EVERY SPOKEN WORD
150 min read · 30,000 words- 0:00 – 15:00
(drumming music) Joe Rogan podcast,…
- NANarrator
(drumming music) Joe Rogan podcast, check it out. The Joe Rogan Experience.
- JRJoe Rogan
Train by day, Joe Rogan podcast by night, all day. (rock music) The sound you hear is Ron White torching the end of his cigar, preparing. (lighter clicks) He's a professional. You notice how he did that, Jamie? Starts off torching it.
- RWRon White
Yeah, you gotta toast it.
- JRJoe Rogan
Is that what you do?
- RWRon White
Yeah, because if you don't, if you, if you just suck the flame into it, you'll burn it. You'll burn the inside of it instead of just toasting the outside of it, get most of that surface hot, and then just a little quick one to get it really going nice. Uh, and the whole cigar will taste better.
- JRJoe Rogan
Really?
- RWRon White
Yeah.
- JRJoe Rogan
Well, I fucked it up already.
- RWRon White
Yeah.
- JRJoe Rogan
I've fucked up every sp- cigar I've ever smoked.
- RWRon White
(laughs) Cigar smoking lessons by Ron White.
- JRJoe Rogan
So ma- this would be better than it is right now? Is that right?
- RWRon White
Uh, yeah. I mean, that's how people light cigars. That's why they have a torch lighter so you don't have to suck the flame into it. Eh...
- JRJoe Rogan
I thought the torch lighter was so that, uh, you don't have that stinky smell that you get from a regular lighter.
- RWRon White
Uh, well, it's the same butane.
- JRJoe Rogan
Yeah, but it's like, uh, you know how ... Well, I think I'm thinking about pipes, like p- weed pipes. When people smoke weed out of pipes with the c- the, the lighter-
- RWRon White
Yeah.
- JRJoe Rogan
... you always smell the, the lighter fluid.
- RWRon White
A little bit of butane?
- JRJoe Rogan
Yeah.
- RWRon White
No, that's not what it's for. (laughs) It's just so you don't, uh, you don't suck that flame into it and burn more of the surface on the inside and they just taste better.
- JRJoe Rogan
Ah, and you're a professional.
- RWRon White
I been smoking cigars for, uh, years. So, uh-
- JRJoe Rogan
How many? How many years?
- RWRon White
Uh, you know, I, I started smoking cigars when I quit smoking cigarettes, so maybe 20 years ago.
- JRJoe Rogan
You quit smoking cigarettes, but those little cigars you smoke, I think they're kinda cigarettes.
- RWRon White
They're jacked with nicotine.
- JRJoe Rogan
(laughs)
- RWRon White
And I didn't know that because these aren't. There's more cic- nicotine in one of these little things than there is in this whole thing.
- JRJoe Rogan
But ... Really?
- 15:00 – 30:00
Well, thank you. …
- RWRon White
It's, it's great.
- JRJoe Rogan
Well, thank you.
- RWRon White
I mean, I've done a bunch of shows.
- JRJoe Rogan
Appreciate that. Thank you very much.
- RWRon White
Not just podcasts, but even, you know, even, uh, e- e- even Leno and, uh, and Ferguson was so bad. And, uh, Letterman didn't talk to me at all.
- JRJoe Rogan
(laughs)
- RWRon White
And, and uh, and Leno would just kind of step on whatever I was trying to get out. And, you know, and, but you never do. You just, you know, you're just a loving, nice guy that's got a bunch (laughs) of talent and energy I don't understand, you know?
- JRJoe Rogan
Well, that's very kind of you. I have a different format. It's easier to not step on people, you know? You, you... I don't have like five minutes that everything has to happen in five minutes, and then we bring on the band or then we bring on a, an actor or whatever. You know, those talk shows are, the format's so limited, you can't really find out who a person is in those-
- RWRon White
It's six minutes or whatever it is.
- JRJoe Rogan
... really short segments. Yeah, it's... Whatever it is, it's too hard.
- RWRon White
Right.
- JRJoe Rogan
It's too hard.
- RWRon White
I agree. Well, do you want me to tell you about the ayahuasca experience?
