hours straight and I think that hit my physical limit more than the row did. Like, after the row, I felt like my body could probably continue going, um, but it was just, yeah, more mentally challenging.

   11. JRJoe Rogan1:06

       How did you get started doing these kind of things?

   12. KSKatie Spotz1:09

       Um, so I would definitely consider myself more like an accidental adventurer. So, um, I had to take a gym class to get my, um, high school diploma, and through process of elimination, I wanted to find, like, the easiest A. Because at that point I was, like, a benchwarmer and I didn't really excel in- in those team sports. So, the easy A was a walking, running class, and, um, I did the ... I signed up just, like, trying to do the bare minimum, and it was during that class where it was like, "Okay, I'm already forced to be here. I might as well try to run." And I set that target of running one mile straight, and, um, I never thought I could do that. And so when I did run one mile straight, it was probably equivalent to people who run a marathon, you know? Like, just feeling, like, really elated and that's the seed that planted all the adventures to come. It's really just that one mile and realizing that I was limiting myself by, um, what- what I thought was possible, and one mile turned into two, two into three, and that was really how I did my first marathon and every- every event was, like, started from really that place, that one mile.

   13. JRJoe Rogan2:35

       So you were sort of an athletic underachiever or a not interested in athletics person?

   14. KSKatie Spotz2:41

       So, uh, in middle school, I- I, like most people, did all the sports, all the team sports, and it was m- ... The focus was like, "Oh, hey, let's hang out. Let's make friends," and- and it ... My priority was definitely, like, just hanging out with friends. I didn't have that, like, competitive sense about it, and, um, once it got too competitive, I kinda checked out because I was like, "Why are you guys making a big deal about this?" Do you know what I mean? Like ...

   15. JRJoe Rogan3:09

       (laughs)

   16. KSKatie Spotz3:10

       When- when you see it, when, like, the parents are more invested-

   17. JRJoe Rogan3:14

       Oh, yeah.

   18. KSKatie Spotz3:14

       ... and you're like-

   19. JRJoe Rogan3:15

       That's bad. Yeah.

   20. KSKatie Spotz3:15

       ... "Settle down." Um, so when it became stressful and not fun, that's when I checked out and I didn't really have interest in that, and so, um, when it became my own, when it became something that was very internally driven and not anything other than the pure curiosity, I- I would say that, um, people who do athletic things, like, they could be driven by many things, and I would say at the core, one of the driving factors is just, like, a kidlike wonder of, like, "Can I climb a tree? Can I do this? Can I do that?" And it's, like ... I think curiosity is very underrated in that, like, it could really propel you to see what's possible, and so curiosity time and time and ag- again has, like, brought me to do things that I never imagined doing.

   21. JRJoe Rogan4:09

       Do you still think back to that first mile, like completing that first mile and that elation, that feeling of elation where you were like, "Oh my God." Like, a new door's opened?

   22. KSKatie Spotz4:21

       All the time. Like, some of my friends now that, like, I'm more in ultrarunning, it's like w- w- ... We'll- we'll hear ourselves. I mean, I'm- I'm not exempt from this, but saying things like, "Oh, it's just a mile," or, "Just five mile," or, "Just a marathon," or, "Just ..." Whatever you wanna adjust it, but, like, I still don't feel like I've lost sight of that because, I mean, I know this is kind of harsh, but, like, sometimes I say to my friends, like, "Well, tell that to someone who can't walk." Like, i- it really is worthy of celebrating every step, every mile, and so, um, I- I mean, yeah. I think there's, like ... (sighs) It- it's just one achievement opens the door to o- other ones, and so, yeah, I definitely, um, don't feel like I've lost that sense and I think that's important to keep just so it ... I don't know. It keeps you in that humble state rather than expecting that just because you did it, you can in the future.

   23. JRJoe Rogan5:23

       Yeah, it- it really is interesting how people are limited by their own- their previous experiences and what they've sort of established as their boundaries.

   24. KSKatie Spotz5:30

       Yeah.

   25. JRJoe Rogan5:31

       And then you see them expand past those boundaries and then just ... It changes them.

   26. KSKatie Spotz5:35

       Totally.

   27. JRJoe Rogan5:35

       It changes who you are.

   28. KSKatie Spotz5:36

       I mean, like, one of the things that I'll get now is, like, "Oh, I could never run a marathon," and my first thing is like, "Oh, which ones have you tried?"

