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Table of Contents
- 1. Who is Joe Rogan?
- 2. Personal Life
- 3. Joe Rogan’s Early Life
- 4. Martial Arts Career
- 4.1. Started Taekwondo
- 4.2. Became a Taekwondo Instructor
- 4.3. Left Martial Arts Because of Injuries
- 5. Joe Rogan As A Stand-Up Comedian
- 5.1. A True Fan of Comedy
- 5.2. Joe Rogan’s First Stand-Up Comedy Performance
- 5.3. Worked Different Jobs
- 5.4. Joe Rogan and Blue Comedy
- 5.5. Moved to NYC
- 6. Joe Rogan’s Acting Career
- 6.1. Joined a Comedy Show
- 6.2. Deal With Disney
- 6.3. Offered a Three-Year Acting Contract
- 6.4. NBC Sitcom
- 6.5. Befriended Phil Hartman
- 6.6. Worked on NewsRadio
- 6.7. Major Film Role
- 7. Joe Rogan as a UFC Commentator
- 7.1. Worked as a Backstage Interviewer
- 7.2. Interested in BJJ
- 7.3. Joined UFC as a Color Commentator
- 7.4. The Joe Rogan Show
- 8. Fear Factor and Joe Rogan
- 9. JoeShow Webseries
- 10. Joe Rogan Podcast
- 11. Joe Rogan’s Deal With Spotify
- 12. Joe Rogan Co-Founder of Onnit
- 13. Political Views
- 14. Views on Drugs
- 15. Films & Documentaries
- 16. Awards
1. Who is Joe Rogan?
Joe Rogan is an American UFC commentator, martial artist, comedian, podcaster, actor, and former television presenter. He is a versatile person who invites specialists from everyday fields of life and talks about almost everything. He has a wide knowledge of not only martial arts but also on social, economic, and political situations going on in and outside the country.
He is the host of PowerfulJRE, on which he invites notable figures and talks about different topics. Not a long time ago, he invited the CEO of Twitter and the founder of Tesla, Elon Musk, to his show.
2. Personal Life
Joe Rogan is married to Jessica Ditzel, who is a former cocktail waitress. They have two beautiful daughters. He now lives in Texas in his luxury mansion. His love for BJJ started when he saw Royce Gracie competing. Carlson Gracie is his first BJJ instructor. He is a BJJ Black Belt under Eddie Bravo in 10th Planet Jiu-Jitsu, and Gi BJJ Black Belt under Jean Jacques Machado.
2.1. Religious Preferences of Joe Rogan
Rogan was a Catholic as a child but later he became agnostic.
3. Joe Rogan’s Early Life
Joe Rogan was begotten on 11 August, 1967. His hometown is New Jersey. His family was of Irish and Italian descent but in 1985 went to Newton South High School in Massachusetts. He was a university dropout and later on, did not pursue higher education.
3.1. Divorced Parents
Rogan was only 5 years old when his parents divorced. He lived with his mother and did not meet his father until he turned seven. Joe Rogan mentioned that he does not loathe his father but he remembers the instances of brutality imposed by him.
3.2. School Life
Joe Rogan moved to San Francisco with his mother when turned seven. Later, his family shifted to Florida and then resided in Massachusetts. It was then that in 1985 Joe Rogan graduated from Newton South High School.
4. Martial Arts Career
Rogan was interested in baseball so he joined the Baseball club. At that time, Rogan developed a peculiar fascination with combat sports. He felt safe practicing martial arts.
Martial arts revoked a new life in Joe Rogan where he got control of his own life. It was then that Joe Rogan acknowledged his confidence and now he is a man having versatile qualities.
4.1. Started Taekwondo
At the age of 14, Rogan got interested in Taekwondo. His interest took him to the “US Open Championship Taekwondo Tournament” and he performed well in it due to his fascination towards martial arts. He excelled in the lightweight division and aced the tournament.