- JRJoe Rogan
Oh, yeah. Sure.
- RWRon White
(laughs)
- JRJoe Rogan
Do you remem- How much do you remember?
- RWRon White
Well, you know, I, I remember, uh, how I found out about it, which is weird 'cause it was a friend of mine's wife. And, but I had heard that ayahuasca word before, and I'd, I, so I knew a very, very little bit about it. So, and then I started kinda researching it. What is it? Where does it come from? It's a strong hallucinogen, you know, which I've always had a tendency to like anyway, so I thought it sounded like it was right up my alley. But for a long time you had to get on a canoe, you know?
- JRJoe Rogan
Yeah.
- RWRon White
And go down and find a corrugated tin shack and sleep on a dead floor and, and, uh, and so it wasn't very appealing to a lot of people. So, the guy that opened the place, uh, he had money and he just had... He bought part of a, like a JW Marriott Beach Resort. Well, he bought their overflow area, which was not on the beach but in the jungle with a big fence. Fucking howler monkeys, the most useless animal in the world.
- JRJoe Rogan
(laughs)
- RWRon White
They scream at the top of their lungs. Other monkeys must just hate them.
- JRJoe Rogan
(laughs)
- RWRon White
You know, can you tone it down a little bit? (screeching) Howl, howl, howl. So, I thought, well, I'm signing up for that. And, uh, I'll use that to get off liquor because a lot of people do come away from there with a different perspective, right? Which I did. And, uh, but then they s- I t- was honest with them about how much I drank and they go, "Oh, no, you can't come here. Uh, you, we don't want you coming here and getting into DTs. That's not what... We're not a detox facility. We're not set up for it. So you have to have 14 days of sobriety before you come here." And I'm like, "Fuck." Right? I don't know if I could do that or not 'cause I was drinking so much.
- JRJoe Rogan
Wow.
- RWRon White
And, uh, and then I knew about this guy that was a hypnotist in, uh, uh, Marina del Rey, I think, is kind of where, uh, that's not it. It's, uh, whatever, one of the coastal towns down there. And my assistant, Anthony, had, uh, uh, worked for a guy that had a lot of, uh, problems and went to this guy and, and quit all of them. And, uh, so I'm like, "Well, I could go over there and see how that works." So I went over there.And, uh, it was -- his, his office was in his garage. He was the least impressive human being I've ever met, and he had a brown wig that was on crooked, and I don't know if that was part of it- (laughs) ... that you get focused on, "Dude, what's up with your wig?" (laughs) And, and then that maybe got you offbeat a little bit. And, uh, and then he had a tall glass of water with no ice in it, and he took these little tiny sips out of it. Now, I don't know if that was part of the setup or not, but the garage thing was like a velour recliner that hadn't been 30 years old, and it wasn't well kept or anything. And so I sat in there and, uh, and then when he just talked about, you know, kind of what was going on with my body and all this liquor that I was pouring into it, and kind of like how your heart and your lungs and your kidney like to work together to keep you living. And I've had an all-out assault on all three of them for 50 years, and, and you know, whatever. And, uh, and so he got through with the first session, and he would put me under, and I would go under, that's for sure. And, uh, 'cause he would have to snap me out of it. I was just sitting there conscious of everything he was saying, but in a whatever hypnotic state, for sure. So he was good at that. And, uh, and obviously it was kind of weird because he said, "Imagine you're on the 22nd floor of a building, and you're getting on the elevator." And it's kind of weird because I live on the 22nd floor of a building. He didn't know that, but odd. And, uh, so I finished the first session. He says, "Okay, don't, don't quit drinking." I'm like, "Great, great." (laughs) I'm, I'm, I like this program. So I came back and I thought maybe I -- it was four sessions over a period of a month, and, um, and so, uh, but after the second one, I quit drinking and, uh, and I was just waiting for the shoe to fall, you know? I was waiting to start getting sick off of not drinking, and, uh, and it, and it didn't happen, and it really didn't bother me not to drink. And it was set up for as soon as I was finished with that, I'd go straight to, to south, uh, or, uh, whatever, uh... Whatever