   29. JRJoe Rogan5:46

       (laughs)

   30. KSKatie Spotz5:46

       And of course they're like, "No, I've never tried," and I'm like, "Well ... "... there you go. You actually have to try and if you haven't tried, then you really don't know if that's truthful that you can't run a marathon. So, um, yeah, I think we get in our own ways more than, than anything else. And I'm not saying, like, (sighs) you know, there, it was ... My first mile running was very, like, not graceful. It was like, basically, I was like, "I wanna get this over with as fast as possible." So I was completely winded. I didn't know how to pace myself, and like, um, I don't know the whole, like, reason behind it, but it's like you have that metal mouth.
2. 15:00 – 30:00

   So that, it really…

   1. KSKatie Spotz15:00

      Puerto Rico is probably the closest place to here that has really good bioluminescence too. Like ... yeah.

   2. JRJoe Rogan15:08

      So that, it really looked like that?

   3. KSKatie Spotz15:09

      Yeah.

   4. JRJoe Rogan15:09

      Like that, that bright blue?

   5. KSKatie Spotz15:11

      Around my boat, yes.

   6. JRJoe Rogan15:11

      That's amazing.

   7. KSKatie Spotz15:13

      Very trippy.

   8. JRJoe Rogan15:15

      That is so wild.

   9. KSKatie Spotz15:16

      But, um-

   10. JRJoe Rogan15:16

       Wow, look at that.

   11. KSKatie Spotz15:16

       Yeah, so I could put my hand in the water and, um-

   12. JRJoe Rogan15:21

       Did you take any photos or film it or anything like that?

   13. KSKatie Spotz15:23

       I did have some, uh, film and, uh, yeah.

   14. JRJoe Rogan15:27

       Of this?

   15. KSKatie Spotz15:27

       Sometimes I ... no, like, you can't, uh, really take good ... I mean, yeah, I didn't have really good-

   16. JRJoe Rogan15:36

       Bioluminescence photos?

   17. KSKatie Spotz15:38

       (laughs) Um-

   18. JRJoe Rogan15:40

       God, look at that shore. That's insane. Now, you said the stars.

   19. KSKatie Spotz15:45

       The stars were amazing, yes.

   20. JRJoe Rogan15:47

       Like, how amazing?

   21. KSKatie Spotz15:49

       I mean-

   22. JRJoe Rogan15:49

       There's no pollute- light pollution at all, right?

   23. KSKatie Spotz15:51

       Yeah, yeah. I mean, I, I mean, it, it, in some ways it felt like I was just, like, living this National Geographic experience of, like, you know, I had dolphins come right up to my boat. I had-

   24. JRJoe Rogan16:03

       Oh, really?

   25. KSKatie Spotz16:04

       Um, yeah, yeah. Like, uh, I think it was, like, the fourth way mark, I was like, "I wanna celebrate." And, um, my way of celebrating was very limited. It was like, "Oh, am I gonna have two Snickers bars?" Like, there's not really a w- anything other than what I had, but this pod of dolphins surrounded my boat and were doing, like, flips and tricks and, like-

   26. JRJoe Rogan16:25

       Really?

   27. KSKatie Spotz16:26

       ... right at that moment that I was reaching it. So yeah, the, the dolphins and sharks and birds and, um, I even had, like, fish following right underneath my boat. Like, because barnacles would grow. It was like I h- on, on the side of my boat, I would, um, scrub 'em off, but sometimes they would just keep following my boat. So every time I, I, I named them Ed, Edd, and Eddy, but I had, like, three dorados that would keep following, and birds that came on my boat. And-

   28. JRJoe Rogan16:58

       Wow.

   29. KSKatie Spotz16:59

       Yeah. I didn't think that there would be that many birds out there, but ...

   30. JRJoe Rogan17:04

       Yeah, how are they getting out there? (laughs)
3. 30:00 – 45:00

   Half of the hospital…

   1. KSKatie Spotz30:00

      And I th- uh, yeah, I was 19 or 20 and, um, at that point, I felt like I had a, like a, a little bit, because of traveling, like, I had a little bit of a sense of what was going on in the world. But to know at that point one in six people didn't have clean water, I was like, "Wow, I didn't even know about one-sixth of our planet and what their daily struggle is." And, like, the fact that it's a problem that has a solution and it's something that, like, I don't know what c- cause could have as big as i- impact as water, because you think, like, okay, if you, what, what can you live without? Um, you can't even survive three days without, without water so, um, and just, like, thinking about health, half of the hospital beds are filled because of unsafe drinking water. If you think about environment, if you think about education, um-

   2. JRJoe Rogan30:59

      Half of the hospital beds in the world? Is that what you mean?

