Joe Rogan Experience #1917 - Fedor Gorst
Narrator, Narrator, Joe Rogan (host), Fedor Gorst (guest), Narrator, Narrator, Narrator, Narrator
In this episode of The Joe Rogan Experience, featuring Narrator and Narrator, Joe Rogan Experience #1917 - Fedor Gorst explores russian Pool Prodigy Fedor Gorst Breaks Down Hustling, Discipline, Greatness Joe Rogan interviews 22‑year‑old Russian pool champion Fedor Gorst about his journey from Moscow’s disciplined billiard schools to becoming one of the world’s top players. They dive into the contrasting cultures of pool in Russia, Europe, the U.S., and the Philippines, exploring gambling, hustling, and the subculture around legendary events like the Derby City Classic. Gorst explains training methods, equipment choices, mental routines, and the physical toll of elite play, including back problems and scoliosis from years at the table. They also touch on politics restricting Russian athletes, the economics of being a pro pool player, performance‑enhancing drugs in action matches, and how to grow pool as a mainstream spectator sport.
Russian Pool Prodigy Fedor Gorst Breaks Down Hustling, Discipline, Greatness
Joe Rogan interviews 22‑year‑old Russian pool champion Fedor Gorst about his journey from Moscow’s disciplined billiard schools to becoming one of the world’s top players. They dive into the contrasting cultures of pool in Russia, Europe, the U.S., and the Philippines, exploring gambling, hustling, and the subculture around legendary events like the Derby City Classic. Gorst explains training methods, equipment choices, mental routines, and the physical toll of elite play, including back problems and scoliosis from years at the table. They also touch on politics restricting Russian athletes, the economics of being a pro pool player, performance‑enhancing drugs in action matches, and how to grow pool as a mainstream spectator sport.
Key Takeaways
Structured coaching and disciplined systems can rapidly accelerate mastery.
Gorst progressed from a Russian youth program with multiple coaches, then leveled up when European coach Johan Ruijsink took over their national team, showing how methodical coaching and constant fundamentals work outperform casual, self-taught approaches.
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Politics can arbitrarily derail individual athletic careers, regardless of personal beliefs.
Because of the Ukraine conflict, Gorst and other Russians were banned from major events for months and reportedly overlooked for the Mosconi Cup despite his world‑class level, illustrating how geopolitics can override merit in sports selection.
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Gambling and action play are both an accelerator and a trap for pool talent.
Fedor describes winning $51,000 in a single one‑pocket session and seeing players on Adderall, cocaine, or heroin playing for days, underscoring how high-stakes action sharpens nerves and skills but also pulls players into risky, sometimes dangerous lifestyles.
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Elite performance in precision sports hinges on a stable pre-shot routine and mental control.
Gorst outlines his routine—visualizing the shot and cue‑ball path while standing, then dropping down, pausing on the backswing, and delivering—which he relies on to handle intense pressure moments like shootouts and late-stage matches.
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Equipment choices and table conditions dramatically change the nature of the game.
They compare Russian Pyramid, snooker, nine‑ball, ten‑ball, bar tables, Magic Racks, and different shafts (carbon fiber vs. ...
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Physical maintenance is crucial even in “non-contact” cue sports.
Years of asymmetric stance and growth left Gorst with scoliosis and chronic lower-back issues, forcing him into daily stretching and core work; he and Rogan discuss specific back-strengthening tools like hyperextensions and reverse hypers.
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Modern media and creative formats are key to pool’s long-term growth.
With Matchroom events, Predator’s shootout formats, YouTube/PPV action streams, and Rogan’s idea of commentating elite matches himself, the conversation frames streaming and entertaining formats as the path to bigger prize funds and broader appeal.
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Notable Quotes
““Pool is a beautiful game played by ugly people.””
— Joe Rogan (doing an Earl Strickland impression)
““Honestly, you can count the pool players in Russia on both hands.””
— Fedor Gorst
““You can lose a tournament without making any mistakes.””
— Fedor Gorst
““Somebody so talented—I believe some players have a better vision, like a better eye.””
— Fedor Gorst
““I just want to play as good as I could and practice and get better every day.””
— Fedor Gorst
Questions Answered in This Episode
How much of Gorst’s success comes from innate talent versus the highly structured Russian training system he grew up in?
Joe Rogan interviews 22‑year‑old Russian pool champion Fedor Gorst about his journey from Moscow’s disciplined billiard schools to becoming one of the world’s top players. ...
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If politics hadn’t interfered, how different might his ranking, earnings, and Mosconi Cup legacy already look at age 22?
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Where should the ethical line be drawn between ‘action’ and predatory gambling in the pool world, especially when drugs and desperate players are involved?
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What specific training or technology (e.g., stroke machines, analytics, biomechanics) could further evolve elite pool in the next decade?
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Can pool realistically become a mainstream spectator sport again, and what formats or media strategies would most effectively hook new audiences?
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Transcript Preview
(drumming music) Joe Rogan podcast, check it out.
The Joe Rogan Experience.
Train by day, Joe Rogan podcast by night, all day. (rock music) What's up, man? Keep this like about, like a fist from your face.
Oh, all right.
You are the first professional pool player to ever be on this podcast.
Yeah. Thank you.
So congratulations.
Thank you so much.
How old are you, man?
I'm 22.
How long you been playing?
Uh, I've actually started with a different game called Russian Pyramid.
Yeah, I've seen that before.
Yeah, that's the game we play in Russia. Uh, you know, I've played since I was about six, that's when I had my first coach. But I've been around, uh, billiard balls since the very beginning.
You, what are you ranked in the world right now? You're like, in my opinion, you're like top three, top four in the world.
Uh, there's currently like too many different rankings.
Oh.
You can't, you can't really ... 'Cause I didn't play as many tournaments this year, like official ones, so I don't have any ranking points.
Because of the, 'cause you're from Russia, and-
Yeah.
... um, you couldn't play in tournaments for a while, right? During the Ukraine crisis?
Yeah, so uh, since the end of February when the, the whole thing started, uh, uh, they uh, they banned all the Russian athletes, and they only removed the ban in, I believe, in the end of July.
You know what's crazy is they didn't ban UFC fighters.
Yeah.
We have a lot of Russian UFC fighters, and they don't even get treated badly. They don't, they don't get booed. I mean, they get booed a little bit by some assholes, but-
It's, it's different in every sport, like hockey, you know-
Yeah.
... Ovechkin is still playing. You know, there's uh, a lot of great players in hockey that still play from Russia.
But, so in pool they made a decision to not have Russian players for a little while, and then they relaxed it. How, why did they relax it? Did they-
Uh-
... realize it was ... It's not your f- your, it's not your business. Like it's not like ... You're 22. You're not, you're not involved in politics.
Well, you can understand that from uh, I don't know, from like the business point of view, but uh-
I guess.
But uh, you know, pool, in my opinion, is a, is a small sport, and uh, in the end of the day, I don't know how many pool players will you ban by banning the Russian athletes? I know, I mean, three players?
Yeah, there's only a few from Russia, right?
Yeah, that play internationally.
And you're the best.
Uh, from Russia, yeah.
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