What could be more iconic than hearing Joe Rogan discuss aliens, politics, and culture on his podcast with some amazing guests? The podcast king has built a massive fan base and a fair share of haters through The Joe Rogan Experience. The show is widely cited as a major contributor to his estimated $200 million net worth (Celebrity Net Worth), though that figure is an industry estimate and often repeated by entertainment outlets. But the question remains: what’s the drive behind building such an illustrious career?

If we look at the journey of the podcast king, it’s not a stretch to say that his lifelong dedication to martial arts helped him develop a never-give-up attitude. This mindset carried him through the toughest times of his life. Rogan also credits MMA for shaping the mentality behind his success. He doesn’t see podcasting as a competition; instead, he believes learning how to self-assess, which he learned from years of training MMA, has set the heights The Joe Rogan Experience is reaching today as the most popular podcast show. 

In The Joe Rogan Experience episode #2363, David Kipping asked, “From martial arts, do you get that competitive drive?” Joe responded, “Yeah, but not in podcasting. You’d think so, since I’m the most successful, which is kind of weird. I’m competitive with everything, especially with myself. I’m very self-critical — that’s one of the key lessons I learned from martial arts.” 

Joe Rogan has been practicing martial arts since he was 14 years old, earning black belts in 10th Planet (Eddie Bravo) and in gi under Jean Jacques Machado — activities he continues into his late 50s. So, it’s only natural that he carries the fundamentals of discipline wherever he goes and whatever he does. But there’s another side to the podcast king that’s also deeply inspired by martial arts.

He’s also a very successful stand-up comedian. And just like every important part of his life, his humor seems to be shaped by martial arts as well. Let’s see what Rogan has to say about that. 

Joe Rogan on how martial arts influenced his career as a comedian  

One key discipline that martial arts teaches is how to train with people who have better skills. Sometimes it can feel overwhelming to face tough challenges, especially in MMA. However, learning and growing cooperatively actually makes a person better. Rogan has emphasized how being cooperative helped him navigate his comedy career. 

The UFC color commentator added in episode #2363, with David Kipping, “ You have to have people that are better than you that you train with all the time. So, that’s sort of a cooperative thing that sort of came out of martial arts, where you need killers to become a killer.” That’s not only it. He went on to compare that learning-through-rolling approach to how he refined his comedy — surrounding himself with sharper comedians and using a “never-stop-improving” mind-set rather than ruthless one-upmanship.

Rogan also mentions that in the comedy scene, some people were ready to push others down to get ahead. But his calm, cool, and collected approach helped him not just survive but thrive in that environment. He developed a style of comedy that was different from most TV comedians.

He added, “That helped me so much in comedy because my approach was different from most comedians with television and movie deals. They all wanted to be at the top and kind of wanted to keep everybody else down. There were a few people who were cooperative — but I was ultra cooperative.” 

That definitely shows how Rogan’s martial arts training paved the way for success in both his professional and personal life. It’s worth noting, too, that Rogan’s role with the UFC goes back to the 1990s (backstage interviewer at UFC 12 in 1997) and he has been a visible part of UFC media ever since — a continuity that helps explain why his martial-arts credentials matter to fight fans when he speaks on the sport. With that said, what do you think about the podcast king taking life lessons from MMA? Drop your thoughts in the comments below!