4.2. Became a Taekwondo Instructor
After winning the US Championship Taekwondo tournament at the age of 19, Joe Rogan, for almost four years in a row, remained the Massachusetts Champion for the State. Later he started teaching Taekwondo.
Not only did Joe Rogan aced in taekwondo but he was a notable figure in kickboxing in his twenties. His kickboxing record is 2-1.
4.3. Left Martial Arts Because of Injuries
Joe Rogan was truly fascinated by martial arts but stopped competing due to the massive head injuries that left him with a permanent headache. Though Rogan wasn’t interested in higher studies much still he joined a university, University of Massachusetts. Although after some time left it as he had no interest in continuing his studies.
5. Joe Rogan As A Stand-Up Comedian
5.1. A True Fan of Comedy
Joe Rogan was way too serious towards kickboxing. He never thought about another career, especially stand-up comedy. But little did he know that it would become the reason for his worldwide fame.
As a child, Rogan was a freak of comedy but never thought that one day he would be pursuing it professionally. “Live on the Sunset Strip” by Richard Pryor was his favorite show as a child.
His friends would ask him to imitate his favorite show and Rogan would do that with such excellence. His friends persuaded him to give his fascination a try.
5.2. Joe Rogan’s First Stand-Up Comedy Performance
On 27 August 1988, at the age of 21, Joe Rogan staged his first ever stand-up show. It was at Stitches Club at an event where audience members could perform during his stay in Boston. Joe Rogan was present there so he took the opportunity and performed as a stand-up comedian.
5.3. Worked Different Jobs
Rogan’s first stand-up comedy was a successful endeavor. It was then that he decided to pursue it as a professional career. He worked different jobs in Boston and gave hardcore attention to his passion and career.
At Boston University, Joe Rogan worked as a martial arts instructor and Revere. He delivered newspapers, drove a limousine and worked as a construction worker. Meanwhile, Joe Rogan paid attention to Blue Comedy and worked for a private detective as an assistant.
5.4. Joe Rogan and Blue Comedy
Joe Rogan was specifically famous for his epic performance of Blue Comedy. Due to his skill, he was invited to different parties and clubs. While performing occasionally in a club, Joe Rogan talked to the manager about allowing him to spare some minutes at the club for a stand-up comedy show. His manager readily agreed because of the audience's love for Rogan’s show.
During Rogan’s performance at the club, he was noticed by Jeff Sussman, a talent manager. Upon watching Rogan’s show, Jeff Sussman offered Rogan the job of Sussman’s Manager. Rogan agreed to the offer.
5.5. Moved to NYC
To attract and cash-out more opportunities, Rogan shifted to NYC in 1990. He lived with his maternal grandfather during his initial six months stay as he was a struggling stand-up comedian. He himself said that he was influenced by Bill Hicks, Lenny Bruce, Richard Jeni, and Sam Kinison.
“I didn’t have a direction until I became a stand-up comedian. I was pretty nervous about my future. I couldn’t imagine myself working a 9-to-5 job.”
(Joe Rogan)
6. Joe Rogan’s Acting Career
6.1. Joined a Comedy Show
In 1994, Joe Rogan resided in Los Angeles. At the Half-Hour Comedy Hour, Rogan made his first appearance on TV in a channel named MTV. His performance attracted many potential producers.
6.2. Deal With Disney
Joe Rogan then accepted the deal with Disney. His first lead acting role was in a sitcom Hardball. His role was of Frank Valente, middle-aged and self-centered professional baseball player. Rogan hesitated in the start as he was not sure of his acting skills. He said that he never gave a thought about acting.
Rogan worked 12 hours a day as it was his first acting project, he wanted to give his best. Rogan enjoyed the show but when the show was owned by Fox, the whole script was changed and that was highly disliked by Rogan.
Upon which Dean Valentine, the president of Walt Disney Television at that time, encouraged him that acting is not that hard as we do it in our everyday life.
Rogan also performed at The Comedy Store, despite his busy routine.
