Joe Rogan Experience #1787 - Dakota Meyer

1. 0:00 – 15:00

   (drumbeats) Joe Rogan podcast.…

   1. DMDakota Meyer0:00

      (drumbeats) Joe Rogan podcast. Check it out.

   2. NANarrator0:04

      The Joe Rogan Experience.

   3. Train by day, Joe Rogan podcast by night. All day. (instrumental music plays)

   4. JRJoe Rogan0:12

      Dakota, what's happening brother? How are you?

   5. DMDakota Meyer0:13

      Good to see you. What's up, man?

   6. JRJoe Rogan0:15

      You wrote a book, man.

   7. DMDakota Meyer0:16

      I did. I did, with, with Rob O'Neil.

   8. JRJoe Rogan0:18

      The Way Forward.

   9. DMDakota Meyer0:20

      Yeah.

   10. JRJoe Rogan0:20

       Master life's toughest battles, and create your lasting legacy. What, uh, what drove you to this?

   11. DMDakota Meyer0:27

       You know, like, I, I, I think that there was, like, a p- a point in my life to where I kind of just j- had, you know, kind of put it all together of, like, wanting to help people. You know, like the way forward. There's always a way forward. You know, my, my life's been such a shit show in so many ways. (laughs) Um, and s- obviously Rob's has too. That was one thing we could relate on is, like, you know, we both came from two different places, did two different things, but, like, there's always a way forward, you know, focusing on what matters.

   12. JRJoe Rogan0:52

       Was there a time in your life where you didn't think there was a way forward? Were you...

   13. DMDakota Meyer0:56

       Yeah. Yeah, I mean, I, I wrote about that in my first book about, (clears throat) you know, a time that, um, I just didn't know if there was a way forward. But, you know, what, what I, what I learned was, is like, you know, when you don't see a way forward, it's because your purpose is yourself, and it's not other things, right? People that, people that are lost. Or, I felt like when I'm lost is when I'm too busy focusing on things for me and that... My, my purpose is me, and it's not, like, the things that are around me, the things that matter.

   14. JRJoe Rogan1:24

       Like, in what way? What do you mean?

   15. DMDakota Meyer1:27

       (smacks lips) You know, like my kids. Like, my friends. My circle, right?

   16. JRJoe Rogan1:29

       Mm-hmm.

   17. DMDakota Meyer1:29

       Like, doing something bigger than me. Like, focusing on something that's, that's bigger than, than just, you know, trying to survive. Like, okay, well, I'm gonna go pay my bills. Well, that's not really a, a, a great purpose, right?

   18. JRJoe Rogan1:42

       Right.

   19. DMDakota Meyer1:42

       But, but finding something bigger that you could believe in, like, you know, being a firefighter, or being a good dad, or, you know, just the, trying to have goals of fitness, or start a company, or all those things, right?

   20. JRJoe Rogan1:56

       So, did you feel like, uh, at one point in time where y- you were only thinking about yourself, and you didn't see there was any point to it all? Is that what you mean?

   21. DMDakota Meyer2:06

       Yeah. Yeah, I mean, I got out of the Marine Corps. And, um, you know, I got out, and it was all about me, right? It's like, "Oh, you know, I, um, I served this country. This country owes me now." Um, you know, 'cause, look, when you're in the military, you're... The whole time you're told you're a hero.

   22. JRJoe Rogan2:22

       Yeah.

   23. DMDakota Meyer2:22

       You know what I mean? Like, oh, everybody's just, they're, they're... You're just, you're just greater people, you know? All these things. You sacrificed for this country. This country owes you. And I hate that word owes, right? Like, owes. The only thing we owe is the bank. Um, but, you know, I, I... That, that was where I was at, and I was walking around blaming all my problems on, you know... Well, you know, I, I'm an alco- you know, I'm drinking all the time. I wasn't an alcoholic, but just drinking all the time, trying to, you know, overcome the pain of, you know, the stuff that I'd seen and things that didn't make sense. And, and then, you know, when you would try to question me or hold me accountable, I'd be like, "Well, (scoffs) you didn't go through what I went through." Right? And so, how are you gonna argue it? Um, you know, and I was surrounded by that. I was, I was the victim. I made myself the victim of, of life. And, you know, at that point was where I got the lowest, right? Like, I, I just couldn't... You know, 'cause at some point, like, people are gonna, they're gonna try to help you.

