Joe Rogan
Born 1967 · Age 58
American stand-up comedian, podcaster (The Joe Rogan Experience), UFC color commentator, actor, television host, and entrepreneur.
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Life & Career Timeline
Born in Newark, New Jersey
Joseph James Rogan Jr. born in Newark, New Jersey.
Parents divorced
His parents, James Joseph Rogan Sr. and Susan Lembo, divorced when he was five.
Moved to San Francisco with mother
At age seven Rogan and his mother moved to San Francisco, California.
Moved to Gainesville, Florida
Rogan moved with his mother to Gainesville, Florida at age 11.
Started taekwondo
Took up taekwondo at age 15; later became state champion and instructor.
Graduated Newton South High School
Rogan graduated from Newton South High School (Newton Upper Falls, MA).
Won US Open Taekwondo (lightweight) & Grand Championship
At 19 Rogan won the US Open Championship taekwondo tournament as a lightweight and went on to beat heavier champions to claim Grand Championship.
Early jobs while building comedy career
Worked multiple jobs to support himself while doing stand-up: taught martial arts (including at Boston University), delivered newspapers, drove a limousine, did construction, and assisted a private investigator.
First stand-up comedy performance
Performed first stand-up routine at an open-mic night at Stitches comedy club in Boston.
Moved to New York City
Relocated to New York to pursue comedy full-time; stayed with grandfather in Newark for six months.
Cast in Fox sitcom Hardball
Secured first major acting role as Frank Valente on the nine-episode Fox sitcom Hardball.
Became paid regular at The Comedy Store
Hired as a paid regular at The Comedy Store in Hollywood; later said he performed there for 13 years and paid for a new sound system.
Moved to Los Angeles; national TV appearance
Relocated to Los Angeles and performed on MTV's Half-Hour Comedy Hour, sparking network interest and a development deal.
Signed development deal with Disney
Accepted an exclusive developmental deal with Disney after TV exposure.
Joined NewsRadio cast
Began starring as Joe Garrelli on NBC sitcom NewsRadio (1995–1999).
First UFC appearance (backstage interviewer) — UFC 12
Worked as backstage/post-fight interviewer at UFC 12: Judgement Day in Dothan, Alabama; began long association with UFC.
Three-album deal with Warner Bros. Records
Secured a three-album deal and developed plans for a primetime sitcom The Joe Rogan Show.
Recorded first stand-up album
Recorded two shows at the Comedy Connection at Faneuil Hall, Boston; album released as I'm Gonna Be Dead Someday... (Aug 2000).
Released album I'm Gonna Be Dead Someday...
Stand-up album released, receiving national exposure (e.g., The Howard Stern Show) and downloads on Napster.
Became host of Fear Factor (first run)
Accepted NBC's offer to host the American edition of Fear Factor; hosted the show from 2001 to 2006 (initial six seasons).
Appeared on Just Shoot Me and emceed Blockbuster Hollywood Spectacular
Guest appearance on Just Shoot Me and emcee for Hollywood Christmas parade in December.
Rejoined UFC as color commentator (started paid role c.2002)
After Zuffa takeover and friendship with Dana White, Rogan began serving as color commentator (initially unpaid for ~15 events, then paid); first broadcast events around June 2002.
Co-hosted The Man Show (season 5)
Became co-host of Comedy Central's The Man Show for its fifth season (with Doug Stanhope), after Jimmy Kimmel and Adam Carolla left.
Wesley Snipes cage-fight challenge (training)
Reportedly trained for a proposed cage fight with Wesley Snipes for ~5 months before the bout was canceled.
Signed with Endeavor Talent Agency
Signed a deal with the Endeavor Talent Agency as his career focused back on stand-up.
Joe Rogan: Live special filmed; Shiny Happy Jihad released
Filmed Joe Rogan: Live (2005 filmed; premiered on Showtime in 2007). Comedy Central Records released Shiny Happy Jihad (April 2007; recorded Sept 2006).
Public dispute and onstage confrontation with Carlos Mencia
Accused Carlos Mencia of joke theft in blog and confronted him onstage at The Comedy Store (Feb 2007); resulted in agent expelling Rogan as client and ban from The Comedy Store; later signed with William Morris.
Birth of daughter Lola
Daughter Lola was born (Rogan married in 2009, a year after Lola's birth).
Hosted Game Show in My Head (CBS)
Hosted the short-lived CBS show Game Show in My Head (eight-episode run in January 2009).
Married Jessica Ditzel
Married Jessica Ditzel in 2009 (one year after daughter Lola was born).
Launched The Joe Rogan Experience podcast
Launched a free podcast with Brian Redban (initially live on Ustream); the first episode aired Dec 24, 2009.
Podcast picked up a sponsor and grew rapidly
By May 2010 the podcast acquired its first sponsor (Fleshlight) and by August 2010 was formally named The Joe Rogan Experience and entered iTunes Top 100.
Birth of daughter Rosy
Daughter Rosy born in 2010; Rogan is also stepfather to Jessica's daughter Kayja from a prior relationship.
Podcast picked up by SiriusXM; returned as Fear Factor host later
The podcast began airing on SiriusXM's The Virus channel; Rogan later returned to host Fear Factor for its 2011–12 season.
Film role in Zookeeper
Played Gale in the comedy film Zookeeper (released 2011).
Began long-term UFC commentary partnership with Mike Goldberg
Worked alongside Mike Goldberg as UFC color commentator until Goldberg's departure at end of 2016; Rogan won multiple commentator/personality awards (Wrestling Observer Newsletter, World MMA Awards).
