‘Fear Factor’: Joe Rogan Fans Shocked By Youthful Looks
Joe Rogan might be a podcast mogul these days, but the comedian had a pretty humble start. Fans might recall Rogan working on the set of the reality show Fear Factor back in the day. For those not in the now, Fear Factor had contestants perform dangerous, frightening, or disgusting stunts for cash. Rogan was on the show for about six years, from 2001-2006, and from 2011-2012. And while some of these seasons did take place almost a decade ago, The Joe Rogan Experience fans are pretty surprised by how different the podcaster used to look.
How Joe Rogan got the job
According to Joe Rogan, he only landed the job on Fear Factor because he didn’t take the interview very seriously. He claims that the ridiculousness of the show was something he kept in mind.
“Immediately it was a hit. I was like, this is so stupid, the show was so stupid. And the reason why I got the gig was because I made fun of it,” he said on his podcast.
“Like everybody was trying to be spooky, they’re, you know, ‘Is fear a factor for you?’ So I came into this meeting, I was high as f*ck. I came into this meeting, and they were telling me what they wanted to do…,” he added.
“You know, I had just been on NBC for News Radio. Then I came into this meeting, I was like, what are you gonna do? You’re gonna sic dogs on people? This is like a bit in an act, this is like the bit where it goes terribly wrong.”
“I was like, this is the most insane idea for a television show I’ve ever heard, this is gonna be canceled immediately, and I’m gonna have all this material about remember when I used to host Fear Factor? Meanwhile a hundred and sixty f*cking episodes later…,” he lamented.
The challenge that canceled ‘Fear Factor’
Joe Rogan experienced a bevy of disgusting challenges while hosting Fear Factor, but he says one particular challenge was so gross, that it wound up getting the show canceled.
This particular challenge was a drinking challenge, and involved “donkey juice.” Basically, contestants were required to drink a certain amount of donkey semen or urine based on their performance in a game of horseshoes.
“They played horseshoes, but they could never win. Even if you made a ringer you’d have to drink one ounce. But if you f*cked up you had to drink 10, 11, 12 ounces. These were jugs, jugs of [semen],” said Rogan.
“So hard to imagine that was a real show. Well, this was the one that killed it. That episode killed it.”
Joe Rogan fans shocked by youthful appearance
Some fans of Joe Rogan know the comedian only from his time podcasting, not from his time on Fear Factor. Suffice it to say, Rogan looked very different at the time, and some fans found it surprising to see.
“Woah. Never watched Fear Factor and recent listener of the podcast so was not familiar with how insanely different joe used to look. He looks like a completely different person,” wrote one Redditor.
“Joe Rogan looks 20 years older 10 years ago,” joked a YouTube commenter.
One user noted that even Rogan’s voice seems to have changed in the intervening years. Another joked that it was just a step in his evolutionary process.
“Joe looks like he’s halfway through his evolution from F*ckboy Rogan to Toe Rogan,” they wrote, making light of his eventual baldness.
“THAT’S THE ROGAN MISSING LINK!” added another user.