that pill I took? Uh, Costa Rica. And, um, and I checked into this place, and it was really, really nice. You can go, you can, where you can share a room with somebody, which they recommend that experience with somebody you don't know. Uh, but I didn't want to do that. So you can also get your own room, and it's not overly expensive compared to rehab in Malibu, you know, which I repriced at 100 grand, uh, for 30 days. What? 100 grand. Uh- Really? Three grand a night, and they recommended a minimum of 30 days. And, uh, and that, that was on the street I lived on in, in Beverly Hills, up at the top of it. And, um, so this is like f- You could do this for like, if you shared a room with somebody for like f- like $1,800 for a week. And, uh, mine was like $5 grand, but I had a nice room, and it was, you know, a really nice place. They cooked all your food, and it was healthy, but it was really good. You know, it was, uh, no soda pop, no alcohol, no, you know, uh, a lot of shit I wouldn't advertise if I was trying to get people (laughs) to go down there. And, uh, but you know, pineapple juice and coconut water, fucking great. And, um, so the... You, you get down there and you had a group of about 50 people, I think, was in our group that were in, uh... They, everybody has their own room, but then there's this one space where everybody gets together for this experience of ayahuasca. So there's 50 mattresses on the floor that have, you know, really nice sheets and pillows and blankets, and they're on the floor. And it's very ceremonial in that, you know, there's a guy, a shaman, looks like a shaman, feathers and shit, and, uh, you stand in line with your little cup, and he gives you a cup of this mud, awful tasting stuff. And I did mine, and I just talked to him like he was a regular person, and, uh, I said, "So what do you do?" And he says, "Well..." Well, outside there was a bunch of hammocks. It was beautiful space, really couldn't have been any better, and hammocks all around. He says, "Go out there and sit in a hammock, and whenever you need to. When it's time, you just come back in." I said, "How do I know when it's time?" He goes, "Oh, you'll know." I said, "Okay, all right." So I took my ayahuasca and I went out there, and I'm like, "Oh, it's kind of like mushrooms a little bit." I felt myself coming onto it. And then, uh, and then I opened my mouth and the entire forest poured into it, and I'm like, "That's probably the signal right there that-" (laughs) "... it's time to go in. I think I get it." So I went in and I laid down on my, my bunk. Now some people throw up on it, so you have a puke bucket too, but some people get the shits, and I got the shits. Vomiting is way better, uh, because you can vomit from your bed. But if you got the shits, you gotta get up and find some place. There's bathrooms, a lot of them, so -- but I never thought I'd see people throwing up in a bucket and go, "Lucky. D- I wish I was throwing up, but I've, I've got the shits." And so I laid down and I tr- tripped so hard and it was really dark, and they said, "Lean towards the dark side." So if there's a, a rainbow and a unicorn and then there's a guy you don't understand in your yard, go that, go towards the dark guy in the yard. Don't hop on the unicorn and jump over the rainbow. Go the other way. And, and don't fight it, just let it happen. But I think I just struggled with it the first night, and, uh, and, and uh, I- I was getting really distorted images of people's faces when they got close to me, and, and I was tripping so hard that I was like... My head was itching and I just couldn't figure it out, you know, how to make my head stop itching. And, uh, I thought about scratching it, but I wasn't exactly sure how to use my hands anymore. And somebody walked by and I asked them to scratch my head, and they're like- Oh. (laughs) ... "Yeah, sure. Like this?" (makes scratching sounds) Yeah. Oh, that's it, that's it. That's good. And I really thought towards the end of that, that I wouldn't do it again, because I just didn't see the benefit of, of, of it, you know? It scared me. It didn't scare me.But it wasn't pleasant at all, you know? It was like, it wasn't like mushrooms and it wasn't like acid. Uh, it, to me it wasn't. And, uh, and you could almost see somebody's skull when they were too close to you, and it was, I was just wanting it to be over. And, uh, and the beautiful thing about ayahuasca is, it is over. I mean, it only goes for like two