Released Live from the Tabernacle (digital-only special)
Released sixth comedy special Live from the Tabernacle exclusively via his website for $5 (Dec 2012).
Returned to Fear Factor for final season
Returned to host Fear Factor for its seventh and final season (2011–2012 run).
Acted in Here Comes the Boom
Played himself in the Kevin James film Here Comes the Boom (released 2012).
Joe Rogan Questions Everything (SyFy) aired
Hosted Joe Rogan Questions Everything on SyFy; show ran for six episodes in 2013.
Started uploading full video podcast episodes to YouTube (PowerfulJRE)
In January 2013 video episodes began being uploaded to the PowerfulJRE YouTube channel; viewership grew into hundreds of thousands/millions.
Podcast Stitcher Award (Best Overall Show 2013)
Won a Stitcher Award in Feb 2014 for Best Overall Show of 2013.
Released Rocky Mountain High special
Released Joe Rogan: Rocky Mountain High (Comedy Central, 2014).
Podcast reach milestone (11–16M downloads/month)
By January 2015 podcast reported >11 million monthly downloads; by October 2015 about 16 million downloads/month.
Named among Time's 10 Most Popular Podcasts of 2015
By 2015 JRE was widely recognized as one of the world's most popular podcasts (millions of plays per episode).
Netflix special 'Triggered' released
Joe Rogan: Triggered released on Netflix (2016).
Podcast 1,000th episode
Aired episode No. 1,000 (guests Joey Diaz and Tom Segura).
Netflix special 'Strange Times' released
Joe Rogan: Strange Times released on Netflix (2018).
Elon Musk interview — Musk smokes cannabis
Elon Musk appeared on episode No. 1,169 and smoked cannabis on-camera; news coverage noted a ~9% fall in Tesla stock the same day.
iHeartRadio Podcast Award — Best Comedy Podcast
The Joe Rogan Experience won Best Comedy Podcast at the iHeartRadio Podcast Awards (Jan 2019).
Podcast claimed 190M downloads/month (Rogan statement)
In April 2019 Rogan stated the podcast had 190 million downloads per month.
Relocated podcast production to Austin, Texas
Moved production from Los Angeles to a studio in Austin after Spotify deal; began hosting/filming at a studio inside his Austin home ($14.4M residence reported).
Signed exclusive licensing deal with Spotify (~$200M)
Announced multiyear exclusive licensing deal with Spotify for The Joe Rogan Experience; estimated at $200 million; podcast became available on Spotify Sept 1, 2020 and exclusive Jan 2021.
Onnit sold to Unilever (co-founded Onnit earlier)
Onnit, the supplements/fitness company Rogan co-founded, was sold to Unilever in 2021 (sale financial terms not publicly detailed in source).
Controversial COVID-19 episodes; ivermectin and Malone interview
Hosted guests (e.g., Robert Malone), discussed ivermectin and vaccine skepticism; drew criticism from public health community and sparked industry debate.
Neil Young and others remove music from Spotify in protest
Neil Young removed his music from Spotify (Jan 26, 2022) in protest of alleged COVID-19 misinformation on Rogan's podcast; other artists followed.
Spotify adds content advisory for COVID-19 (company response)
Following criticism, Spotify added a content advisory label to podcasts discussing COVID-19 (Jan 30, 2022) and created advisory council; Rogan agreed to add warnings to some episodes.
Rumble reportedly offered $100M
Video platform Rumble reportedly offered Rogan $100 million to switch from Spotify; Rogan declined reportedly.
Spotify removes multiple JRE episodes; slur compilation controversy
In February 2022 Spotify removed dozens of episodes (reported numbers: 42 withheld at acquisition; 70 chosen by Rogan; reports of up to 113 removed over a few days). India Arie posted compilations of Rogan using the N-word; Rogan apologized.
Opened Comedy Mothership in Austin, Texas
Founded/owned the Comedy Mothership comedy club, which opened in March 2023 in Austin.
April 2024 Onnit lawsuit filed alleging Alpha BRAIN ineffective
In April 2024 a lawsuit alleged Onnit's Alpha BRAIN performed no better than placebo in clinical study and claimed misleading advertising.
Spotify deal renewed — ~$250M and non-exclusive
In February 2024 Rogan renewed his Spotify agreement for an estimated $250 million; new deal reportedly no longer exclusive to Spotify, allowing distribution on other platforms.
Returned full episodes to YouTube (first full ep in >3 years)
On Feb 29, 2024 a full episode (Katt Williams interview) was released on YouTube for the first time since Spotify exclusivity began.
Netflix special 'Burn the Boats' premiered
Seventh hour-long comedy special Joe Rogan: Burn the Boats premiered on Netflix (Aug 3, 2024).
Interview with President Donald Trump (viral)
A long interview with Donald Trump during the 2024 presidential campaign went viral on YouTube/X — tens of millions of views in days (reported 26M in 24 hours, later reaching 41M on YouTube/X variants).
Publicly endorsed Donald Trump
On Nov 4, 2024 Rogan endorsed Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump (the day before the election); later criticized some of Trump's policies.
PowerfulJRE YouTube channel and viewership stats (public milestone)
As reported (dates vary), PowerfulJRE reached ~20 million subscribers and ~6.1–6.155 billion views (stats cited in 2024–2025 sources).
Podcast episode count surpasses 2,300+
The Joe Rogan Experience exceeded 2,200+ episodes (Wikipedia cited 2,355 episodes as of July 28, 2025).
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