   3. KSKatie Spotz31:02

      Yep. And like-

   4. JRJoe Rogan31:04

      Really? Half?

   5. KSKatie Spotz31:04

      Yeah. Like, um, the, for children in the world, the greatest killer is diarrheo- diarrheal disease and that is because of unsafe drinking water, and that is, like ... I, uh, there's this documentary that came out recen- well, within the last year called, I think it's Brave Blue World, and Matt Damon, um, shared something at the, at the beginning about, like, imagine that right now we find the cure for all childhood cancers, and then imagine in 50 years from now these kids are still dying from this very cancer that we have a cure for, and that is what's happening with clean water. And I mean, if you, it just, I don't know, it still boism my, boils my blood just, like, thinking about, like, how wrong it is. And when you, when you see how wrong it is, I mean, I, I feel like, of course, I would want to support that and, and do something. And, like, when I s- first started learning about it, I was, I, the first water project I, um, was able to fund was in Haiti, and I was learning about how some places they don't even name, give their kids a name until they're five years old.

   6. JRJoe Rogan32:18

      Oh.

   7. KSKatie Spotz32:18

      Because w- okay, so who is affected by the water crisis? Women and children. Children, their bodies aren't strong enough to withstand and to fight back all the, um, bacteria and, and the, like, viruses and all the, um, things-

   8. JRJoe Rogan32:35

      Parasites.

   9. KSKatie Spotz32:35

      Yeah, exactly. So, so they won't-

   10. JRJoe Rogan32:38

       Mm-hmm.

   11. KSKatie Spotz32:38

       ... even give their kids names until they, they think they'll be able to, to live, right? So, like, just thinking about that is like, these are, these are real people, like, these are, I don't know, I, I-

   12. JRJoe Rogan32:50

       They're real people today.

   13. KSKatie Spotz32:51

       Yeah. Exactly.

   14. JRJoe Rogan32:52

       Yeah, this is not real people 5,000 years ago.

   15. KSKatie Spotz32:54

       No. And, like, just the idea of not even giving your child a name because of that fear of, like, they might not even live so you don't even wanna get, like-

   16. JRJoe Rogan33:03

       My friend Lex, Lex Fridman?

   17. KSKatie Spotz33:05

       Yeah.

   18. JRJoe Rogan33:05

       He's a, a scientist that works with, um, artificial intelligence. He posted something on his Instagram. It's, uh, yesterday. It's a crazy statistic about, um, children and infant mortality from, uh, uh, believe it was 200 years ago. Look at this. In 1800, 43% died before the age of five. Today, it's 4%. Just imagine that.

   19. KSKatie Spotz33:31

       Yeah.

   20. JRJoe Rogan33:31

       And that was all over the world.

   21. KSKatie Spotz33:32

       Yeah. Yeah.

   22. JRJoe Rogan33:33

       43%. But that's not the case everywhere.

   23. KSKatie Spotz33:39

       Yeah.

   24. JRJoe Rogan33:39

       Obviously. If you're not naming your kids, it's probably, uh, a, that's probably where the gap is-

   25. KSKatie Spotz33:45

       Yeah.

   26. JRJoe Rogan33:45

       ... 'cause it's not 5% of American children die before that age.

   27. KSKatie Spotz33:49

       Yeah. So, yeah, water has, has always been something that, um, has given me hope, just seeing that there, there's, there's definitely real change is possible with it.

   28. JRJoe Rogan34:03

       It also seems like it's financially possible.

   29. KSKatie Spotz34:06

       Oh, yeah.

   30. JRJoe Rogan34:06

       That w- you're not talking about giving everybody diamonds.
4. 45:00 – 1:00:00

   Holy shit. …

   1. KSKatie Spotz45:00

      like 30 foot waves at-

   2. JRJoe Rogan45:02

      Holy shit.

   3. KSKatie Spotz45:03

      Yes. But-

   4. JRJoe Rogan45:05

      30 feet is a lot.

   5. KSKatie Spotz45:06

      Yes, it is.

   6. JRJoe Rogan45:07

      What's this, what's this roof? Maybe- Eight? Maybe 10. 10?

   7. KSKatie Spotz45:10

      Yeah.

   8. JRJoe Rogan45:10

      May- maybe. 10. Okay. Three times- The most. ... the size of this roof.

   9. KSKatie Spotz45:15

      But let me-

   10. JRJoe Rogan45:15

       Fuck that.

