Taken from JRE #1900 w/Steve-O:
https://open.spotify.com/episode/1UEwPJtW37sZ3Y8ncykCDP?si=423d15f38c9b456d

Way back when, before I got sober, I had this tour.

It was called the Don't Try This at Home Tour.

And I would promote every show by saying, I will be drunk and on drugs, or your money back.

It started in 2001, and I ran that until like 2005.

And I mean, you would just watch me get completely hammered on stage, like pounding tequila and shit.

When I came out on stage, I would walk out with, like, a suitcase of Budweiser cans, and I'd toss them out of the crowd, and I would take the can, I would start out with 1, and I would just bash my head with it until the can exploded?

And I'd be particularly proud if the can broke into 2 separate pieces.

And after I broke the 1 can, then I would take out 2 cans, 1 in each hand, and go back and forth, ba-ba-ba-ba-ba-ba-ba, and break both of them.

So every show, I would break 3 beers over my head.

And that, what I understand about the CTE phenomenon is that you're absolutely right.

It's not about how hard you get hit, it's the accumulation of lots of little hits.

The worst part was then, like, after I got sober, I started doing stand-up.

Like, initially, there was a period where I would do it with sparkling water cans.

You were still beating yourself in the head?

How many times do you think you've beaten yourself in the head?

And, I mean, As far as I can tell, I'm in pretty good shape.

Tony Hawk told me 1 time, he says that he found out, with regard to CTE, that there's a gene which will make you predisposed to Alzheimer's disease.

Yeah, and if you have that gene, then you're very much at risk for CTE.

But if you don't have that gene, you're considerably less at risk.

And he said that when he found that out, he went and got the test and determined that he did not have that gene.

And when I heard that, like, I kind of chewed on it for a while.

I ended up like, Like it was kind of nagging at me, and I ended up like reaching back out to Tony I said hey Tony about that test like what was your what was your plan if you did have the gene?

You can't under yourself in the head right now.

well how can you have a plan after the fact, right?

But so I'm like, I don't want to fucking go take that test.

I don't want to know if I have that goddamn gene or not.

Well, if it's been this many years afterwards, you're not suffering, you probably don't have that gene.

I also went to, like, and now of course, famously, the whole CTE phenomenon.

You can't find out if you have it until you've Died and they've like

I think there's a new way that they can tell before you die But it used to be that they had to wait and do an autopsy on

Well, I went to some like brain specialist kind of guy.

No, I just went because I was interested and Doc Dr.

It was actually when I was, I was trying to get Cauliflower Ear as part of my multimedia comedy.

And I remember telling you too, that I was like, I'm gonna do a crazy bit and I try to get cauliflower ear.

And I remember you telling me that you were like, nope, I don't support that.

You said, I think that cauliflower ear is something that should be earned.

You know, like, And I remember thinking, oh well, like, I became buddies with Chuck Liddell.

And Chuck Liddell and I got together, we made the fucking funniest, craziest video, like, of him trying to get, like, I made this helmet that, like, I designed this helmet that left my ears sticking out to protect my head from head shots a little bit.

And my ears sticking out and I got Chuck Liddell fucking sets a golf ball on my ear and fucking whacks it off with a golf club.

Then We'd spent 2 days with Chuck trying to do it, and it just didn't work.

Then I got together with Ronda Rousey and was on the mats with her, and she's like, hurry in, Travis.

Just like roughing up my ear all day long.

And they're looking at my ear, they're like, dude, we got it.

He put his his BMF belt over my ear, and he's just like punching it against a door.

And he's like, dude, that's it right there, man.

I had the who's who of the UFC Hall of Fame like give their best shot and everybody said dude We got it, and then it didn't work dude.

John Jones blasted my ear into oblivion like oh with a He took what at the time was his current light heavyweight belt.

He so upsettingly overdid it that my ear got blasted apart.

of You Just chipped it off you didn't get stitched up just cut that little piece So you have like the in Vander Holyfield Tyson bit Holyfield's here,

Dude, that was that was an idea that I pitched for jackass like multiple times I was like do I want like Mike Tyson to bite a child?


Speaker 0: The Joe Rogan Experience. Way back when, before I got sober, I had this tour. It was called the Don't Try This at Home Tour. And I would promote every show by saying, I will be drunk and on drugs, or your money back. And I'm in it.

And you watched me get... What year was this? It started in 2001, and I ran that until like 2005. And I mean, you would just watch me get completely hammered on stage, like pounding tequila and shit. When I came out on stage, I would walk out with, like, a suitcase of Budweiser cans, and I'd toss them out of the crowd, and I would take the can, I would start out with 1, and I would just bash my head with it until the can exploded?

And I'd be particularly proud if the can broke into 2 separate pieces. And after I broke the 1 can, then I would take out 2 cans, 1 in each hand, and go back and forth, ba-ba-ba-ba-ba-ba-ba, and break both of them. So every show, I would break 3 beers over my head. And I would do that like every night.

