$200 million man Joe Rogan gets real on turning down ‘f**k you’ money from Fear Factor show
Joe Rogan reveals Fear Factor wasn't his endgame, cites $250 million podcast, UFC stint and stand-up as things he wanted.
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Joe Rogan explains why Fear Factor wasn't a permanent gig (Source: IMAGO/X)
UFC commentator and veteran podcaster Joe Rogan currently helms one of the most popular podcasts in the entire world. The Joe Rogan Experience (JRE)’ Podcast has been ground zero for many viral guests and multitudes of topics over the years. One thing some people overlook is the fact that Rogan has dabbled in other things as well. This includes but not limited to hosting the TV show Fear Factor.
The UFC commentator was the presenter of the game show from 2001 to 2006. Simultaneously, he later got parts such as the episode A Beautiful Mind of Just Shoot Me as ‘Chris’, Hardball, NewsRadio, and The Man Show (Comedy Central). However, despite the deliberate tele opportunities, Joe Rogan had reasons to not go back to Fear Factor anymore.
I was on the hugest show in television. Fear Factor was f**king gigantic. It was nuts… It was a fun job… But this is what’s important, even though it was the number one show in the country… I didn’t wanna do it…Also I’d gone through Fear Factor [already]…Fear Factor was a great job don’t get me wrong; very happy that I got it…But it was a thing where I was like this not what I want to do…I always wanted to do standup comedy, have fun, you know…
Joe Rogan on the ‘JRE’ ##2291 – Bert Kreischer – PowerfulJRE (@joerogan)
Rogan is a taekwondo and kickboxing practitioner himself; this is what partially led him into UFC color commentary in the early days. That, along with his kinship with UFC co-producer Campbell MacLaren. His manhandling of Jonny Fairplay’s aggressor (‘Survivor’ series fame) during a Fear Factor episode went quite viral.
On The JRE MMA Show #1195, he even detailed his handiwork as a tele-mediator. His days at the show entailed many such weird, quirky extremeness, and sometimes even interesting ordeals. Yet, Rogan left it behind to start his JRE podcast and other ventures, and it hit off.
He was already deeply embedded in UFC PPV duties and wanted to do something else he’d enjoy. That’s what made him transition to standup offshoots. In May 2005, Rogan signed with Endeavor Talent Agency, and began performing.
Two months later, his second stand-up special, Joe Rogan: Live, came out in Phoenix. Over the years, his influence has grown even in the comedy world as well. Recently, his Comedy Mothership in Austin – an Anti-Cancel Culture Club – is what he calls his passion project and aggregate of all things Rogan.
Podcaster Joe Rogan details troubles in launching JRE Show
Rogan and comedian friend, Brian Redban, conceptually launched their show in 2009 after Fear Factor. The Joe Rogan Experience (JRE) as an official name came to be in 2010 and onwards. Over the years, it massively grew in popularity.
The show has had many high-profile sittings including three-time GOP nominee and now-POTUS Donald Trump, Kanye West, Theo Von, Elon Musk, Andrew Schulz, and so much more. The episode with the POTUS (then-president-elect) soared with about 28 million views right after release. However, the show wasn’t as popular as it is today.
Everybody thought I was out of my mind for even doing [JRE show]… Like, people mocked me openly. Like, Howard Stern famously mocked all people that were doing podcasts.
Joe Rogan further said
In a recent episode of JRE sitdown with Bert Kreischer, Rogan talked about the early hassles. Additionally, he also covered some of the criticism he received at the time from pronounced media entities like Howard Stern.
Once boasting around 14.5 million on Spotify/17.6 million views on YouTube, the ‘JRE MMA’ Show gave up its exclusive distribution rights reign in 2020 for a big sum of $200 million! Currently, the UFC commentator inked a new Spotify deal for $250 million. Rogan has had multiple hats to wear with MMA commentary, comedy, and so on. But his podcast has brought life into a lot of those and it’s something he has fun in.
Related: Joe Rogan spills truth about ‘most brutal job’ he’s ever done for EA Sports
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