   24. JRJoe Rogan3:18

       Mm-hmm.

   25. DMDakota Meyer3:18

       Like, that's the great thing about the world is people are gonna help you. People want to help. But they can only help you so far. Like, they're not gonna drown with you.

   26. JRJoe Rogan3:25

       Mm-hmm.

   27. DMDakota Meyer3:26

       Especially when you're not choosing to, to, to get better. And that was where I was at, you know. Like, just drinking all the time. You know, being... I was, I was an asshole. Like, I mean, I'm still an asshole, but just a different way.

   28. JRJoe Rogan3:36

       (laughs)

   29. DMDakota Meyer3:36

       (laughs) Uh, you know. Um, I was an asshole, and just, you know, blaming, blaming the world for my problems, when really, I was the problem. You know? I just didn't have anything bigger than me. And I would surround myself by people who would, who wanted to coddle me, right? Like, "Oh, Dakota, you know, what you've gone through, you know, you, you deserve... You know, you're... It, it's okay. This is normal for what you've gone through." And it's like, no. No, no. Like, that's what America is about, is the comeback story, right? Like, everybody's gonna go through their problems. Everybody's gonna have their lumps, but America, they, they want the comeback story, you know?

   30. JRJoe Rogan4:14

       What was it that made you turn around? Like, did you have a moment? Did, did... Is it something you read? Is it something you learned?
2. 15:00 – 30:00

   Yep. …

   1. JRJoe Rogan15:01

      uh, for a lot of people, it, it doesn't just change you, but it, it makes you... I don't know what the best way to say it is, but you, you're just devastated by it. And every time it happens, it becomes compounded. It's more and more and more. And is there... Like, one of the things that I've thought about a lot with police officers, because I feel like... Look, there's bad cops. We all know there's bad cops, just like there's bad everything else in life. But I think that most cops are... The experiences that they have in situations where their life is threatened, situations where they pull people over, they have no idea if this person has a gun, if this person's a criminal. They, they, they just don't know. There's so many moments in their life where they, uh, they... I'm sure they've seen all the YouTube videos that I've seen.

   2. DMDakota Meyer15:48

      Yep.

   3. JRJoe Rogan15:48

      You know, where cops get shot at and cops get killed, run over by cars, and all that crazy shit.

   4. DMDakota Meyer15:53

      Yeah.

   5. JRJoe Rogan15:53

      Like, that, that has gotta be always chipping at your mental wellbeing.

   6. DMDakota Meyer15:59

      Yeah, I mean, we're... I mean, you're always living in that, that s- that sense of, of that fight, right? That-

   7. JRJoe Rogan16:06

      Yeah.

   8. DMDakota Meyer16:06

      ... fight or flight. And yeah, I mean, look, I... The respect I have for cops is just... It's astronomical, right? Like, you know, being on scenes and, and seeing like... Look, we're, we're... As firefighter, we're kind... Like, the way (laughs) , the way I'll describe it is, is cops are kind of like the dad of, of, of the country. When they show up, like, nobody's happy. Like, there's never a time that people are like... You know, like s- somebody's gonna be mad, right?

   9. JRJoe Rogan16:32

      Yeah, somebody's gonna be mad.

   10. DMDakota Meyer16:33

       Um, somebody's mad. When the firefighters show up, we're kind of like the cool uncles, you know what I mean?

   11. JRJoe Rogan16:37

       (laughs)

   12. DMDakota Meyer16:37

       Like, we, we really can't... What are we gonna do wrong, right?

   13. JRJoe Rogan16:39

       Right, you're there to help.

   14. DMDakota Meyer16:40

       Yeah, and then, uh, you know, when EMS shows up, they're kind of like the, the moms, right? Like, they, they're the caring... They're gonna, they're gonna fix it. They're gonna... They're gonna... They... The empathy's there.

   15. JRJoe Rogan16:49

       Mm-hmm.

   16. DMDakota Meyer16:50

       Um, and I'm not saying that all three don't have empathy. I'm just saying that they all have to hold themselves in a different way because they're all there for a different role.

   17. JRJoe Rogan16:57

       Right.

