Joe Rogan Experience #1702 — Laurie Woolever Transcript

Transcript

0:00 the Joe Rogan experience thank you same to you me out because that was the that was the dominant conversation on opening weekend and it really I just wasn't I just wasn't ready to watch something like that. There's always this feeling when someone takes their own life, like, if I could have just talked to them. Like a guy who was so interesting and so loved, you know.

3:20 and Maynard really into jiu-jitsu too. It's painful, but it's almost like it's painful later. Like if I text him, it's not there. something. And he said, no, don't come. And I'm always hesitant to talk too much about all of that. I think he felt humiliated honestly you know and I You know, clearly there's you know, there are plenty of people who have trouble in their relationships who stay alive.

7:28 I was his assistant for 10 years. and um they were uh there for the UFC and I met him backstage okay it was like wow Like I've said a couple of real stupid things to him too and I'll just Oh God, He just, and really smart, articulate, funny guy. to get involved with it well Wow, that's very nice. It's not like taking up squash which maybe squash is hard

11:36 into it he was like he was really he wanted to ask questions he wanted to go over moves I was like He was successful. I'm going to stick to yoga and weight training. That's a good age to start. like he did have a couple of like anxiety stomach aches the car, and I'm like, suck it up. But then when it's over, it's over. Yeah. You know, but that's other than that, you know,

13:58 When did you like how did your relationship with him start? of approval for him. So he, that, that was So they were in huge quantities. that it all still worked for a for a home cook so was were these like dishes meant for large groups So that was that's kind of the scaling i mean there's nobody there's no reason to do anything in small quantities in a restaurant and when you say shorthand do you mean shorthand like

16:51 Have you ever seen it, Tony? So they have combinations of it that equal things. And I'm like, that is like, how does one even learn that today? nonsense yeah look at that what look what Indian is. What is that? That's so nuts. got to be a dying thing absolutely so you just would sort of test out so you you know you went I think he was a season or two into a cook's tour, which

19:25 So when you would talk to him about it, he was like, this kid fucking them terribly at any moment. He doesn't think he's as great as we know he is. they love your take on the world I just feel like this is going to fall apart. When you see someone write like I'm the shit. just to talk to, just to have a conversation with, Yeah. You're like, hey. And, you know, it becomes like the structure of where your attitude comes from.

24:05 He was always very careful to say, I was not a great chef. really admired you know and he wanted everyone to be to know that he knew that too no yes that Parts Unknown. And he was the first guy that ever shifted my perception of what food is because I thought Like I was like, why all these chefs have fucking hand tattoos and they look like weirdos.

26:24 I thought it was great, but I didn't ever think, oh, this is this is an art form. Like you are you're literally getting an expression of this person's essence that's laid out in food form in front of you. he wasn't, he didn't spring fully formed as the, you know, confident guy that we saw in later years. Well, that clunkiness to me came off as authenticity.

28:16 There's a way that a person can behave, whether they're the host of a show or a radio host, whatever the fuck they're doing. And he switches and goes full ghetto in the middle. And, you know, the thing about No Reservations was it was who he actually was. I noticed, I watched the Montana episode And he's just got this, he's like a 10-year-old boy. And whatever, it was a masking thing if it was a genetic addiction issue thing.

31:25 But I think that, you know, as somebody who has been sober for a couple of years and has kind of, And he's like, where's the whiskey? Like, this is crazy. it's like the lines and his face he just looked puffy and worn out it just looked rough and that's know yeah which I had no idea until so ridiculous oh that's hilarious I think that's you know that

34:23 Yeah. And he was, you know, because he was super into his cardio, so he wasn't smoking. Which, you know, I remember him telling me like, you know, just life loses all of its meaning when you can't have salt. lose some weight they eat a lot of healthy fat yeah okay and they eat sugar and they eat salt Well, we were talking about hormone replacement too and he's like, I got to find a quack.

36:36 He just wanted to get juiced up so he could compete. I'm like, wow. up the sort of tendon strength and endurance to be able to do jiu-jitsu especially he's doing And so there's pictures out there of him looking absolutely ridiculous with this, like, giant, you know, Swiss cheese ear, you know, So there was, you know, there was the occasional draining or the chiropractor or the, you know,

39:08 I think human beings, men in particular, need a certain amount of physical conflict. especially the male body and the mind has certain requirements for conflict jujitsu meets all those what they love about it is it's so fucking hard, Everything else is easy the guy cut you off like who gives a fuck like guy cut you off who cares who cares if you? always about, uh, you know, the more I know, the more I realize I don't know listen you know he was really always about uh you know the more i know the

42:10 want to come to a town with the same material that you were at like six months ago like you The store or the cellar? Yeah. Mm-hmm. There's a guy named BJ Penn And he and I were talking about this on the phone. I'm addicted. I mean, you can get locked up in a relationship started going to AA meetings. And so in that hour I I turned my phone off. And he's like, what the fuck do you want to go to AA for? It's like, that's a cult. I was like, okay. That being said,

45:39 stigmatized to be an alcoholic, you know, so it was like, let's keep it on the down low while we get our shit together. So yeah, I find it to be very, very helpful. I wasn't a, you know, bad rock bottom And, you know, I was kind of a mess and I thought, certainly, you know, you saw there's a lot of lot of drinking on those shoots. Yeah. So It's very hard to capture with sobriety.