hours. And when it, when it's done, it's done. And so they time it so you can do more, you can do all you want, but, but not past a certain point. And then it's, at one point they turn on the lights and go, "Good morning," and it's over. You know, you can't just go home, go back to your room and go to sleep real fast, but it's over. You, all those things are gone. They, it gets out of your system completely, so fast. And then there's, you know, there's music. There's a l- you know, live band or, you know, people with congas and guitars and shit, so it was funky. And some people were even, while I was in my wildest point of this trip, they were up just dancing around the room. I'm like, (laughs) "Jesus Christ, how are you doing this? I don't understand." And, uh, so I thought, and I think that's about enough, right? And then, uh, the next, by the next day, once I got out of it, and then, uh, people were kinda sitting around and shared their experiences and whatever, and, and I was into the whole thing, and I was really trying to surrender myself to the experience, you know? I was trying to do what they were asking me to do, and, uh, and get the whole ride, you know? And, uh, s- so the next night I went in and he gave me ... It was a different shaman every night, and, uh, the, he gave me about a half a cup and, uh, I said, "Uh, the other person gave me a whole cup of this." And he said, uh, "Yeah, the Mother Ayahuasca, uh, said to give you the night off (laughs) and, and tone it down for you." And he, I don't know if he talked to the other guy, and I don't know why he said that, but ... So I took that dose and I went outside and I sat for ... And I, and I noticed it had been a while, a w- a while, and it, and it started coming on to me. And, uh, and, and I just felt this overpouring of love. I mean, it was just amazing, uh, for everything. I felt it just filling my body with just love and, and happiness. And so that night I was really just digging on the music, got up and danced. Uh, everybody wears white and I thought it, I didn't know why at first, but that's so they can't see you s- they can see you sneaking off to your room to get some smokes. (laughs)
- NANarrator
(laughs)
- RWRon White
'Cause they, they busted me doing that the first night. I was like trying to creep away, I'm like, "I didn't know you could smoke out here." But, uh, so the, uh, that was great and, uh, uh, uh, afterwards, uh, I really felt a just deep connection to the whole place, you know? It felt like this was, you know, a journey that was, you know, designed for me, you know, because I just felt wonderful about myself, about decisions I was making, uh, about the direction I was headed in my life and all this stuff. And then the, the next night was a bigger dose, and I went back and got a bigger dose, and went back and got another dose, and just rode it out and fucking loved it. And, uh, it was really just that first ... And he said that the first night was kind of a death and the second night was a, kind of a rebirth. And, uh, and I'm like, "Okay." (laughs)
- NANarrator
(laughs)
- RWRon White
"Whatever." So the last night (clears throat) you start it at like 7:00, I think, and it's over at 12:30, uh, the, that experience. And then the last night you start at 5:00 and it goes till 10:00 the next day. So you do smaller doses, but you do them all night long. And, uh, and, and that was really groovy for me, but this one chick completely wigged out, and, uh, and I mean kicking, screaming, yelling, really unpleasant. And, uh, they had to take her outside and tie her up before she hurt somebody.
- NANarrator
Oh, my God.
- 30:00 – 45:00
Really? …
- RWRon White
even find a spot for it. And, uh, and then I'm gonna do standup for one more year and then I'm gonna retire.
- NANarrator
Really?
- RWRon White
Yeah.
- NANarrator
Why'd you decide one more year?
- RWRon White
Uh, you know, because I had all those dates sold out, so I couldn't quit.You know, it was- it- it, you know, I- I... Although I could have got out of it contractually, I had fans out there that bought tickets.
- JRJoe Rogan
Right.
- RWRon White
And, uh, and I- I decided to go ahead and do what it took to get my chops back and go perform and- and- and say goodbye in a proper way, you know, and, uh, and- and not just, you know, go out on COVID. And so... And I'm glad I did. So we're gonna, you know, do as- as much... I'm only doing two days a week next year, as opposed to three.
- JRJoe Rogan
Are you gonna film?
