Joe Rogan's Full Biography

Joe Rogan has built successive careers as comedian, actor, and commentator. Born in New Jersey in 1967, Rogan is currently best known for hosting the popular podcast 'The Joe Rogan Experience,' which has featured a wide range of guests and topics over the years.

Rogan began his career in stand-up comedy in the 1990s and quickly became known for his irreverent and sometimes controversial humor. He went on to land a number of acting roles, including a long-running stint on the hit TV show 'Fear Factor.' Rogan is also a long-time commentator for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC).

Throughout his career, Rogan has placed himself at the center of various controversies, particularly over transphobic and sexist comments, and his support for conspiracy theories and alternative medicine. Rogan has defended himself against these accusations, stating that he is simply a critical thinker who is not afraid to ask tough questions. Throughout these controversies, Rogan's influence in comedy and podcast-hosting has only amplified, and he continues to be a popular and divisive figure in the worlds of entertainment and politics.

Joe Rogan's Career

1980s

In 1988, at 21 years old, Rogan performed his first stand-up set, in Boston. He describes his first several years in the entertainment business as a series of financial struggles, in which he worked other jobs to support himself, including teaching martial arts.

1990s

In the 90s, Rogan's career reached new heights with a successful stint on the NBC comedy series NewsRadio, where he played the character of Joe Garrelli. He also hosted the competition series Fear Factor, where he dared contestants to perform extreme and often nauseating challenges for cash prizes.

During this time period, he continued to tour and do stand-up routines, and in 1997, he took a job as a commentator and interviewer for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), a Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) program that produces events worldwide. He quit after two years, but would return to this job later.

In 1999, he started negotiations to appear in his own sitcom, The Joe Rogan Show, on Fox. He also recorded his first stand-up album, I’m Gonna Be Dead Someday, to be released the following year.

2000s

In 2001, Rogan accepted an offer to host Fear Factor, saying he thought it would provide him with material for his comedy routines. He also briefly hosted The Man Show on Comedy Central before disagreements over content brought that to an end.

During this time, Rogan began negotiations for his own radio show, and began turning his stand-up comedy into a web series called JoeShow.

2007 marked his second stand-up special, Joe Rogan: Live, and his fourth comedy album, Shiny Happy Jihad.

In 2009, he briefly hosted a reality show called Game Show In My Head, and launched his podcast, The Joe Rogan Show.

2010s

In 2011, Rogan returned to Fear Factor as host.

By this time, his schedule was packed – he continued to be involved with UFC events, took a role in the movie Zookeeper and one in Here Comes The Boom, continued to do comedy routines, hosted his podcast, and was working on a book based on his blog posts.

In 2012, he released another Comedy special, Live From The Tabernacle, and launched a 6-episode television show called Joe Rogan Questions Everything.

His podcast, now called The Joe Rogan Experience, continued to grow in popularity, hitting a milestone of 16 million downloads per month in 2015.

2020s

In 2020, Rogan announced he’d signed a deal to produce his podcast exclusively for Spotify. His podcast would continue to be a major source of controversy, where Rogan would share political views, social commentary, and conspiracy theories.

Joe Rogan's Business Ventures

Aside from his podcast and his employment in the entertainment business, Rogan owns a comedy club in Texas called Comedy Mothership.

He is also a co-founder of the supplement and fitness company, Onnit, and uses his podcast to promote its products.

Joe Rogan's Personal Life

Relationships

Rogan was married in 2009 to Jessica Ditzel, with whom he has a stepdaughter and two daughters.

Religion

Rogan was raised in a Catholic home, and attended Catholic school, but as an adult, says he does not believe in organized religion. Instead he describes himself as an agnostic, with interest in the spiritual, and says that he experimented with a variety of experiences to explore a higher consciousness, including sensory deprivation, isolation tanks, and meditation.

He also promotes substances ranging from cannabis to LSD and DMT as means to explore consciousness, and has been involved with documentaries about these substances.

Health

Rogan is heavily involved with martial arts, starting with taekwondo and karate as a child, then jiu-jitsu as an adult.

He heavily promotes fitness supplements, and has shared about some of his dietary experiments, including a 2020 attempt at a carnivorous diet, supplemented with amino acids and fish oil. He says this helped him lose weight and address some unspecified health struggles, but admits it was hard on his digestive system.

He has anti-vax stances and maintains that young, healthy people should avoid the COVID-19 vaccine, but also says that he doesn’t have the knowledge to back up these views and that he shouldn’t be considered “a respected source of information.”

Joe Rogan's Net Worth

Rogan’s net worth is reportedly around $120 million.

He continues to run his podcast under an estimated $200 million contract with Spotify.

Joe Rogan: Activism

Joe Rogan’s activism has been in favor of fitness supplements and the use of illicit substances.

In addition, he’s a pro-hunting activist, and has taken a stance against routine infant circumcision.

A significant portion of his most recent activism has been anti-transgender, spreading conspiracy theories (such as the false claim that litter boxes are being installed in schools for kids who identify as furry) and anti-trans rhetoric on his podcast.

Joe Rogan: Controversies

Rogan is usually engaged in controversy of one sort or another. His commentary on matters from vaccines – specifically promoting the use of an antiparasitic medication, ivermectin, and various unproven supplements to treat COVID-19, rather than being vaccinated – to politics to LGBTQ rights has earned him the side-eye from much of the public.

Doctors and healthcare advocates have asked Spotify to stop Rogan and others from pushing false health narratives on their platform, and he has had significant pushback over his anti-LGBTQ rhetoric.