The guest
Fedor Gorst: 22-year-old Russian professional pool player and World Champion, widely considered one of the top players in the world; the first professional pool player on the podcast.
What this episode covers
Joe Rogan hosts professional pool player Fedor Gorst, who started with Russian Pyramid as a child before switching to pool and rising to elite status. They trace his path from Moscow pool rooms to European tours, the Derby City Classic, and relocating to the United States after Russian athletes were banned following February 2022. The conversation dives deep into pool culture: gambling, hustling, the role of coaches, equipment like cues and shafts, and the influence of Filipino and Russian players. Rogan shares vivid stories from his own years around New York and LA pool halls, including drug-fueled action players, and they discuss whether pool is finally having a resurgence through streaming and events like the Mosconi Cup.
Recommended on this episode
BookRecommendedISBN verified
Playing Off the Rail
David McCumber
“a great book... it's well worth it if you're a pool player if you're into pool to get this book because it's really well written”
“there was a great book uh called playing off the rail have you ever heard of that book by this guy David McCumber”— Joe Rogan
BookRecommendedISBN verified
McGoorty: A Pool Room Hustler
Robert Byrne
“very interesting book... it's an interesting book for anybody to read not just someone who's interested in pool”
“is a book called uh mcgirty uh life of a billiard Hustler very interesting book about Robert Byrne wrote it”— Joe Rogan
ProductRecommended
Tsunami shaft
Richard Sue
“those are really good... I like it a lot”
“Richard uh Sue yeah he makes those tsunami shafts those are really good I've got one of those for my Southwest I like it a lot”— Joe Rogan
ProductRecommended
1995 Toyota Supra
Toyota
“it was my pride and joy... I love that car to this day I might go buy one”
“I had a 1995 Toyota Supra it was the [ __ ] yeah it was a super turbo do you ever seen one of those”— Joe Rogan
Also referenced (named, not recommended)
BookReferenced
From Rags to Rifleman
“from rags to Riflemen is the name of the book I have a copy of it and it's a very old book”— Joe Rogan
ProductReferenced
Southwest cue
Southwest
“he makes those tsunami shafts those are really good I've got one of those for my Southwest I like it a lot”— Joe Rogan
ProductReferenced
Magic Rack
“are you guys playing 10 ball 10 ball yeah with the Magic Rack yeah the magic rack for people that don't know”— Joe Rogan
ProductReferenced
DAZN
DAZN
“matchroom pool is doing a great job they put on a lot of tournaments and you could watch them on the zone that the app yeah the streaming app”— Joe Rogan
ProductReferenced
Jacobi Edge shaft
Jacobi
“that was actually the Jacobi Edge shaft I used to play with actually that's another good story”— Fedor Gorst
ProductReferenced
Cuetec
Cuetec
“q-tec which is your sponsor started sponsoring Earl and then they eventually sponsored Shane and a bunch of other elite players”— Joe Rogan
ProductReferenced
Kielwood shaft
“I've tried a lot of kill wood shaft and they're not I mean they're not as consistent as carbon fiber I think”— Fedor Gorst
ProductReferenced
Diamond pool table
Diamond
“that's a tough table too that four and a quarter inch yeah diamond diamond that's a that's not an easy table”— Joe Rogan
ProductReferenced
Brunswick pool table
Brunswick
“his dad actually did that table out there that uh really tight Brunswick his dad cut those Pockets”— Joe Rogan
ProductReferenced
Valley bar table
Valley
“we were playing on Valley bar tables that's like coin operated yeah our tables was like five and a half inch Pockets”— Fedor Gorst
ProductReferenced
Meucci cue
Meucci
“jump with a Mucci punch Up full table with a Meucci how about that how strong is that”— Joe Rogan
ProductReferenced
HIBS pool training machine
“there is a pool machine called hips h i b s in Russia the so it's like a round thing with a pool ball there”— Fedor Gorst
MediaReferenced
The Hustler
“straight pool is the old school game that was in the movie The Hustler with Jackie Gleason and Paul Newman”— Joe Rogan
MediaReferenced
The Color of Money
“the color of money came out with Tom Cruise and Paul Newman and everybody wanted to play pool”— Joe Rogan
MediaReferenced
The Punisher
“he's a very famous actor who's in The Punisher in The Walking Dead and a bunch of movies”— Joe Rogan
MediaReferenced
The Walking Dead
“he's a very famous actor who's in The Punisher in The Walking Dead and a bunch of movies”— Joe Rogan
MediaReferenced
Jeanette Lee documentary
“have you seen the documentary on Jeanette Lee yeah well she had really bad scoliosis”— Joe Rogan
Big reveals from this episode
- Fedor's biggest single-day gambling win was $51,000 from one player in a rising one-pocket session.
- Fedor's father passed away when he was 13, during a financially tough period for the family.
- A stranger, Mike Nikolai, offered to sponsor Fedor's whole career the day after Fedor lost three sets to him.
- Fedor believes he was excluded from the European Mosconi Cup team purely because he is Russian.
- Efren Reyes first hustled American tournaments under the fake name Caesar Morales before revealing his identity.
- Rogan describes a heroin-addicted New York player ('Water Dog') who couldn't miss while high but couldn't play sober.
- Tony Annigoni, the subject of 'Playing Off the Rail,' died by suicide jumping off the Golden Gate Bridge.
Worth remembering
- Russian Pyramid is played on a 12-foot table with pockets nearly the exact size of the ball.
- Jason Shaw broke the world straight-pool high run record, running past 700 balls despite not being a straight-pool specialist.
- Player Nick van den Berg reportedly trained his stroke fundamentals through hypnosis with his eyes closed.
- Beta blockers, which suppress adrenaline and nerves, are considered a performance-enhancing risk in pool.
- Rogan saw a player use cocaine on his fingers instead of cue powder during an action match.
- Champion Willie Hoppe reportedly wouldn't even drive a car on match days to avoid straining his arms.
- In the Philippines, even a bartender who barely plays can run multiple racks of nine-ball.
- Fedor played pool non-stop for six months straight in U.S. bars and small events to stay in stroke.
- Mosconi Cup one-on-one matches are short race-to-five alternate-break sets, but there are eleven of them.
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