- RWRon White
At the end of it, you know, I should have a pretty good special to do, and I'll film it and see what I do with it. I don't know what I'll do with it. Um, the, uh... I didn't like the last Netflix deal for me, and I know they're great for some people, but, uh, for me, they were pretty tight and very demanding, and they wanted the rights to the material forever. And, uh, a cut of the album. If I sold an album, they got a piece of that, and... So I don't know. I went ahead and did it, but then I regretted it. Uh, but I don't know what it did for my exposure worldwide, but I'll never find out because I'm probably not gonna go on... I'm probably not gonna go to Australia next year, and I'm probably not gonna go back to London next year.
- JRJoe Rogan
Right.
- RWRon White
And, uh, so who knows? But I just thought there were... You know, it- it was fine, and I think it upped my exposure for sure, you know, and I thought it was a decent special. Uh, so I'll have it... I'll film it for sure, but I don't know what I'm gonna do with it, but I'll have it just to have in the can.
- JRJoe Rogan
Just put it... You could always just put it out on YouTube or something.
- RWRon White
Yeah, yeah, that's... I'll just figure it out, you know?
- JRJoe Rogan
That's the best way to get people to see it.
- RWRon White
Right.
- JRJoe Rogan
You know? Because anybody can see it on YouTube.
- RWRon White
Right.
- JRJoe Rogan
I mean, I looked at... Uh, Shane Gillis put a special out, did it himself just a few months ago, and I- I just looked at his two million views on YouTube.
- RWRon White
So you don't know on- on Netflix?
- JRJoe Rogan
Yeah, that's the problem.
- RWRon White
Yeah.
- JRJoe Rogan
You really have no idea.
- RWRon White
Yeah, we don't share that information. Oh-
- JRJoe Rogan
Which is kind of crazy.
- RWRon White
Yeah. Why? 'Cause it would really be valuable information to me, you know, they're really loving you in Melbourne.
- JRJoe Rogan
Yeah. Well, the problem is, it'd be valuable information if you wanted to have a renegotiation and come back in again.
- RWRon White
Right. Yeah, I figure that that's where-
- JRJoe Rogan
Yeah.
- RWRon White
... the source of their, uh...
- JRJoe Rogan
Yeah. Well, it's like they have, they have the ability to say no, so they choose to. It's... You know, it's a strange thing, this, uh, this streaming world. The streaming world is very odd. You know, and they're a large corporation, so they have to, they have to deal with shit, like people complaining about material, and this is the time of complainers.
- 45:00 – 1:00:00
Yeah. …
- RWRon White
like that-
- JRJoe Rogan
Yeah.
- RWRon White
... 'cause they were really good friends, and he's a great comic. And, uh... But oddly enough, still can't go into theaters and sell tickets, and I don't get that. I don't understand why somebody like Johansen, as good as he is with the exposure that he's had from that... But now, uh, if you do Fallon, you don't... You do a tenth of what, of what I'll do with you today. Uh, you know? There's, like, 700,000, 800,000 people or something-
- JRJoe Rogan
Yeah.
- RWRon White
... minuscule the number of people that-
- JRJoe Rogan
If that.
- RWRon White
... that. If that.
- JRJoe Rogan
And how many of those people are really interested in it, and how many are just flipping through the dials?
- RWRon White
Yeah.
- JRJoe Rogan
It's a, it's a strange time for those kinda shows, because those kinda shows were the only way a person can promote things, but they're not the best way, you know? The... In a lot of ways, they're like AM radio or something. They're just... It's just-
- RWRon White
Right.
- JRJoe Rogan
... a better medium.
- RWRon White
Yeah, one time, if- if Carson brought you over to sit down and talk, y- you were, you were a- a star.
- JRJoe Rogan
Yeah. I remember-
- RWRon White
You know?
- JRJoe Rogan
... the first time I saw Richard Jeni on Carson, you know? I was like, "Wow, this guy is hilarious." And then he sat down and talked to him. I was like, "This is amazing."
- RWRon White
Yeah.
- JRJoe Rogan
And-
- RWRon White
He, he was amazing, too.
- JRJoe Rogan
He was amazing. Yeah, I, I sing his praises as many times as I can-
- RWRon White
Me too.
- JRJoe Rogan
... because-
- RWRon White
I tell people. Th- they ask me, "Why do you want to t- retire? Why do you doubt yourself, ever?" I'm like, "'Cause I've seen a better comedian than me kill himself, you know?"