   11. KSKatie Spotz45:16

       Okay, but here's the thing about that. (laughs)

   12. JRJoe Rogan45:20

       (laughs) You're in a little row boat.

   13. KSKatie Spotz45:22

       But-

   14. JRJoe Rogan45:22

       30 foot waves is crazy.

   15. KSKatie Spotz45:23

       These boats are designed for it.

   16. JRJoe Rogan45:25

       I understand.

   17. KSKatie Spotz45:25

       So it's kind of like what's the point of having this fancy boat if you don't get to see the full possibilities and capabilities of it. So-

   18. JRJoe Rogan45:33

       You're kinda crazy. (laughs)

   19. KSKatie Spotz45:35

       (laughs)

   20. JRJoe Rogan45:35

       I understand what you're saying.

   21. KSKatie Spotz45:37

       Like, I could have been in a re-

   22. JRJoe Rogan45:40

       Right.

   23. KSKatie Spotz45:40

       ... like ranky tank kayak-

   24. JRJoe Rogan45:41

       Right.

   25. KSKatie Spotz45:41

       ... at that point if I didn't. Like, so when you row an ocean you're not like, "Hey, what's hurricane season? Let's go." Like, I wasn't out there when... So I worked with a, a weather guy and, um, we knew that it could be like that so I had a backup like place. So, so here's what happened. I was about to land. I had these big waves and then I was like, "Oh no."

   26. JRJoe Rogan46:06

       You were about to land? So was it the end?

   27. KSKatie Spotz46:07

       Yeah. Correct. And it-

   28. JRJoe Rogan46:09

       Oh my goodness.

   29. KSKatie Spotz46:09

       ... it's known because it's like the continental shelf so it jumps from being thousands of feet deep to, to pretty shallow so it, it's known to have these like waves and winds and it's just known for that kind of thing so I had an option of landing there but I would need a boat to tow me in, um, because I could crash into cliffs or crash into something because it's so impossible to be precise when you have those big waves so that's kind of, that's where the detour happened. So I ended up two countries west of my original destination because I didn't want to tow. Like-

   30. JRJoe Rogan46:48

       Mm.
5. 1:00:00 – 1:15:00

   Yeah. …

   1. JRJoe Rogan1:00:00

      the Dunning-Kruger effect-... based on people that are good at other things. And so, like, usually, like, maybe someone is a, a great mathematician, but they have a, a kind of funky view about religion.

   2. KSKatie Spotz1:00:15

      Yeah.

   3. JRJoe Rogan1:00:16

      Or, uh, maybe there's someone who is a, a brilliant psychologist, but they, uh, maybe have a dismissive view of martial arts or people that practice it. I know people that are, um, into athletics, and they're athletic trainers and they dismiss yoga. They have zero experience in yoga. And I've had arguments with people about that. Like, guys who are, like, professional trainers that train elite athletes, and they dismiss yoga.

   4. KSKatie Spotz1:00:44

      What do they have against yoga?

   5. JRJoe Rogan1:00:46

      It's not that they have anything against it. It's that they don't understand what they're talking about, 'cause they believe that because they're so good at this one thing-

   6. KSKatie Spotz1:00:53

      Oh.

   7. JRJoe Rogan1:00:53

      ... maybe plyometrics, explosive training, that you talk to them about yoga and they'll be dismissive of it. I'm like, "Well, how often are you doing it?" You know? Like, listen, I've done a lot of shit. Yoga's hard. It's good.

   8. KSKatie Spotz1:01:04

      Yeah.

   9. JRJoe Rogan1:01:04

      It's r- it's... I don't think it's the only thing you should do.

   10. KSKatie Spotz1:01:07

       Yeah.

   11. JRJoe Rogan1:01:08

       But, you know.

   12. KSKatie Spotz1:01:09

       Yeah.

   13. JRJoe Rogan1:01:09

       I talked to this one lady. She, uh, used to go to my yoga class, and she was in her 50s and she was fucking shredded. She had, like, this crazy six-pack and super jacked. And I go, "You don't just do yoga." And she goes, "No, no, no, I do a lot of weightlifting and I do a lot of CrossFit," and stuff like that. She goes, "I don't think you should just do yoga." She goes, "But I think you should do yoga."

   14. KSKatie Spotz1:01:28

       Yeah, for sure.

   15. JRJoe Rogan1:01:28

       And I was like, "Yeah, I kind of agree." Like, 'cause I think just doing yoga, you get one of them weird guru bodies.

