The guest
Mark Greaney: Bestselling thriller novelist behind the Gray Man series and the continuation of Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan novels.
What this episode covers
Mark Greaney joins Joe Rogan to discuss how a mild-mannered guy writes hyper-violent espionage thrillers, and the 20-year, repeatedly-rejected road to getting published at age 42. He details the 13-year journey of The Gray Man from paperback to the Netflix film with Ryan Gosling, and how he co-authored Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan novels after meeting and briefly writing with Clancy before his death. Greaney explains his research process, including roughly 50 firearms classes, Pentagon visits, and travel to 38 countries, plus how he weaves real geopolitics (Russia, Ukraine, oligarchs) into fiction. The conversation also covers obsessive fans and critics, a botched back surgery that left permanent nerve damage, and a long riff on fitness, nootropics, and David Goggins-style mental discipline.
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“I don't know if you've ever read 11 22 63 no oh my God it's a magnificent book”— Mark Greaney
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“I used to love that show no reservation just to watch it religiously yeah and my wife was like oh you're watching your boyfriend”— Mark Greaney
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“I love his book or his first book He's a his second book's even better he's amazing”— Mark Greaney
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“his books are fantastic I mean I I look up to him very much but that's not what I'm doing”— Mark Greaney
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“is it called the operator um it's a Navy SEAL book and he read it and I was like this guy could be a professional audiobook guy”— Mark Greaney
The guest's own work
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The Gray Man
Mark Greaney
“the whole Gray Man series I'm in uh I'm on um Sierra six yeah yeah the new one comes out immediately”— Joe Rogan
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Sierra Six
Mark Greaney
“I'm on um Sierra six yeah yeah the new one comes out immediately so yeah they sent me the new one”— Joe Rogan
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Burner
Mark Greaney
“my book burner opens with court blowing up Russian Yachts just as something something to do just as a side gig”— Mark Greaney
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Red Metal
Mark Greaney and Hunter Ripley Rawlings
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Armored
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“this other book that I have called armored and I wrote an audio play so they have sound effects and music”— Mark Greaney
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Mad Max: Fury Road
“I love her because she just done Fury Road so I mean I'd love to write something for her to be in”— Mark Greaney
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Patriot Games
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“the first thriller I've ever bought was Patriot Games which was a Tom Clancy novel uh I was like 19 years old”— Mark Greaney
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The Economist
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“I'd read The Economist when I was 17 years old I had a subscription that The Economist and U.S news and World Report”— Mark Greaney
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Xbox
Microsoft
“the only thing competing with me writing my book was my Xbox you know when I was off work or whatever”— Mark Greaney
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“Alec Baldwin was great in Red October yeah and too bad he didn't stick with it”— Mark Greaney
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“not wear the tactical gear and the 511 pants and the wireless X glasses and the Luminox watches or whatever”— Mark Greaney
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“not wear the tactical gear and the 511 pants and the wireless X glasses and the Luminox watches or whatever”— Mark Greaney
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“not wear the tactical gear and the 511 pants and the wireless X glasses and the Luminox watches or whatever”— Mark Greaney
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“if you're there with Solomon boots on looking yeah exactly you got yourself rifle coffee t-shirt yeah exactly”— Mark Greaney
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Black Rifle Coffee
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“if you're there with Solomon boots on looking yeah exactly you got yourself rifle coffee t-shirt yeah exactly”— Mark Greaney
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Maverick artificial disc
Medtronic
“it's called a Maverick it was actually the company I worked for made spinal implants and it was their device”— Mark Greaney
Big reveals from this episode
- Greaney spent 15 years writing his first (unpublished) novel and wasn't published until he was 42 years old.
- He put in his notice at Medtronic four days before the company offered everyone a generous voluntary-separation buyout.
- Severe social anxiety once made him skip pre-arranged meetings with literary agents, never leaving his hotel room.
- Tom Clancy died days after finishing their third book together, and Clancy's family then asked Greaney to continue the Jack Ryan series.
- His new Russia-themed novel's plot points were echoed by real FBI/intelligence indictments that surfaced just weeks after he finished writing.
- A surgeon botched his back surgery, leaving permanent nerve damage so he cannot dorsiflex his left foot, after four total surgeries.
- Greaney once unknowingly ate half a tray of cannabis lime squares and spent the night in a paranoid freakout convinced a jellyfish sting was killing him.
Worth remembering
- The Gray Man bounced around Hollywood since 2009; Brad Pitt was once signed on and Charlize Theron wanted to play a female version of the lead.
- Roughly 13 years passed between Greaney writing the book (2007) and the film's 2022 release.
- He took around 50 firearms and high-risk contractor classes, spending close to 200 days training at a Tennessee school.
- The phrase 'gray man' came from contractors describing how to blend in and not look tactical while traveling overseas.
- Greaney once crammed 14 extra pages into a Clancy book at the last minute, after the publisher had already measured the spine.
- Rogan had Greaney take six Alpha Brain Black Label capsules live on camera during the episode.
- Despite around $20 million from his books, David Goggins owns no car and lives a Spartan life, per Rogan.
- Greaney has two articulating artificial lumbar discs, a 'Maverick' device made by his former employer Medtronic.
- He has written roughly 23 books in about 12 years, often producing one nearly every year.
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