   18. DMDakota Meyer16:58

       And, um, you know, being a cop, you know, look, tho- those guys are just... They're incredible because they could go from coming over and, and, you know, Miss, Miss Whoever, uh, Miss, you know, M- Miss Nancy or whatever, Miss Smith, you know, she's having... You know, she might think somebody's at her house, or, you know, maybe the next door neighbor's a little too loud, and, you know, he's gotta handle it one way. And then the next person that he pulls over, um, he could walk up to a car. They could walk up to a car and could pull a gun and shoot him.

   19. JRJoe Rogan17:28

       Yeah.

   20. DMDakota Meyer17:29

       And, and he... And they have to be ready for everything.

   21. JRJoe Rogan17:32

       Right.

   22. DMDakota Meyer17:33

       And, um, yeah, those guys are just... They're, they're a different... They have to live a different life, (laughs) you know?

   23. JRJoe Rogan17:40

       A totally different life than everybody else.

   24. DMDakota Meyer17:42

       Yeah.

   25. JRJoe Rogan17:42

       And we expect them to just be able to do it-

   26. DMDakota Meyer17:45

       When you-

   27. JRJoe Rogan17:45

       ... and be able to handle it.

   28. DMDakota Meyer17:46

       And the factor we don't take into account, you know, is the humanization factor, right? Like, I mean, are you always on when you're having a bad day? You know what I mean? Like-

   29. JRJoe Rogan17:57

       Right.

   30. DMDakota Meyer17:57

       Like, the... Their... You know, they... their kid-
3. 30:00 – 45:00

   Well, you're being hon-…

   1. DMDakota Meyer30:00

      sorry, I didn't, you know, this is how I..." Like, "I, I didn't understand how this made you feel," or, "I didn't mean to do that." Like-

   2. JRJoe Rogan30:06

      Well, you're being hon- it's just being honest is what it is.

   3. DMDakota Meyer30:08

      It's just being, it's just being honest.

   4. JRJoe Rogan30:09

      Yeah, yeah, I think that's one of the most important things for a person. What I, what I was getting at with the jujitsu analogy is that the, the difficulty is... It, it transfers into your life and, and it can enhance you. But it seems like the difficulty of combat is way more intense and way more insane and w- obviously way more intense and way more insane, but way more difficult to overcome and to learn things from. It's like it seems like for a lot of the combat veterans that I talk to-... their, their experiences are kind of like burned in their brain in some way, where it's not like you're, uh ... I mean, sure, I'm sure they're stronger because of the adversity they've been through, but also some of it is too much and it just leaves them shooken.

   5. DMDakota Meyer30:56

      Yeah.

   6. JRJoe Rogan30:56

      You know, they used to call it shell-shocked.

   7. DMDakota Meyer30:57

      Yeah.

   8. JRJoe Rogan30:57

      Remember? I mean, that's what they used to call it before it was PTSD. When troops were coming back from Vietnam, they called them fucking shell-shocked.

   9. DMDakota Meyer31:05

      And I th- I mean, I think ... That was me for a long time.

   10. JRJoe Rogan31:09

       Yeah.

   11. DMDakota Meyer31:09

       For sure. I mean, that was me for a long time. Like-

   12. JRJoe Rogan31:12

       Did you get counseling for that? Did you like ... How did you-

   13. DMDakota Meyer31:15

       I went to Mexico.

   14. JRJoe Rogan31:18

       What was in Mexico?

   15. DMDakota Meyer31:19

       Um, I went down and I did ibogaine.

   16. JRJoe Rogan31:22

       Oh.

   17. DMDakota Meyer31:24

       Um-

   18. JRJoe Rogan31:25

       Did we talk about that the first time you were on the podcast?

   19. DMDakota Meyer31:27

       No, I think I did it afterwards.

   20. JRJoe Rogan31:28

       Oh, really? Interesting.

   21. DMDakota Meyer31:30

       Um, but yeah, no, I went to-

   22. JRJoe Rogan31:32

       How was that?

   23. DMDakota Meyer31:34

       Uh, it gave me my life back. I mean, it gave me my life back. Like, uh, I went down and, um ... I had just got to the end. And I talked about it in this book. Um, and I was going through my divorce. Um, I ... Oh, gosh, I did- ... You talk about not knowing what was next, I mean, literally, you know, just ... Gosh, I was just a n- I was melting down, just melting down from the inside. And, um ... And finally, like, one of my friends looked at me and he's like, he's like, "Hey, I just went and did this. Um, this is the date you're going. You need to go do this." And it was at that point, like ... You know, I grew up in, in Kentucky, and I, I, I mean, I grew up with weed is bad, right? I mean, all of this, right? You know what I mean?