   16. KSKatie Spotz1:01:34

       (laughs)

   17. JRJoe Rogan1:01:34

       You know? (laughs) Where you're real bendy, but it doesn't seem like you can help anybody move a couch.

   18. KSKatie Spotz1:01:39

       Yeah.

   19. JRJoe Rogan1:01:39

       You know? Like, I think weightlifting is... Especially as you get older, I think it's imperative. I really think it's important. And some sort of, some sort of resistance training just to keep your bone density and keep your muscles and tendons strong and... But yoga has, uh, some profound mental benefits.

   20. KSKatie Spotz1:01:56

       For sure.

   21. JRJoe Rogan1:01:57

       Some psychological benefits.

   22. KSKatie Spotz1:01:58

       Yeah.

   23. JRJoe Rogan1:01:58

       And it's hard. It's fucking hard. Like, holding all of those po- s- p-... I like to do hot yoga too.

   24. KSKatie Spotz1:02:03

       Yeah.

   25. JRJoe Rogan1:02:03

       So holding onto those poses when it's 105 degrees and you wa- you're watching sweat pour off of you and your heart's pounding out of your chest.

   26. KSKatie Spotz1:02:11

       Yes, but sometimes when you do those hot yoga classes, you would be sweating if you were just sitting there, so I think sometimes... You know what I mean? Like-

   27. JRJoe Rogan1:02:21

       Mm-hmm.

   28. KSKatie Spotz1:02:22

       ... it is hard, but if you were sitting there, you probably would be sweating too. So it could be...

   29. JRJoe Rogan1:02:28

       It... Well, that's because it's harder-

   30. KSKatie Spotz1:02:30

       Yes.
6. 1:15:00 – 1:21:46

   Hmm. …

   1. KSKatie Spotz1:15:00

      for runners, because, um, yeah. Like, it's the least muscular. Um, so-

   2. JRJoe Rogan1:15:08

      Hmm.

   3. KSKatie Spotz1:15:08

      ... it's like ... It, it would be like nappy time yoga.

   4. JRJoe Rogan1:15:11

      Oh, okay.

   5. KSKatie Spotz1:15:13

      Like, that one's-

   6. JRJoe Rogan1:15:14

      Mostly on the floor?

   7. KSKatie Spotz1:15:15

      Yeah.

   8. JRJoe Rogan1:15:15

      Yeah.

   9. KSKatie Spotz1:15:16

      Yeah.

   10. JRJoe Rogan1:15:16

       Okay.

   11. KSKatie Spotz1:15:16

       But it's, like, probably the best stretching yoga there is.

   12. JRJoe Rogan1:15:19

       Yeah, just stretch.

   13. KSKatie Spotz1:15:21

       Oh.

   14. JRJoe Rogan1:15:21

       Just make yourself stretch.

   15. KSKatie Spotz1:15:22

       Yeah.

   16. JRJoe Rogan1:15:23

       Yeah, just decide, "I have an hour and a half right now that I'm gonna do nothing but stretch." It's very ... It r- ... You'd be amazed at how much tension you carry in your muscles too.

   17. KSKatie Spotz1:15:32

       Yeah.

   18. JRJoe Rogan1:15:32

       Like, whenever I have a show, like, a comedy show, and I'm a little tense, I stretch. I feel way better afterwards.

   19. KSKatie Spotz1:15:39

       Yeah.

   20. JRJoe Rogan1:15:39

       It's like all this ehh, and then just, like, ah. It just r- it just ... The f- ... You have more mobility. Everything moves better, you know?

   21. KSKatie Spotz1:15:48

       Yeah.

   22. JRJoe Rogan1:15:48

       Yeah.

   23. KSKatie Spotz1:15:48

       Yeah. I definitely like the tennis ball too for, like, my back.

   24. JRJoe Rogan1:15:51

       Oh, yeah.

   25. KSKatie Spotz1:15:52

       That's the best.

   26. JRJoe Rogan1:15:52

       Oh, we have these things, those hyp- Have you tried those fucking Hyperice balls?

   27. NANarrator1:15:56

       Mm-hmm.

   28. JRJoe Rogan1:15:57

       These, these ... They're, they're these things. They're hard, and they vibrate like crazy, and you roll on 'em-

   29. KSKatie Spotz1:16:02

       Yeah.

   30. JRJoe Rogan1:16:02

       ... and it just ... (imitates vibration) Just sit. Well, try it afterwards, afterwards.

Episode duration: 2:45:25