Joe Rogan has a lot of friends. But some of his best friends are people who he met through hunting. There is a certain bond that happens when you go out into the wild, track an animal down, and then share the meat over a fire for dinner.
Since he picked up hunting in 2012, Rogan has been hunting with a lot of different people including, hunting experts Steven Rinella, Doug Duren, Cameron Hanes, John Dudley, Ben O’Brien, Mike Hawkridge, and Ryan Callaghan, and friends Bryan Callen, Jocko Willink, and Andy Stumpf.
Also see: 7 Reasons Why Elk is Joe Rogan’s Favorite Meat
Steven Rinella & Ryan Callaghan
For Joe Rogan’s first hunt, he couldn’t have picked a better, more skillful hunting guide than Steven Rinella.
Rinella is one of the best hunters in the world and the host of MeatEater, a show about hunting and eating wild game. He also authored several books, including the popular The Complete Guide to Hunting, Butchering, and Cooking Wild Game.
Ryan Callaghan is a guide who also accompanied Joe Rogan and Bryan Callen on their first hunt. He serves the role of MeatEater‘s Director of Conservation.
Check out this incredible video of Steven Rinella and Ryan Callaghan getting charged by a female grizzle bear and her cubs.
Cameron Hanes
A frequent JRE podcast guest, Hanes is an extremely skilled bow hunter and a really good friend of Rogan. He is a former Under Armour sponsored athlete, now sponsored by Origin, and a complete beast in long distance running.
Hanes helped mentor Rogan’s bowhunting skills and shooting technique. On one particular hunt, Cameron helped Joe hunt a huge mule deer with a rifle when it got out of bow range. They’ve also been elk hunting in Utah together.
He has authored a few books, including Backcountry Bowhunting and Bowhunting Trophy Blacktail and has been on the JRE podcast over 10 times.
Also see: Who Is Cameron Hanes? A Look at His Amazing Life
John Dudley
John Dudley is a professional archery athlete and a world renowned archery coach. He won the International Bowhunting Organization (IBO) National Championship for archery.
Dudley’s brand, Nock On Archery, is complete with a podcast, apparel store, archery instruction, and bowhunting gear.
Dudley and Rogan like to go elk hunting together and then grill out with the guys. He has been on the JRE podcast 5 times.
Also see: The Amazing Life of John Dudley: Nock On Archery & Hunting
Ben O’Brien
O’Brien is the Director of Hunting for MeatEater and the host of The Hunting Collective podcast. He’s been on the JRE podcast twice so far in episodes #987 and #1215.
Petersen’s Hunting magazine featured a fantastic article written by O’Brien called Eat What You Kill: How Joe Rogan is Celebrating the Wild Meat Movement, which is definitely worth checking out.
Mike Hawkridge
Hawkridge, owner of AlphaDog Outdoors, is a lifelong hunter and skilled outdoorsman. He serves as a hunting guide that is available for hire, located in British Colombia, Canada.
Joe Rogan and Ben O’Brien hired Hawkridge for a late season bull moose hunt. The hunt was successful and they tagged a big one.
View this post on InstagramThanks to Mike Hawkridge of @bcoutfitter for an awesome hunt and a freezer full of meat! Shoutout to @samsoholt for the awesome photography skills! #Repost @bcoutfitter ・・・ This addition of the Mountain Hunter, special thanks to Sam Soholt for the amazing images. #joerogan #bigcountryoutfitters #bcmoosehunting #covershot #greattimes
Here’s what Joe Rogan had to say about Mike Hawkridge:
When you meet him, get a good look at him and take it all in, because in this ever feminized world we’re living in, real men like him are the last of a dying breed.
-Joe Rogan on Mike Hawkridge
Bryan Callen
Rogan and Callen are both stand-up comedians and have known each other for over 20 years.
When Rogan decided to go hunting, Callen was the guy he wanted to go with him. According to Callen, Rogan called him up and pitched him an idea, saying “We’re going hunting man and I need you there.” Callen replied, “Count me in!”
View this post on InstagramWatch yourself, ladies @BryanCallen is a real heart breaker #DEERHUNTER #MANLYASFUCK
Here is what Joe has said about Bryan:
“Bryan is one of my best friends if not my best friend. We’ve essentially been best friends since the day we met. He’s one of the funniest human beings I’ve ever met in my life.
He’s not a whiner, not a complainer, he’s not a guy that’s not going to be able to deal with the cold. He’s not going to fall apart or freak out. He’s a man. He can do anything, he’s just that dude.”
-Joe Rogan on Bryan Callen being his choice
Bryan explained that his conception of hunters before he went hunting was stereotypical:
“You get a bunch of guys with beer guts in camouflage and they go out and blast whatever they see.
What I came away with was a notion of profound respect for what it takes to be a good hunter and the understanding of the animal you are hunting, it’s behavior and the environment in which you’re in.”
-Bryan Callen
Also see: How Does Joe Rogan Cook Elk Steak: A Mouth-Watering Recipe!
Jocko Willink
Willink, a former Navy Seal and JRE podcast guest, went on a bow hunt in Northern Utah with Joe Rogan, Cameron Hanes, and Andy Stumpf. Jocko said, “You couldn’t really ask for a better crew of people.”
“There is something very primal about going hunting. It’s kind of like jiu-jitsu.”
“You are out, you’re stalking, sneaking around. It has a lot of correlations to my old job (navy seal). You’re trying to be quiet, setting up tactics, trying to maneuver on the enemy, on these animals.”
-Jocko Willink
Andy Stumpf
A formal Navy Seal officer, Stumpf went on the above mentioned hunt with Joe Rogan, Jocko Willink and Cameron Hanes in northern Utah.
In 2015, Stumpf set a world record by skydiving from 36,500 feet in an effort to raise money for the Navy Seal Foundation. He’s also been on the JRE Podcast multiple times.
Also see: 8 Navy SEALS That Have Been on Joe Rogan’s Podcast
Doug Duren
A farmer and conservationist, Duren hosted Joe Rogan, Bryan Callen, and Steven Rinella on his farm to hunt.
In 2014 Duren said, “A year ago I would have been completely against having two comedians come here (his farm) to hunt.”
Doug warmed up to the idea after hearing Rogan and Callen on the JRE podcast, realizing that they were two smart, funny as hell guys, who also respectful of hunting and wildlife.
Joe told Doug after the hunt, “ Thanks for being a great host. Thanks for being a great guy and providing us with an opportunity to have an incredible experience. You can’t have a better time, you can have a different time, but you can’t have a better time.”
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