   24. JRJoe Rogan32:21

       Mm-hmm.

   25. DMDakota Meyer32:21

       And, and for me, it was just such a, it was just such a ... To think that I was gonna go do psychedelics-

   26. JRJoe Rogan32:28

       Right.

   27. DMDakota Meyer32:28

       ... it was just, like, such a m- Like, it was like a moral thing for me, right?

   28. JRJoe Rogan32:32

       Mm-hmm.

   29. DMDakota Meyer32:32

       I mean, it was a moral, moral, uh-

   30. JRJoe Rogan32:34

       Dilemma.
4. 45:00 – 1:00:00

   Grab you, yeah. …

   1. DMDakota Meyer45:00

      So got it and then I couldn't bust the window open with it. I couldn't get enough leverage underwater. And my buddy, Eric, I mean, this dude is like, I mean, he's jacked, right? So (laughs) he's just, he's just beating this window and beats it, beats it open. And he beat the back window open. I told him to beat the back window open first, it was a four-door truck, because I was afraid the guy was still, um, conscious and I, I was afraid that he was going to reach out and grab me-

   2. JRJoe Rogan45:25

      Grab you, yeah.

   3. DMDakota Meyer45:25

      ... and drown me. So I was like-

   4. JRJoe Rogan45:26

      Right.

   5. DMDakota Meyer45:27

      ... if I can come in through the back window, he can't just immed- um, you know, immediately grab me.

   6. JRJoe Rogan45:30

      Right.

   7. DMDakota Meyer45:31

      But I couldn't get in through the back window because it was like, the truck was full of stuff. Like, it ... the whole backseat was full of stuff. So then Eric beats the front window out and so he did, so then he, um, I dove down, dove in the truck and, um, the guy was in there and he was, he was u- up like, he was f- floating. And you couldn't see 'cause it was in a pond, um, but he was up against kind of like the roof of the truck i- inside and, um, I, I tried to, I tried to reach in and grab him or reach and grabbed him and I just kind of felt where his, uh, up at top and I grabbed his collar of his shirt, because I knew I could just get him out of the window, which it's pretty tight to fit a person through a window, right?

   8. JRJoe Rogan46:10

      Mm-hmm.

   9. DMDakota Meyer46:11

      So I pulled him out and whenever I did, um, I kind of like sank because, like, I had him with me and I just knew I couldn't let him go because if I did let him go, I'd never find him-

   10. JRJoe Rogan46:23

       Right.

   11. DMDakota Meyer46:23

       ... in the pond. And, um, yeah, I thought I was going to drown.

   12. JRJoe Rogan46:27

       How deep was the pond?

   13. DMDakota Meyer46:28

       Probably 10 feet deep, eight, eight, 10 feet deep. Um, but it's mud at the bottom.

   14. JRJoe Rogan46:34

       Oh.

   15. DMDakota Meyer46:34

       So I tried to push off the bottom with my feet.

   16. JRJoe Rogan46:37

       (inhales deeply)

   17. DMDakota Meyer46:37

       And, um, my buddy ha- he ended up grabbing me, he got me by my belt. I guess I had kind of been m- like, w- w- went over a little bit, he g- grabbed me by my belt and pulled me up. We get to the top and, um, the, the guys obviously, h- he drowned and so we swam him back, um, myself, Eric and, and, uh, and Jonathan swam him back to the shore, got him up on shore and then, you know, everybody kicked in and started doing CPR. He was breathing on his own by the time the helicopter landed and, you know, we had, we had Tiffany there who was just an incredible ... You know, just the, the EMS people were just incredible.

   18. JRJoe Rogan47:10

       How do you get the water out of someone's lungs when they do that?

   19. DMDakota Meyer47:12

       Well, you start doing suction, right? So you'll ... They, um, they put an eye gel in, um, to establish an airway, but, you know, getting CPR going, uh, they put a airway in and they start doing suction. I don't know how much fluid she brought off, but, you know, they, they brought a ton of fluid off of him just doing continuous suction. Um ...

   20. JRJoe Rogan47:29

       So what would you do if you didn't have equipment there?

   21. DMDakota Meyer47:32

       I mean, you just, I mean, compressions, right? Compressions and trying to, you know, bag, trying to get as much water as you can off. You know, they, they might, they might aspirate, uh, you know, trying to keep that aspiration out of the lungs, right?

