Joe Rogan Experience #2439 - Johnny Knoxville

Johnny Knoxville recounts the origins of Jackass (born from a self-defense-gear magazine article that ended with him shooting himself in a cheap bulletproof vest) and walks through decades of dangerous stunts, including a bull-ring concussion that left him with a brain hemorrhage. He and Joe discuss the psychology of fear, coaching terrified Fear Factor contestants, and the toll repeated concussions have taken, including a months-long depressive episode he treated with medication and TMS. The conversation pivots into a long stretch of combat-sports history, praising Fedor Emelianenko, Cain Velasquez, and prospect Gable Stevenson, and the dangers of weight cutting and chronic knockouts. They close on World War II history, Russian doping (the documentary Icarus), and Knoxville's documentary work on Appalachia and country outlaw David Allan Coe.

• Jackass was born out of desperation when Knoxville's girlfriend got pregnant and he needed money fast.
  00:05:10
• His first stunt was shooting himself in the chest with a cheap bulletproof vest using a borrowed .38.
  00:07:45
• A bull-ring stunt in Jackass Forever gave him a concussion, brain hemorrhage, broken rib, and broken wrist.
  00:18:14
• Fear Factor was cancelled in the US after a leaked donkey-semen-drinking episode caused public outrage.
  00:36:22
• He told his therapist they could discuss everything except the part of him that does stunts.
  01:00:56
• Knoxville says he's been knocked out roughly 16 times and now has a 'glass jaw.'
  01:46:51
• After the magician/bull concussion he went 'offline' for months with severe depression, requiring medication and TMS.
  01:48:56

• The reverse hyper machine was invented by powerlifter Louie Simmons to decompress and strengthen his injured spine.
  00:24:27
• Boars/wild boars ejaculate roughly 15 ounces at a time, per Joe.
  00:33:46
• Colonel John Paul Stapp survived 49 Gs of deceleration on a rocket sled and is the reason cars have seat belts.
  00:44:49
• Blue Angels pilots are short and muscular because shorter blood-to-brain distance helps them resist G-forces.
  00:48:33
• Fedor Emelianenko submitted Kevin Randleman with an armbar moments after being suplexed on his head.
  01:33:20
• Dehydrated fighters get knocked out more easily because the brain takes days to fully rehydrate after a weight cut.
  01:55:14
• The Icarus documentary exposed Russia's state doping program, run by Grigory Rodchenkov, now in witness protection.
  02:00:26
• Hitler's troops used Pervitin (methamphetamine) to march through Poland for three days without sleep.
  02:08:40
• DNA from blood on Hitler's sofa indicated he had Kallmann syndrome, linked to an undescended testicle and micro-genitalia.
  02:10:46

Books, products and media the guest or host genuinely endorsed here — with the buy link.

Affiliate link — we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.