The Joe Rogan ExperienceJoe Rogan Experience #1770 - Valentine Thomas
CHAPTERS
- 0:00 – 5:33
Canada’s trucker convoy, viral bar stunt, and catching up with Valentine’s new life
Joe opens with the Canadian trucker convoy protesting vaccine mandates, then detours into a shocking viral clip of a birthday prank gone wrong. The conversation pivots to reintroduce Valentine Thomas and her pivot from law to a life built around spearfishing and ocean travel.
- •Discussion of the Canadian vaccine-mandate protest convoy headed to Ottawa
- •Reaction to a viral video involving a taser/fire ‘birthday’ stunt
- •Joe reintroduces Valentine’s background (Montreal/law) and her career shift
- •Framing spearfishing as a freedom-driven lifestyle change
- 5:33 – 9:11
Wetsuits, ocean hazards, and whether Kevlar can stop a shark bite
Valentine explains why she always wears a wetsuit—even in warm water—focusing on protection from coral and ocean irritants. Joe explores the idea of Kevlar wetsuits and they discuss how shark bites typically happen and why sharks often ‘taste and leave.’
- •Why freediving wetsuits are tight, finicky, and require soapy water to don
- •Skin protection from fire coral and ‘creepy stuff’ beyond just temperature
- •Kevlar/neoprene concepts and the tradeoff between protection and flexibility
- •How many shark attacks are single-bite encounters and why humans aren’t preferred prey
- 9:11 – 13:23
Eating seal and wearing seal-skin boots: ethics, invasives, and extreme cold practicality
Valentine describes seal population dynamics in Canada and argues for a pragmatic view of using invasive species for food and clothing. Joe reacts to the social backlash angle while they compare durability and environmental costs to fast fashion alternatives.
- •Seal population numbers and impacts on fish stocks/lobsters
- •Seal meat as food and seal skin as long-lasting cold-weather gear
- •The ‘cute animal’ ethical tension vs ecosystem management realities
- •Comparing seal products to fast-fashion pollution and labor concerns
- 13:23 – 15:52
Marine Protected Areas controversy: retracted studies and politics in conservation science
Joe brings up the idea that marine protected areas (MPAs) boost fish stocks, and Valentine counters with details about a retracted, influential MPA paper. They discuss research ethics, conflicts of interest, and how policy can distort scientific narratives.
- •What MPAs are and why they’re promoted as a fisheries solution
- •Valentine’s explanation of a prominent MPA study being retracted
- •Ethics issues (relationships among authors, procedural violations)
- •Concerns about political influence and ‘desired outcomes’ in science
- 15:52 – 17:36
What ‘sustainable seafood’ really means: carbon footprint, labor, and Seaspiracy pushback
Valentine broadens sustainability beyond fish populations to include carbon footprint and labor exploitation at sea. She critiques the doom-and-gloom framing of Seaspiracy, emphasizing that a large share of global seafood can be sustainable—especially in the U.S.
- •Sustainability is multi-factor: ecology, emissions, and human rights
- •Modern slavery/underpaid labor on fishing vessels
- •Seaspiracy’s impact vs nuance in global fisheries realities
- •Claim: U.S. seafood management is among the strongest globally
- 17:36 – 21:15
Fish farming and tuna supply chains: purse seine, FADs, and the bycatch problem
Joe shares a story about tuna associated with offshore farming/penning, prompting a detailed breakdown of aquaculture and tuna ‘fattening’ practices. Valentine explains how purse seining can be low-bycatch, and why FADs (fish aggregating devices) often make bycatch far worse.
- •Differences between ‘good’ and ‘bad’ fish farming practices
- •High-value tuna captured wild, then fattened in pens
- •Purse seine fishing vs FAD-assisted sets
- •What bycatch is, and what happens to non-target animals
- 21:15 – 25:51
Intelligence and empathy in animals: dolphin meat, and why killing an octopus felt wrong
A discussion about dolphins as food leads into the moral intuition people have toward intelligent animals. Valentine shares that the only animal she’s killed that felt deeply wrong afterward was an octopus, despite being comfortable hunting fish and deer.
- •Dolphins as mammals and why eating them feels ‘different’ to many people
- •How humans rank animals by perceived intelligence when judging killing
- •Valentine’s emotional reaction to killing an octopus
- •Joe’s reflection on convenience vs ethics (ordering octopus/veal)
- 25:51 – 30:17
Ocean ‘aliens’: blanket octopus, telescope fish, and why deep-sea wonders go unnoticed
Jamie pulls up footage of rare ocean creatures, sparking awe at how alien marine life can seem. Joe and Valentine riff on evolution, deep-sea darkness, and how internet attention skews toward trivial content instead of extraordinary biology.
- •Blanket octopus footage and rare deep-ocean adaptations
- •Telescope fish/transparent-head fish and bizarre feeding mechanics
- •Evolutionary timescales in marine environments vs terrestrial life
- •Commentary on why such content gets surprisingly low views
- 30:17 – 32:00
Freediving as ‘water hunting’: breath-hold limits, mental discipline, and the feeling of escape
Valentine explains her freediving capacity and how spearfishing differs from pure freediving competition. Joe frames being underwater as a total mental reset, and they discuss how the sport demands calm, focus, and controlled physiology.