- JRJoe Rogan
Mm-hmm.
- RWRon White
And, uh, and I gotta tell you, uh, Jeni was better than me.
- JRJoe Rogan
Yeah.
- RWRon White
I thought he was so good. I... And I... But I went to see him in, uh, in Miami, and I was headlining the club, and he's coming in to doing o- a couple of one-nighters, or maybe just one, and he was really rude to me. So, I think he had his... some, some shit going on in his head. I mean-
- JRJoe Rogan
Yeah.
- RWRon White
... obviously he did. And, uh... But I came in the little green room. He had a little bologna tray or whatever, and, and, and I introduced myself. I told him I was the headliner this week and I was a fan, and he looked right at his manager and said, "How long's he gonna be in here?" (laughs) I'm like-
- JRJoe Rogan
Wow.
- 1:00:00 – 1:10:07
Right. …
- JRJoe Rogan
about our new stuff and complimenting each other and having fun together. And then you would take that kinda energy and then go out the road with it, and you had the momentum of The Store and the camaraderie that The Store brought.
- RWRon White
Right.
- JRJoe Rogan
You know? There, there was a, there's a real tangible camaraderie about that place.
- RWRon White
It is, and, and something that I have to have, you know?
- JRJoe Rogan
Yeah.
- RWRon White
Uh, uh, I miss the, the, the tribe, uh, you know, feeling that I got there. And, uh, and I'm... And although we are recreating that...... here in Austin. And I don't think I'll ever quit doing standup, I'm gonna quit touring.
- JRJoe Rogan
Yeah.
- RWRon White
I still wanna come out and do sets at your new place and, you know-
- JRJoe Rogan
For sure.
- RWRon White
... and, and, uh, but I just wanna do everything on-
- JRJoe Rogan
Yeah.
- RWRon White
... on my terms and, you know, just call the shots and, and, uh, uh, uh-
- JRJoe Rogan
Why not? You can.
- RWRon White
Yeah. I can, so.
- JRJoe Rogan
Yeah. And if that's what you wanna do, there's no reason, uh, to not, you know? And again, you, you've always got a home wherever I am and these shows that we've been doing, like, we're, we're gonna do a show to- show together tonight. These fucking shows are so fun. Hanging out in the green room just laughing and-
- RWRon White
(laughs) It's just a hoot.
- JRJoe Rogan
... getting it started and hearing the crowd roar and-
- RWRon White
Right.
- JRJoe Rogan
We're the luckiest people alive.
- RWRon White
Right. And I, you know, in, uh, in California, I would never ever let anybody go with me to the store. Not my wife at the time or my friends because it was mine.
- JRJoe Rogan
Yeah.
- RWRon White
You know? I, like, I went there by myself, I didn't bring, my manager didn't go- nobody went with me and, um, uh, who, Martin, uh, uh, who's the, a big, um, uh, movie star that used to come out to the store every once in a while and he would have a, I can't think of his name.
- JRJoe Rogan
Martin Lawrence?
- RWRon White
Yeah, Martin Lawrence and, uh, and, and he, there would be a, uh, two big SUVs of people that got there (laughs) before him.
- JRJoe Rogan
Right. Yeah.
- RWRon White
And then they'd set up rails and so-
- JRJoe Rogan
Yeah.
- RWRon White
... you couldn't touch him and he would come in. I'm like, "That's no fun."
- JRJoe Rogan
Yeah.
- RWRon White
You know? Go out there by yourself, you know, and hang out with your friends and say what you wanna say and do what you wanna do and you don't have to worry about something where they're sitting or Cokes and somebody asked me for tickets to you and Chappelle's show and somewhere, in some city and I said, "No. (laughs) I'm not gonna do it." I'm not gonna ca- I'm not gonna pester those guys for tickets. I'm just not gonna do it. I, I, I, I don't, and I, and I don't know why 'cause I know it wouldn't have been a big deal to you and it w- and, but it's just, uh, I, I, I just don't, I, I just love this experience without all that hassle.
Episode duration: 2:59:37
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