Joe Rogan has never been one to bite his tongue, and his latest take is no different. The podcasting powerhouse, known for chasing peak performance, recently opened up about giving up alcohol. Despite his history of controversial opinions, this move toward sobriety struck a chord, with even his guest backing him up. For Rogan, it’s not just a lifestyle shift, it’s another step toward mastering mind and body.

While having a conversation with Luis J. Gomez and Big Jay Oakerson on ‘JRE #2339,’ Oakerson touched upon the topic of completely quitting alcohol. In response, Rogan shared that he had also experienced blacking out from drinking, until one day he had a revelation about what he was doing to his body. “Dude, I’ve had three months off, and I haven’t had one bad day. I haven’t had one day physically where I feel like [__]. That has to be it, ” said Rogan.

Gomez chimed in on the conversation as he agreed with what Rogan had to say, “Well, the other side is your metabolism. When I stopped drinking, I got really, like, just in incredible shape. As you’re getting older, even just whatever it does to my metabolism—and everybody is different—but it was like a huge difference in terms of how I felt in the gym, how much I could run, how much I could lift.”

Fairly recently, Joe Rogan took to his Instagram handle to share a photo of his dog holding a toy Jack Daniel’s bottle in its mouth, with a caption stating that he has been sober for two months and feels great about it.

“I haven’t had a drink in about 2 months, and I feel great. Almost makes me feel dumb for not quitting a long time ago. I do so many things to stay healthy, only to sabotage it with booze multiple days a week. Glad my dumb [expletive] figured it out eventually. Marshall, on the other hand, wants to get hammered and go to the dog park,” wrote Joe Rogan.

There’s been a growing movement in the United States to reduce alcohol consumption, or even stop drinking altogether. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the annual Consumer Expenditure Survey, the average amount that a US resident spends on alcoholic beverages has dropped more than 60 percent from 2003, when adjusted for inflation. And being healthy is Rogan’s first and foremost priority, and this might be the reason why he left his combat sports career altogether.

Joe Rogan reveals why he stopped competing in kickboxing

After Joe Rogan kicked things off with Karate in his childhood, it didn’t take long for Taekwondo to take over. Rogan knew what he had to do as he climbed the ladder of success, and before he knew it, he won the US Open Taekwondo Championship as a lightweight. Soon, Kickboxing became the next big thing Rogan wanted to try his hand on. He trained and jumped into the amateur scene, and amassed a 2–1 record. However, despite his amazing record, his injuries halted his progress as a fighter.

During Joe Rogan Experience #2337 with Oliver Anthony, the 57-year-old said, “I kinda stopped kickboxing for the most part when I was like 30. I was like, ‘This is just not good for you.’ I was still sparring and I was acting at the time, doing news radio, and I was still going to the gym and kickboxing. Sometimes I’d have a little black eye that I have to get with makeup and s–t before I go out to the set.”

In combat sports, injuries are a daily occurrence. However, some injuries stay with you for life. After his martial arts endeavors, Joe Rogan realized that the cause of his intense head pain was his time spent competing. He understood that if he didn’t make a transition soon, he would be risking his long-term health. With that in mind, he promptly decided to pursue a career in other fields.