Joe Rogan Experience #1956 - Luke Combs

Luke Combs joins Joe Rogan for a wide-ranging conversation that starts with how he built a fan base on Vine before getting a Nashville record deal, becoming one of the first country artists signed off social media. They go deep on hunting, especially his fandom of Steven Rinella and MeatEater, including a heartbreaking story about a 230-inch whitetail buck he couldn't get a shot at in Oklahoma. The emotional core is Luke's candid account of living with purely obsessional OCD since childhood, intrusive taboo thoughts that once derailed his college years, and how it has muted his emotional highs even after huge career wins. He and Joe also discuss humility, fame, parenthood, and Luke's lifelong struggle with his weight, which he calls his biggest personal battle. The episode closes with a long UFC breakdown comparing Jon Jones, Kamaru Usman, and GSP.

• Luke explains he built a built-in fan base singing six-second clips on Vine, becoming one of the first country artists signed off social media.
  00:02:08
• He reveals marijuana, which he used to love, now triggers near-constant panic attacks, nine times out of ten.
  01:40:24
• Luke opens up about suffering from severe purely obsessional OCD, intrusive violent and taboo thoughts that come in months-long waves.
  01:41:59
• He says the disorder is so bad he'd rather his whole family be murdered and the killer go free than live through it.
  01:45:07
• His OCD contributed to him failing out of college, sitting on the bus tormented by intrusive thoughts about hurting people.
  01:51:20
• Luke admits he feels no emotional rush from awards or number-one songs and feels guilty about it, having only felt that joy at his wedding and his son's birth.
  01:57:31
• He calls his weight his heaviest silent burden and biggest potential regret, vowing to get fit so he can hunt and run with his kids.
  03:00:54

• Yellowstone fans priced out of Montana are flooding into Wyoming instead.
  00:08:53
• The Biltmore was the largest private residence in the US and houses a chess set on which Napoleon's heart was displayed after he died.
  00:11:03
• Asheville cattle were fed an anti-fungal feed to discourage psilocybin mushrooms from growing in their cow patties.
  00:13:37
• Chris Stapleton singing Tennessee Whiskey with Justin Timberlake at the CMAs opened the door for country artists who didn't look like models.
  00:20:22
• Luke can't read sheet music, suspects he's dyslexic, and got a D in AP music theory.
  00:29:22
• He taught himself guitar at 21 after his mom noted Kenny Chesney and Tim McGraw didn't learn until they were 21 either.
  00:31:53
• Pronghorn survived the megafauna extinction 12,000 years ago, can outrun cheetahs, and have hollow hair that smells like Fritos.
  00:49:07
• Steven Rinella once got flipped onto a charging grizzly bear's back and rode it for about ten yards during an attack.
  01:12:40

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