6.3. Offered a Three-Year Acting Contract
In the famous Dopey Game Show, Rogan was offered an agreement for 3 years for about $500. He rejected the offer but it was Sussman that prompted him to sign the offer.
6.4. NBC Sitcom
Rogan pacted in an NBC sitcom, named NewsRadio as an electrician named Joe Garrelli.
Rogan performed in the NBC sitcom, NewsRadio,
6.5. Befriended Phil Hartman
As Rogan performed at NBC sitcoms, he befriended a fellow actor, Phil Hartman. Rogan became so close with Hartman that he told Joe about his marital life. On many occasions, Rogan persuaded him to get a legal solution for his marital problem as Hartman was not happy with her. Hartman was of the view that separating from his wife could lead him to the loss of his children as he really adored them. And that is the reason he never sought a legal solution for his unhappy married life.
In 1998, Hartman’s wife killed him. This was a grave loss for Rogan. Rogan was so affected by Hartman’s death that he couldn't perform in his upcoming shows.
6.6. Worked on NewsRadio
Later, Rogan got tired of acting. He said that he got exhausted from acting the same role after every few days. So he left acting and started working on NewsRadio and kept stand-up as a recreational side hustle.
6.7. Major Film Role
In 2011, Joe Rogan played a major role in the film Zookeeper. It was a comedy film where Rogan played the character of Gale.
7. Joe Rogan as a UFC Commentator
7.1. Worked as a Backstage Interviewer
Joe Rogan’s work with UFC started in 1997 and changed his life forever. His first appearance in UFC was as an interviewer backstage at UFC 12: Judgment Day. He used to interview fighters after their fight. It was his skill that he was appointed as a post-fight interviewer too.
7.2. Interested in BJJ
In 1994, Rogan got the chance to watch a Royce Gracie fight. It was like a dream come true for Rogan. It was at the UFC 2: No Way Out where Royce Gracie defeated Patrick Smith, Rogan got fascinated by Royce Gracie’s fighting style and decided to learn Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.
7.3. Joined UFC as a Color Commentator
In 2001, when Zuffa took over UFC, Rogan befriended Dana White, UFC’s current acting President. Later, Dana White offered Rogan the position of color commentator for the UFC. Joe Rogan rejected the offer and said he only aims to enjoy the fights by being present as an audience member. We all know how Rogan loves watching MMA fights. So he declined Dana White’s offer but little did Rogan know that he was going to become the most praised UFC commentator ever.
After some time, Rogan accepted the offer and started working with Mike Goldberg, the senior UFC commentator. As a Best Television Announcer, Rogan claimed the Wrestling Observer Newsletter Award.
7.4. The Joe Rogan Show
In 1999, Joe Rogan started his own show, The Joe Rogan Show. Warner Bros approached Rogan and signed a three-album agreement with him. This show was written by Joe Rogan and Bill Masters where Joe Rogan was a sportscaster who would give his view on a women’s show.
He won the MMA Personality of the Year by World MMA Awards four times.
Joe Rogan’s first comedy show was released in August 2000, named I’m Gonna Be Dead Some Day. This stand-up show of Rogan earned him appreciation from all over the world.
8. Fear Factor and Joe Rogan
8.1. Hosted Fear Factor
In 2001, Joe Rogan joined Fear Factor as a host of the show. This offer was made by NBC which Rogan accepted readily. Rogan wasn’t much interested in the show but he only accepted it to gain new ideas for his shows. For six seasons from 2001 - 2006, Rogan remained the host of Fear Factor.
8.2. Appeared in Many Television Shows
Rogan’s appearance in television was mainly as the anchor of Fear Factor, which opened many new opportunities for him. He was the master of ceremonies for the Blockbuster Hollywood Spectacular in 2002.
8.3. The Man Show
After one year in The Man Show, Rogan had some issues with the producers. He was told that he can say anything on the show as the idea was to keep the show as real as possible. But according to Rogan that was not the situation. After that Rogan for other sources and the show came to an end in 2004.
