Perhaps no one talks about martial arts more in the mainstream than longtime UFC color commentator, Joe Rogan. Being a martial artist himself, the 57-year-old has been an avid advocate of various disciplines, sharing his technical knowledge with keen enthusiasts on his multi-million-dollar Spotify podcast. However, Rogan recently claimed that his dedication to martial arts caused a bit of stagnancy in one aspect of his life back when he started competing actively.

Yes, Joe Rogan is all about the benefits of martial arts. It has helped him professionally and personally, but his social life wasn’t that great at all. According to the JRE host, during the time that he was actively engaged in martial arts, he just didn’t have much to do in his ‘downtime’. “I started competing competitively, like serious sh*t when I was like 15 years old and so we’re traveling all over the country,” Rogan told guest Mike Rowe on the #2235 JRE episode.

The 57-year-old continued, “So, my social life from, like 15 to 21 [years old] was completely retarded… retarded as in [it] slowed down.” When we said Joe Rogan would just lounge around when he was not competing, we meant that he spent most of his free time resting from the relentless training sessions.

“It was mostly just training and competing. That’s all I did, and when [it was] the downtime, I was tired so I would just sleep a lot. I was like eating, sleeping, working [and] competing,” Joe Rogan further stated. Dedicating his life to martial arts appears to have made his social life next to non-existent. However, his social life wasn’t the only thing that took a hit, his health did as well.

Joe Rogan had a small tint in amateur kickboxing, where he amassed a 2-1 record according to certain sources. But with that came a few medical issues, which could have gotten worse if he had decided to continue fighting. The famous UFC personality would suffer his one and only loss via a brutal TKO that proved to be detrimental to his martial arts quest. It was after that fight that he decided to call it quits due to concerns about his head injuries.

” I have never been knocked unconscious, but I got TKO’d in a kickboxing match,” Joe Rogan stated on his podcast a few years ago. “It was a punch. And then I got dropped to the left hook. Then he finished me off with an uppercut, and then I got up.” Meanwhile, Joe Rogan also opened up on his struggles during those times from a financial standpoint. He not only competed but also had to make way for a means to earn a living and that led him to take on multiple jobs.

Joe Rogan used to sell newspapers

Joe Rogan saw some rough things growing up between his parents, as they separated when he was just five years old. However, he has never claimed to have had a troubled childhood. However, from ages 15 to 21 he did have some trouble making money. When Rogan wasn’t competing in martial arts competitions, he’d take some time to teach others at his own school and even at Boston University.

However, that wasn’t enough for Joe Rogan because he felt the need to make more money. So what does he do? Well, as big as he is as a podcast host, the 57-year-old recently revealed that his first work of the day between 15-21 years old was selling newspapers. “Then I started teaching, so then I was making my living off teaching, but not enough money, so I was still delivering newspapers. I would deliver newspapers in the morning and then I’d teach,” Rogan told Mike Rowe.

Rogan’s intentions to venture into comedy were never intentional, but his love for comedy and his inspiration from the late legend, Richard Pryor, made for a huge factor in his motivation. Now, being the biggest podcaster in the world and a synonymous name with the UFC, the veteran commentator not only has a great social life, but he’s also in a great financial position.

Let us know your thoughts on Joe Rogan’s confession in the comments down below.