- •Valentine’s breath-hold benchmark and her non-competition approach
- •Freediving competition vs spearfishing (food + exploration)
- •The underwater ‘no phone, no world’ sense of freedom
- •Why spearfishing resembles bowhunting more than rod-and-reel fishing
- 32:00 – 34:57
Heavy metals and ocean pollution: mercury risk, Joe’s arsenic scare, and what fish accumulate
They dig into contamination risks from seafood—mercury in large predatory species and Joe’s experience with elevated arsenic from eating sardines daily. The discussion ties personal health back to broader ocean pollution and what marine animals absorb from human waste streams.
- •Mercury concerns concentrated in large predators (shark, swordfish, big tuna)
- •Anecdote: mercury poisoning from frequent swordfish consumption
- •Joe’s arsenic levels traced to obsessive sardine intake
- •How quickly levels normalized after changing diet
- 34:57 – 39:50
Somali pirates, toxic dumping, and why the ocean can turn people into criminals
Joe recounts a common origin story for Somali piracy: foreign vessels dumping toxic waste and destroying local fisheries. The conversation explores how desperation, lawlessness at sea, and stimulant use (khat) can fuel violent maritime crime.
- •Toxic waste dumping offshore as a catalyst for piracy narratives
- •How fishermen can shift to ransom-taking when livelihoods collapse
- •Khat as a stimulant and its social/health effects
- •The ‘pirates’ brand vs the underlying geopolitical/economic causes
- 39:50 – 44:27
Sailing, real-world piracy, and why boats are scarier than sharks for divers
Valentine shares personal stories of sailing with her father and of acquaintances robbed at gunpoint by pirates near Brazil. The topic shifts to boating hazards—near-miss collisions, prop injuries, and reckless drinking—framing boats as a top danger for freedivers.
- •Firsthand piracy story: older couple duct-taped and robbed at sea
- •Why the ocean feels ‘lawless’ compared to land
- •Near-collisions and propeller injuries as a major diver threat
- •Video example of a small boat getting run over by a larger vessel
- 44:27 – 52:22
Jet skis, oil rigs, shrimp boats, and spearfishing around sharks and tuna
Joe celebrates modern jet skis (including fishing setups), then they pivot back offshore to structure fishing around oil rigs. Valentine describes an intense spearfishing scenario: dropping behind shrimp boats where sharks swarm scraps while tuna lurk below—high reward, high risk.
- •Why jet skis are uniquely maneuverable and fast vs boats
- •Fishing-oriented jet ski configurations (coolers, bait, seats)
- •Oil rigs as artificial structure that concentrates bait and predators
- •Spearfishing behind shrimp boats: sharks above, tuna below, and safety discomfort
- 52:22 – 57:15
From archery goals to Alaska plans: draw weight, training tools, and ‘shield casting’
As Valentine prepares for a bowhunting trip to Alaska, Joe focuses on building strength and technique—moving beyond a 35-lb draw. He recommends specific training methods (rows, club bells) and explains why shoulder stability matters for accurate, repeatable shooting.
- •Valentine’s Alaska bowhunting plan and concerns about readiness
- •Draw weight progression and the importance of technique over ego
- •Club bells/steel clubs and the ‘shield casting’ exercise for shoulders
- •Recommendation to train with top-tier archery coaching resources
- 57:15 – 1:17:14
Self-defense training, MMA sparring mishaps, and the deeper appeal of jiu-jitsu
Valentine explains starting MMA and grappling to feel safer while traveling solo, including a wild story of being dropped by a hard-sparring teenager. Joe breaks down safe training culture, then expands into why jiu-jitsu is intellectually addictive and how elite coaching shapes mastery.
- •Motivation: self-defense fundamentals for a woman traveling alone
- •Hard sparring risks and Joe’s caution about concussions
- •Drills-first training philosophy vs gym ‘wars’
- •Why jiu-jitsu feels like a language: endless techniques and problem-solving
- 1:17:14 – 1:28:32
Hunting, responsibility, and processing animals: emotional reality vs ‘clean’ grocery meat
They trade first-hunt stories and the emotional weight of taking an animal’s life—especially after a bad shot that requires finishing. Both emphasize full participation in processing as a way to close the loop ethically, and they contrast wild game with factory-farmed meat.
- •Valentine’s first deer hunt and why the emotions changed after touching the animal
- •A gut-shot deer and the responsibility to finish the job and process the carcass
- •Joe’s first kill and the ‘primal’ satisfaction of cooking in the field
- •Why wild meat avoids many welfare and industrial agriculture concerns
- 1:28:32 – 1:40:21
Social media: hiding hunting posts, meeting followers IRL, and surviving bullying culture
Valentine explains why she rarely posts hunting content due to backlash, while also acknowledging social media’s rare positives—like community gatherings. The conversation turns serious as she recounts severe school bullying, and they discuss how always-on online harassment impacts teen mental health.
- •Online outrage dynamics around hunting content and public perception
- •The upside: community-building stories (hosting an Instagram BBQ)
- •Valentine’s childhood bullying and how social media could amplify harm
- •Rising self-harm/suicide concerns and the effect of image filters on teen girls
- 1:40:21 – 2:33:36
The biggest spearfishing moment: a 400-lb marlin, two-hour fight, and ‘waterhunting’ tactics
Valentine describes spearing a massive black marlin—initial shock, buoy-and-bungee rigging, and the exhausting process of tiring and dispatching the fish. They close by contrasting spearfishing with conventional fishing and emphasizing stealth, calm movement, and species-specific behavior.
- •Marlin spear setup: bungee line to buoys to manage powerful runs
- •Two-hour landing sequence: repeated dives, final shot, and braining/bleeding
- •Sharing the catch with locals and followers as part of her ethos
- •Spearfishing fundamentals: breath-up, silent drops, ambush/curiosity, minimal movement
