Johnny Knoxville: Co-creator and star of Jackass, host of Fear Factor, and a movie actor known for self-inflicted stunts and pranks. He also produced the documentary The Wild and Wonderful Whites of West Virginia.
What this episode covers
Johnny Knoxville recounts the origins of Jackass (born from a self-defense-gear magazine article that ended with him shooting himself in a cheap bulletproof vest) and walks through decades of dangerous stunts, including a bull-ring concussion that left him with a brain hemorrhage. He and Joe discuss the psychology of fear, coaching terrified Fear Factor contestants, and the toll repeated concussions have taken, including a months-long depressive episode he treated with medication and TMS. The conversation pivots into a long stretch of combat-sports history, praising Fedor Emelianenko, Cain Velasquez, and prospect Gable Stevenson, and the dangers of weight cutting and chronic knockouts. They close on World War II history, Russian doping (the documentary Icarus), and Knoxville's documentary work on Appalachia and country outlaw David Allan Coe.
Recommended on this episode
Reverse Hyper
Louie Simmons / Westside Barbell
“I love this machine. I have one at home. I have one here at the studio. I use it all the time.”— Joe Rogan
Teeter (inversion/decompression machine)
Teeter
“that thing fucking rules. I always tell everybody if you have a back injury, you have back problems, that thing will help you a lot.”— Joe Rogan
Icarus
Bryan Fogel
“Have you ever seen that movie Icarus? ... Oh, it's a great movie. Brian Fogle made this documentary and it's a really interesting documentary”— Joe Rogan
Cocaine & Rhinestones
Tyler Mahan Coe
“And his son, Tyler Co. does that podcast, Cocaine and Rhinestones. It's a brilliant podcast.”— Joe Rogan
The guest's own work
Jackass Forever
Johnny Knoxville / Jeff Tremaine
“In at the end in Jackass Forever, I dressed up as a magician and I got obsessed with the idea of pranking an animal.”— Johnny Knoxville
Jackass Number Two
Johnny Knoxville / Jeff Tremaine
“in the Jackass number two when the rocket exploded, those were foot long metal rods and there was 12 of them.”— Johnny Knoxville
Fear Factor
Endemol / NBC
“how the fuck did they talk you into hosting Fear Factor? ... I met with Sharon Levy who runs Endemol”— Johnny Knoxville
The Wild and Wonderful Whites of West Virginia
Johnny Knoxville / Julien Nitzberg
“All the Wild and Wonderful Whites of West Virginia. I fucking loved that documentary, dude.”— Joe Rogan
Also referenced (named, not recommended)
Dancing Outlaw
Jacob Young
“Is this the dancing outlaw one? Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. ... Julian Nitsburg found Jessica White, went to Jacob Young”— Johnny Knoxville
Blitzed: Drugs in Nazi Germany
Norman Ohler
“Did you ever read Blitzed? ... Norman Oler wrote about Hitler marching through Poland and about all the drugs”— Joe Rogan
Big reveals from this episode
- Jackass was born out of desperation when Knoxville's girlfriend got pregnant and he needed money fast.
- His first stunt was shooting himself in the chest with a cheap bulletproof vest using a borrowed .38.
- A bull-ring stunt in Jackass Forever gave him a concussion, brain hemorrhage, broken rib, and broken wrist.
- Fear Factor was cancelled in the US after a leaked donkey-semen-drinking episode caused public outrage.
- He told his therapist they could discuss everything except the part of him that does stunts.
- Knoxville says he's been knocked out roughly 16 times and now has a 'glass jaw.'
- After the magician/bull concussion he went 'offline' for months with severe depression, requiring medication and TMS.
Worth remembering
- The reverse hyper machine was invented by powerlifter Louie Simmons to decompress and strengthen his injured spine.
- Boars/wild boars ejaculate roughly 15 ounces at a time, per Joe.
- Colonel John Paul Stapp survived 49 Gs of deceleration on a rocket sled and is the reason cars have seat belts.
- Blue Angels pilots are short and muscular because shorter blood-to-brain distance helps them resist G-forces.
- Fedor Emelianenko submitted Kevin Randleman with an armbar moments after being suplexed on his head.
- Dehydrated fighters get knocked out more easily because the brain takes days to fully rehydrate after a weight cut.
- The Icarus documentary exposed Russia's state doping program, run by Grigory Rodchenkov, now in witness protection.
- Hitler's troops used Pervitin (methamphetamine) to march through Poland for three days without sleep.
- DNA from blood on Hitler's sofa indicated he had Kallmann syndrome, linked to an undescended testicle and micro-genitalia.