Speaker 1: Oh my god.

Speaker 0: And that, what I understand about the CTE phenomenon is that you're absolutely right. It's not about how hard you get hit, it's the accumulation of lots of little hits. And that's why football is the biggest.

Speaker 1: Did you suffer anything from that?

Speaker 0: The worst part was then, like, after I got sober, I started doing stand-up. Like, initially, there was a period where I would do it with sparkling water cans. And you were doing

Speaker 1: it still? You were still beating yourself in the head?

Speaker 0: I did it for a little while. And,

Speaker 1: How many times do you think you've beaten yourself in the head? How many shows? If you had to count them all up? Hundreds.

Speaker 0: Hundreds. Oh my God. Right. And, I mean, As far as I can tell, I'm in pretty good shape. Tony Hawk told me 1 time, he says that he found out, with regard to CTE, that there's a gene which will make you predisposed to Alzheimer's disease.

Speaker 1: APOE4, yeah.

Speaker 0: Yeah, and if you have that gene, then you're very much at risk for CTE. But if you don't have that gene, you're considerably less at risk. And he said that when he found that out, he went and got the test and determined that he did not have that gene. And when I heard that, like, I kind of chewed on it for a while. I ended up like, Like it was kind of nagging at me, and I ended up like reaching back out to Tony I said hey Tony about that test like what was your what was your plan if you did have the gene?

You can't under yourself in the head right now. He's like. Oh, I didn't have a plan like

Speaker 1: well how can you have a plan after the fact, right?

Speaker 0: Right, exactly. But so I'm like, I don't want to fucking go take that test. I don't want to know if I have that goddamn gene or not.

Speaker 1: Well, if it's been this many years afterwards, you're not suffering, you probably don't have that gene.

Speaker 0: I also went to, like, and now of course, famously, the whole CTE phenomenon. You can't find out if you have it until you've Died and they've like

Speaker 1: I think they can tell now.

Speaker 0: Oh, yeah

Speaker 1: I think there's a new way that they can tell before you die But it used to be that they had to wait and do an autopsy on

Speaker 0: you, right? Well, I went to some like brain specialist kind of guy.

Speaker 1: Are you having problems?

Speaker 0: No, I just went because I was interested and Doc Dr. Drew sent me to this guy. It was actually when I was, I was trying to get Cauliflower Ear as part of my multimedia comedy. And I remember telling you too, that I was like, I'm gonna do a crazy bit and I try to get cauliflower ear. And I remember you telling me that you were like, nope, I don't support that.

You said, I think that cauliflower ear is something that should be earned. You know, like, And I remember thinking, oh well, like, I became buddies with Chuck Liddell. And Chuck Liddell and I got together, we made the fucking funniest, craziest video, like, of him trying to get, like, I made this helmet that, like, I designed this helmet that left my ears sticking out to protect my head from head shots a little bit. And my ears sticking out and I got Chuck Liddell fucking sets a golf ball on my ear and fucking whacks it off with a golf club.

Speaker 1: Oh no. Did you get cauliflower ear?

Speaker 0: No. Then We'd spent 2 days with Chuck trying to do it, and it just didn't work. Then I got together with Ronda Rousey and was on the mats with her, and she's like, hurry in, Travis. Just like roughing up my ear all day long. And they're looking at my ear, they're like, dude, we got it.

That's it. You know, we got it. And then it just went away. Then I got together with Jorge Masvidal. He put his his BMF belt over my ear, and he's just like punching it against a door.

And he's like, dude, that's it right there, man. That's cauliflower, we got it. Still no? And then I got together with John Jones. Oh my God.

I had like the

Speaker 1: who's who of the UFC. You're such a glutton for punishment.

Speaker 0: I had the who's who of the UFC Hall of Fame like give their best shot and everybody said dude We got it, and then it didn't work dude. John Jones blasted my ear into oblivion like oh with a He took what at the time was his current light heavyweight belt. And like... Oh yeah, there we go. Oh Jesus

Speaker 1: Christ. And He's hammering your ear? Dude. Oh my God.

Speaker 0: He so upsettingly overdid it that my ear got blasted apart.

Speaker 1: And you still didn't get cauliflower? Oh God, it's

Speaker 0: so bloody.

Speaker 1: Oh my God, dude. What the

Speaker 0: fuck? We're not putting

Speaker 1: that under

Speaker 0: the guise

Speaker 1: of You Just chipped it off you didn't get stitched up just cut that little piece So you have like the in Vander Holyfield Tyson bit Holyfield's here,

Speaker 0: right? Dude, that was that was an idea that I pitched for jackass like multiple times I was like do I want like Mike Tyson to bite a child?

Speaker 1: God.

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Steve-O on Having UFC Fighters Give Him Cauliflower Ear