May 31, 2016 ▸ People

Episode 96: Rob Van Dam–The Whole Dam Show!

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This episode of The Sofa King podcast is an interview with Rob Van Dam: WWE and ECW and wrestling superstar, actor, standup comedian, philosopher, and advocate. He was gracious enough to let the three hosts into his home on a lovely Saturday afternoon where we sat down and got his thoughts on a great many things.

Rob was one of the smartest people in his high school (Dave can confirm this because they grew up together in Battle Creek, Mi.), so his transition from a member of the comic book set who played role playing games in the gym at lunch to a world renowned athlete is quite a story. And it’s a story we discuss on the show. What got him into wrestling? What setbacks did he have? How does someone young who has a similar dream of being a professional wrestler even get started? Tune in and find out.

But that’s not all we discuss. We look at the controversy of CTE and head injuries for athletes since professional wrestlers suffer them more often than even football players (Rob admits to well over 100 concussions in his career so far). He talks about other wrestlers he’s known who have died from possible CTE complications as well as the fact that he has donated his own spine and brain to medical research. And of course, cannabis! Rob is a huge advocate for legalization, and he says quite a bit about it, it’s prospects, a timeline for federal deregulation, etc. He also talks about a study he helped prompt to test the effects of cannabis to slow down brain injury like CTE. You’ll also hear some high school stories about Rob and Dave (the may involve pile drivers in the school hallway that got them expelled from school).

If you know Rob as the character he plays on TV—a mellow surfer dude—then this interview may surprise you as the real Rob comes out. If you don’t know Rob: step one, Google him and watch some of his amazing matches. Step two, listen in! He is a thoughtful, witty, funny, intelligent man with some really wild stories to tell. You won’t want to miss it. Many thanks to an old friend for sharing his life and his home with us and helping us make a cool episode with The Whole F’n Show!