   22. JRJoe Rogan47:43

       Mm-hmm.

   23. DMDakota Meyer47:43

       So, um, and it's ... And me, you know, the next day, myself, Eric and, and Jonathan, we actually had to go to the doctor because we, we all have aspiration pneumonia right now, um, from it, from the-

   24. JRJoe Rogan47:54

       This just happened?

   25. DMDakota Meyer47:55

       Yeah, I've, uh, yeah, I got, I got aspiration pneumonia, right. It's what my cough is from.

   26. JRJoe Rogan47:59

       When did this happen? How long ago?

   27. DMDakota Meyer48:00

       Tuesday.

   28. JRJoe Rogan48:01

       Wow.

   29. DMDakota Meyer48:02

       Yeah. But, but, you know, look, the guy, um, we, you know, we get updates every day because we all, I mean, you know, we all, we all want this guy to make it. Um, and he, I mean, he's off life support and he's talking.

   30. JRJoe Rogan48:15

       Wow.
5. 1:00:00 – 1:14:54

   Mm-hmm. …

   1. DMDakota Meyer1:00:00

      I was sitting in a stadium watching myself from a, like a different point of view.

   2. JRJoe Rogan1:00:06

      Mm-hmm.

   3. DMDakota Meyer1:00:06

      Does that make sense?

   4. JRJoe Rogan1:00:07

      Yeah.

   5. DMDakota Meyer1:00:07

      And, uh, it was real. It was real. Like it wasn't like I was seeing like crazy, crazy, you know, alternate reality. It was real. It was real people. It was real situations. It was real things.

   6. JRJoe Rogan1:00:22

      Now, was it a replica of what you'd experienced or was it, uh, not? So was it situations that never really occurred?

   7. DMDakota Meyer1:00:33

      Well, I mean, obviously the walking to, to, onto the stage, um, was not, you know, obviously all these people weren't in one room, but-

   8. JRJoe Rogan1:00:40

      Right.

   9. DMDakota Meyer1:00:41

      ... but their faces were real. They were real people in my life. They were there. They were real people. So I think obviously there was like a balance to it, but it was like all of it made sense, if that makes sense.

   10. JRJoe Rogan1:00:50

       Mm-hmm.

   11. DMDakota Meyer1:00:51

       Like every bit of it, like I knew what it was telling me.

   12. JRJoe Rogan1:00:54

       So it's like you walked onto a stage and then the audience was all filled with people that you've had conflicts with?

   13. DMDakota Meyer1:01:00

       Or just like people that I don't feel like, you know, people I feel like I've, that-

   14. JRJoe Rogan1:01:04

       You let down or...

   15. DMDakota Meyer1:01:05

       ... That I, you know, that make me feel like I let them down-

   16. JRJoe Rogan1:01:08

       Mm-hmm.

   17. DMDakota Meyer1:01:08

       ... when, when I don't think I, when, and, and when I look at it logically, I didn't.You know what I mean? Like, um... And there was just, you know, there was a lot of that.

   18. JRJoe Rogan1:01:20

       And so, you get out of that.

   19. DMDakota Meyer1:01:22

       Mm-hmm.

   20. JRJoe Rogan1:01:22

       You do DMT.

   21. DMDakota Meyer1:01:24

       Yeah, the next day.

   22. JRJoe Rogan1:01:25

       You put it all together because of those two experiences.

   23. DMDakota Meyer1:01:28

       Yeah. And I-

   24. JRJoe Rogan1:01:28

       And then, what is life like right after that?

   25. DMDakota Meyer1:01:31

       You know, before... B- so before I went down there, I mean, I was having an anxiety attack a week.

   26. JRJoe Rogan1:01:37

       And what does that mean? Like, what is, what, what happens during your anxiety attacks?

   27. DMDakota Meyer1:01:42

       You know, like, I'll wake up throwing up. Like, I'd be in the floor, like, throwing up, crying. Just, just, like, can't control it.

   28. JRJoe Rogan1:01:53

       And it's, uh, eh, uh, but... And when you say anxiety, like, what are you thinking?

   29. DMDakota Meyer1:01:59

       You know, I, I... Just that, how much of a failure I am.

   30. JRJoe Rogan1:02:02

       Really? That's what it was?

Episode duration: 3:02:29