Meanwhile he was casted into many TV shows such as Just Shoot Me’s, A Beautiful Mind. He even hosted The Man Show, aired on Comedy Central in 2003.
9. JoeShow Webseries
Rogan gave all his time to stand-up comedy, after leaving Fear Factor. He filmed episodes for the JoeShow Webseries. His next stand-up episode with the title, Joe Rogan: Live, was filmed after 2 months.
Later in April 2007, Rogan filmed Shiny Happy Jihad, his fourth stand-up comedy episode.
10. Joe Rogan Podcast
In 2009, Joe Rogan was the host for the Game Show in My Head aired on CBS. He willingly hosted the program as it was a bizarre type of fun and entertainment.
In 2009, Joe Rogan started his podcast channel with a companion of his, Brian Redman who is also a comedian. This podcast was aired on Ustream where Rogan and his friend sat with their laptops and talked about different topics ang gave their personal views. The podcast was a free podcast which anyone could watch.
10.1. PowerfulJRE
The podcast was given a new name in August 2010, “The Joe Rogan Experience”, after 13 long years, in 2023 it was changed to PowerfulJRE. There was a massive influx of people watching the podcast. This was a massive achievement for Joe Rogan. He invited guests from different backgrounds and talked on almost every topic, social, political, cultural, comedy, and much more.
In 2015, more than 11 million times the podcast was watched and downloaded. It became the most downloaded and watched free podcast.
The reason behind the success of Joe Rogan’s podcast is that there isn’t any topic he doesn’t talk about with specialists and for 2,3 long hours. His podcast with Elon Musk was one of the most trending podcasts on Youtube and Spotify. In that podcast, Joe Rogan and Elon Musk highlighted the importance of Artificial Intelligence and the wonders it is doing.
In one of the podcasts, Joe Rogan invited Yeonmi Park, a girl who escaped from North Korea when she was only 13 years old. She talked about the strict policies in North Korea as well as the brutal behavior of the President.
In PowerfulJRE's recent podcast, Joe Rogan was seen talking about freedom of speech. Freedom of speech is a topic which Joe Rogan has always supported. Not only does Joe Rogan invite political personalities on his show but also talks about various controversies. Despite the serious topics, there are numerous funny episodes on the channel too.
11. Joe Rogan’s Deal With Spotify
12. Joe Rogan Co-Founder of Onnit
Joe Rogan is the co-founder of Onnit which is a supplement-producing company. He often mentions Onnit on his podcasts and interviews.
13. Political Views
Joe Rogan is widely known as “libertarian-leaning”. He has a deep knowledge of politics and does not fall for anything without proper evidence. His lens is extremely broad, that is why he has knowledge regarding everything.
13.1. A Liberal Human
Being known as a liberal human, Rogan does not stop from giving his personal views about any topic. He is especially called liberal for supporting the LGBTQ community and for the recreational use of drugs. He is the number one advocate of “freedom of speech”.
“A good president”, were the words of Rogan about the Florida governor, Ron DeSantis. Joe Rogan isn’t a man who says anything about anyone just because he is famous. Rather, Rogan’s words are the result of thorough research and understanding.
13.2. Presidential Elections
In the 2020 presidential elections, Rogan supported Tulsi Gabbard openly. Rogan has never been terrified of people’s opinions, rather he constructs his own opinion and advocates it openly without the fear of being canceled on social media.
A petition was started to “to elect Joe Rogan as the moderator for the 2020 Presidential Debate”.
13.3. Republican
At the 2022 Midterm election, the patriot Joe Rogan, through his podcast urged the audience to “Vote Republican”, who are infuriated about the COVID-19 pandemic. Not many safety protocols were followed which caused a sudden increase in the cases of COVID-19.
In the podcast, Joe Rogan appreciated the Florida governor, whose action towards the pandemic caused the decrease of COVID-19 cases in Florida.
