The Joe Rogan ExperienceJoe Rogan Experience #1887 - Maynard James Keenan
CHAPTERS
- 0:00 – 1:25
Sauna routines and staying healthy in the Arizona sun
Joe and Maynard open with day-to-day health habits, starting with sauna use and the practical headaches of maintaining one in Arizona’s heat. They trade notes on why sauna feels essential post-workout and how climate affects equipment and recovery.
- 1:25 – 2:44
Training jiu-jitsu on the road: focus, fundamentals, and avoiding flashy trends
The conversation shifts to Maynard’s challenge of keeping consistent jiu-jitsu training while touring. He explains how he chooses a single topic (like triangles) and seeks out trusted experts rather than chasing viral techniques.
- 2:44 – 4:32
Modern submissions and MMA evolution: buggy chokes, von Flue, and counters
Joe and Maynard discuss how new jiu-jitsu techniques migrate into MMA, and how the sport rapidly develops counters. They use buggy chokes and the von Flue choke as examples of innovations that surge, then get game-planned against.
- 4:32 – 6:46
Danaher, gi vs. no-gi, and training with age and injuries
They praise John Danaher’s detail-oriented coaching and unique background, then broaden into gi vs. no-gi training philosophy. Maynard mentions lower-back issues, and Joe recommends strength work and specific tools to stay durable.
- 6:46 – 12:17
Tour bus reality: sleep deprivation, dehydration, and finding training on tour
Maynard describes the physical grind of bus travel—cramped sleeping, constant shaking, and fragmented rest. They connect touring conditions to hydration, electrolytes, and the difficulty of maintaining athletic routines on the road.
- 12:17 – 19:50
Puscifer lockdown projects: pay-per-view concerts, characters, and ownership control
Maynard explains how lockdown canceled touring, so Puscifer leaned into high-concept streaming/pay-per-view events. He outlines multiple productions, their characters and themes, and why independence matters to avoid losing IP rights to networks.
- 19:50 – 30:24
Wine, coffee, and building local businesses: finding your “taste” and your market
They move into Maynard’s broader entrepreneurial ecosystem—restaurants, wine, and a new coffee roasting plan. Maynard describes learning coffee like he approaches art: identify what he likes, build a distinct product, and serve a specific audience rather than everyone.
- 30:24 – 41:52
Jiu-jitsu mindset as life training: drilling, self-control, and being okay with losing
Maynard frames jiu-jitsu as his hardest skill and a mental reprogramming tool. He emphasizes drilling, safe training partners, and the shift from panic to strategic thinking—then extends those lessons to pasta-making, winemaking, and creative work.
- 41:52 – 48:55
How Maynard writes: responding to riffs, building puzzles, and disciplined collaboration
Joe asks about Maynard’s creative process, and Maynard explains songwriting as an iterative, responsive puzzle—like rolling with different body types. He details how ideas start with sounds/rhythms, get drilled into memory, and evolve through exchanges with collaborators.
- 48:55 – 1:04:30
Relevancy, pop stardom, and escaping the “machine” (Miley Cyrus, Bieber, Black Mirror)
They explore the temptation—and danger—of chasing relevancy, especially under pop-star constraints. Miley Cyrus becomes a case study for artistic digging and the forces that try to keep successful brands frozen, including a Black Mirror episode mirroring that control.
- 1:04:30 – 1:34:01
Technology’s double edge: TikTok surveillance, screen-time discipline, and tool-vs-weapon thinking
Joe and Maynard debate modern tech as both empowerment and risk, focusing on TikTok’s terms-of-service and surveillance concerns. They contrast addictive dopamine loops with the internet’s real utility for learning—from recipes to equipment repair—while stressing self-imposed limits.
- 1:34:01 – 1:40:51
Back to the land: ducks, bobcats, falconry, and why food systems matter
The conversation pivots to Maynard’s hands-on rural life: protecting ducks from predators, using practical deterrents, and his wife’s licensed falconry. This becomes a broader meditation on resilience—growing food, local production, and the fragility of urban dependence.
- 1:40:51 – 2:09:26
Building a winery from scratch: terroir, glyphosate, scaling limits, and the long financial runway
Maynard breaks down what it really takes to build vineyards and a winery: land, water rights, planting costs, and years before revenue arrives. They touch on herbicides like Roundup, regenerative ideals vs. scale realities, and the operational complexity of employing over 100 families.
- 2:09:26 – 2:53:43
Wine craft deep dive: wild ferments, pet-nat, mead experiments, and the ‘Sour Grapes’ fraud lesson
They get technical about Maynard’s winemaking philosophy—minimal intervention, mostly wild fermentation, and experimental mead botanicals. The discussion expands to sparkling pet-nat methods, ancient wine mixtures, and the Rudy Kurniawan scandal as a cautionary tale about taste, prestige, and deception.