48:16 but you realize how much you kind of lean on that, Yeah, it was like, you know, Yeah. right? when he was fucked up that's my favorite stuff you know my favorite stuff is like the the carrie days It pulls him out of that and how he got back on the horse and figured it out again. Right. We look at them like, oh, something about that. Who knows? When you're writing these books,

52:13 And by and large, I let them tell their own story. interviews and and then fit it into fit it into a narrative. You know, people that were there with him in the bad old days of the 80s you know, the few months after he died were pretty rough. There was not much getting done, that changed quite a bit after he died, but I did want to make something of it. So it's a version

55:22 I mean, it's not like your typical photos or, you know, whatever the travel books Libya. behind the scenes, but it's a beautiful episode, you know, and he really talks about how, yeah, And that was kind of it. And he would help you out? He was a good friend to have that way. He's like, my favorite place to go. place has got a, you know, a bon pan and a starbucks you know but vietnam

58:53 Houston apparently has a lot of really good Vietnamese food. think it's pho i never quite know how to say it but when people do say it correctly i get annoyed It's like a question. Yeah. They're just like, all right, come and get us. is just the authentic way people existed in wherever you went like and that it You know, like, what's going on? about whatever it is that's, you know,

1:03:40 But I like to talk to them. I see things different, socially, with um arguing your position on stuff but there's also a great benefit in listening to how other It's the most disgusting thing. Yeah, I don't know. dog shit right right that's like probably the most fermented food you could have right like Like, have you ever seen like the strongmen from Viking?

1:07:11 Huge, giant, mushroomed-up men. Like it's not like the biggest place in the world. went pheasant hunting yeah he i had gotten into hunting while i knew him um i had gotten into hunting because uh i had come to this sort of um ideological impasse in my life where i was like okay, And I, I ate so much meat. And that's how we met. And he said, you know, have you ever been pheasant hunting?

1:10:15 always interesting to see him kind of Tony. It was almost like travel host Ken in a way, you know, i'd never been pheasant hunting before and it it's a fun experience, too, because you're just kind of like walking through these fields, hoping these birds freak out and fly away. You know, so we were eating this fresh-cooked, you know, freshly killed bird and some steaks and some other stuff and doing it by the firelight.

1:11:44 He had certain things I mean Punctuality meant a lot to him. style precision and, and, you know, well, in best case scenario, I know, it's just it's a military style precision. And he would shine light on that. It's a wild life, that kitchen life. You know, the people that do it, But, you know, also as a way to sort of dull the pain of your aching body and your tiny paycheck and your busted up relationships.

1:15:09 You're just more tempered by your profession because your profession is so – it requires so much of you. Like so many of those people that I meet are so interesting. Yeah. you know, they see the garbage needs to go out. They've got a manager and a waiter on their And that's about Kitchenware? And everything was about, you know, just smooth luxury. You're always going to know that you've read that book.

1:19:13 There's done. Would you like review restaurants or? What is the style of cooking in Sri Lanka? Now, how complicated is it to recreate dishes like that? to pay, you know, sometimes exorbitant shipping. And you just do your best. I mean, every, you know, There were some things, though, like there's a dish called hoppers, which is like fermented rice flour pancake.

1:23:18 to get that patina so the dough doesn't stick. And I just realized, like, this is not an endeavor I mean, that is something I started asking myself from the very first time I heard that Tony had died. Oh, he's a big baker, right? We have a deal. What are you producing? We're in the very early stages of it, but he's starting to do a little cooking show with his wife, Janet.

1:25:56 Yeah, fuck that. along was like well obviously yes i'll work for you but uh yeah i don't want to want to be a years. I mean, obviously, there was always still food involved because it's so intrinsic to the culture. It's very possible. Right. in any way? I'm not sure. I mean, I think there will be a time when, you know, both of these fucking incredible he was you know and I think working for him I kind of you kind of lose

1:30:55 know and I I you have to believe that this is a decision that he made uh that didn't involve anyone He would be really engaged with it. And unfortunately, and I say this with all hesitation because I know it's a fucked up thing to say. of different regions of the world and different people and different, different cultures. know, he had, he made a million throwaway suicide references as a joke, you know, always

1:34:17 and you know we'll never know really but um you know i i wish i wish that he had made a different decision. So for a voice like his, which had been so sorely needed in a time like now to not have him around. you know, but he would certainly have a lot to say about the way that we are or are not taking care of each other. He knew what was going on. is he was interested in things and the pursuit of those things and trying to understand stuff,

1:37:26 I'm like, Hold them up Okay.