14. Views on Drugs
Joe Rogan is not totally against drugs rather he advocates the legalized and in-check use of cannabis because of the benefits it holds. In his documentary film, The Union: The Business Behind Getting High, stated the Marijuana culture. He supports the recreational use of LSD, psilocybin mushrooms, and DMT.
14.1. Use of Cannabis
Joe Rogan is in favor of the legitimate use of cannabis. Cannabis is widely used for treating chronic pain and that is Joe Rogan is its strong advocate. Rogan has shown interest in meditation via isolation tanks.
15. Films & Documentaries
15.1. Television
| Year | Title | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 1994 | Hardball | Frank Valente |
| 1995-1999 | NewsRadio | Joe Garrelli |
| 1996 | MADtv | Himself, Guest Appearance |
| 1997 | Bruce Testones, Fashion Photographer | Writer, Himself |
| 1997 - Present | Ultimate Fighting Championship | Interviewer (1997-2002) Color Commentator (2002-Present) |
| 2001-2002 | Late Friday | Host |
| 2001-2003 | Howard Stern | Guest |
| 2001-2006 2011-2012 |
Fear Factor | Host |
| 2002 | Just Shoot Me! | Chris |
| 2003 | Good Morning, Miami | Himself |
| 2003-2004 | The Man Show | Himself |
| 2003-2004 | Chappelle’s Show | Himself |
| 2003-2007 | Last Comic Standing | Celebrity Talent Scout |
| 2005-2008 | The Ultimate Fighter | Announcer |
| 2006 | Inside the UFC | Host |
| 2007-2009 | UFC Wired | Host |
| 2009 | Game Show in My Head | Host |
| 2012-2013 | UFC Ultimate Insider | Himself |
| 2013 | Joe Rogan Questions Everything | Host |
| 2015 | Silicon Valley | Himself |
15.2. Films
| Year | Title | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 2002 | It’s a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie | Himself, Cameo |
| 2007 | The Union: The Business Behind Getting High | Himself |
| 2007 | American Drug War: The Last White Hope | Himself |
| 2010 | DMT: The Spirit Molecule | Himself |
| 2010 | Venus & Vegas | Richie |
| 2011 | Zookeeper | Gale |
| 2012 | Here Comes the Boom | Himself |
| 2017 | Bright | Himself |
15.3. Comedy Specials
| Year | Title | Format |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | I’m Gonna Be Dead Someday… | CD |
| 2000 | “Voodoo Punanny” | CD Single |
| 2001 | Live from the Belly of the Beast | DVD |
| 2006 | Joe Rogan: Live | DVD |
| 2007 | Shiny Happy Jihad | CD |
| 2010 | Talking Monkeys in Space | CD, DVD |
| 2012 | Live from the Tabernacle | Online |
| 2014 | Rocky Mountain High | Comedy Central Special, Online |
| 2016 | Triggered | Netflix |
| 2018 | Strange Times | Netflix |
15.4. Video Games
| Year | Title | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 2014 | EA Sports UFC | Himself |
| 2016 | EA Sports UFC 2 | Himself |
| 2018 | EA Sports UFC 3 | Himself |
16.1. Teen Choice Awards
| Year | Title |
|---|---|
| 2003, Nominated | Choice TV Reality / Variety Host for Fear Factor |
16.2. World MMA Awards
| Year | Title |
|---|---|
| 2011 | MMA Personality of the Year |
| 2012 | MMA Personality of the Year |
| 2014 | MMA Personality of the Year |
| 2015 | MMA Personality of the Year |
| 2016 | MMA Personality of the Year |
| 2017 | MMA Personality of the Year |
| 2019 - July 2020 | MMA Personality of the Year |
16.3. Wrestling Observer Newsletter
| Year | Title |
|---|---|
| 2010, 2011 | Best Television Announcer |
Joe Rogan is not just a person, rather this man is a legend. He has inspired so many youtubers and people that today his followers are so much greater in number. He has approximately 16.8 Million followers on Instagram in Apr 2023.
Photo Credit: @PowerfulJRE