The Joe Rogan Experience #1925 – Sonny (Best Ever Food Review Show)

Date: January 13, 2023
Guest: Sonny (host/creator, Best Ever Food Review Show)
Host: Joe Rogan

EPISODE OVERVIEW

This episode features Sonny, creator and host of the YouTube sensation "Best Ever Food Review Show," which explores food cultures worldwide—often focusing on the most unique and challenging dishes. Joe Rogan delves into Sonny’s backstory, global food adventures, production hurdles, and the ethos behind cross-cultural culinary exploration. The conversation ranges from early struggles in Minnesota through time living in Korea and Vietnam, to eating with tribes in Africa, hunting exotic animals, and braving Egypt’s bureaucracy. The tone is candid, funny, and occasionally graphic, with both men sharing blunt takes on food, culture, and travel.

GUEST BACKGROUND: FROM CENTRAL MINNESOTA TO INTERNET TRAVEL STAR

• Humble Beginnings
  Sonny describes growing up "white trash from central Minnesota, super poor family, one of six, failed college three times," before running one of the most-viewed travel shows online.

  “By all accounts, I should not be here right now.” — Sonny [00:14]

• Early Directionless Years to Korea
  Failed at college, worked in radio for minimum wage. At 24, moved to Korea to teach English, originally planning to stay a year—ended up staying eight.

  “I went to Korea. Korea was really challenging because it was my first time in a different country and I’d really only been in central Minnesota at that point.” — Sonny [02:54]

• Lessons from Korea
  Taught English “under the table,” learned to navigate visa runs, eventually transitioned into filmmaking, forming the “Seoul Filmmakers Workshop.” Living abroad gave Sonny “perspective” essential for the show’s empathy.

  “Living in Korea was the first taste of living in a society and a culture completely different from the USA.” — Sonny [03:40]

• Filmmaking and YouTube Genesis
  Started producing videos for clients, switched gears after reading self-help books about the “10,000-hour rule.” Inspired by Gary Vaynerchuk, Andrew Zimmern, and Anthony Bourdain, looked to create food videos that avoided the “dry,” formulaic TV style.

  “Why not mix something more spontaneous, a little bit more humor, the pacing of YouTube—faster pacing—and make a completely new travel format?” — Sonny [17:13]

THE JOURNEY OF 'BEST EVER FOOD REVIEW SHOW'

Early Inspiration and Format Evolution

• Influences:
  Andrew Zimmern, Anthony Bourdain, H3H3, Jack’s Gap, Gary Vaynerchuk.

• First Food Videos:
  Started with international food in Korea ("grilled cheese”); realized he needed to pivot to “bizarre and exotic” for storytelling value.

  “Those types of foods just have an intrinsic story attached to them. If you’re eating something strange, bizarre, exotic, … there’s naturally a story of ‘why are people doing this?’” — Sonny [21:13]

MEMORABLE GLOBAL FOOD EXPERIENCES

Eating Extreme Foods

• Stinky Tofu in Taiwan:
  Inspired by seeing Andrew Zimmern spit it out on TV, Sonny sought the same culinary challenge.

  “I went to the same restaurant that Andrew Zimmerman went to, ordering the same food and showing, like, yeah, I got it. I could eat this. The same food that he spit out.” — Sonny [22:07]

• Handling Challenging Food:
  Emphasizes an empathetic approach:

  “I need to have the perspective and the mindset of a local person … I need to accept it. I need to try to enjoy it.” [25:00]

• African Tribal Traditions:
  Participated in eating raw liver dipped in blood and gastric acid among the Datoga tribe in Tanzania, experiencing the Maasai’s organ-eating ceremonies.

  “It’s one of the most strange experiences I’d ever had. But I loved it because I loved how the people there were so into it.” — Sonny [27:02]

• Why Organs First?
  Rogan notes parallels in the animal kingdom. Sonny theorizes it's both flavor and preservation:

  “Meat is easier to preserve... but I don’t think it’s as easy to take a liver or a heart or something like that and preserve it.” — Sonny [39:01]

Hunting and Controversy

• Zebra Hunting in South Africa [40:09–53:41]
  Detailed the experience on a game reserve: hunters select animals from a "menu," use the meat for local villages, and revenue covers wildlife conservation.

  “The meat stays there ... you eat it the entire time you’re there. Legally, you’re not allowed to leave Africa with meat.” — Rogan [60:10]

• Ethics and Wildlife Preservation:
  Engaged with the complexities of trophy hunting, quoting local reserve managers and reflecting on media coverage/judgment.

  “Can I try to educate people along the way and educate myself along the way? Because there’s a lot about game reserve hunting that I didn’t know." — Sonny [44:18]

Eating with African Hunter-Gatherers

• Living with the Hadzabe [75:52–89:46] Ate monkey, cliff springer, and learned bushcraft.

  "I'm trying to figure out how to broadcast my emotions to the camera. I don't want to be judgmental, but also I'm not going to be like, 'oh, monkey, this is normal and cool.'" — Sonny [78:25]

• Eating Monkey
  “They throw the whole rest of the monkey in the fire, just whole thing.” — Sonny [80:51]

• Baboon as a Delicacy:
  Baboon is the most prized catch; highly sought after due to taste.

  “I think they just like the taste of the meat.” — Sonny [85:00]

FOODS THAT PUSH LIMITS

• Whale Meat in the Faroe Islands [63:34–75:44]
  Sonny discusses the tradition, controversy, and taste of whale and dolphin meat. Whale hunts involve community participation and ancient distribution systems.

  “Whales are smart, they’re cute. This is something that they’ve been doing in the Faroe Islands for hundreds of years.” — Sonny [64:54]

• Stingray and Shark Organs
  Worst thing Sonny has eaten: “Stingray liver is disgusting. … It just has a minerality of the ocean. … Bile-y and bitter.” — Sonny [97:04]

CULTURAL CRITIQUE: AMERICAN ATTITUDES TOWARDS FOOD

• On American aversion to “weird” foods:

  "In the US, this country of extremes … when it comes to food that's a little bit outside of salads, wraps, burgers, sandwiches, people are like, 'Oh, I would never eat that.' … That's something I don't really understand." — Sonny [37:49]

BEHIND THE SCENES: PRODUCTION CHALLENGES

• Visa Runs & Living Under the Radar
  Sonny explains his years in Korea living on tourist visas, the anxiety/stress, and the underground expat subculture.

  “Standing in line for immigration… I'm looking okay, there's an older guy over here. This lady looks nice. This young guy looks like he's got something to prove.” — Sonny [12:22]

• The Egypt Debacle [148:12–160:44]
  The crew’s gear, including cameras and walkie-talkies, was confiscated by Egyptian police and customs. Permits were ignored, they resorted to shooting the entire series on iPhones, and ultimately exposed Egypt's bureaucracy on YouTube.

  “This is a country that brands themselves as a tourist destination. … and you just realize it’s such a different way of life.” — Sonny [155:01] “What’s amazing is that it’s our best performing series ever. … Team, we're going back. Just kidding. We're not, we're not going.” — Sonny [160:02]

  Rogan notes: “Maybe you help change things.”
  Sonny: “...A few months after we posted the videos about Egypt, the laws changed in Egypt... Tourists and locals are not required to have a permit to shoot on the sidewalk.” [160:26]

MAD HONEY & PSYCHOACTIVE FOODS [99:56–116:12]

Sonny describes journeying to Nepal to collect “mad honey” (from bees that forage on rhododendrons), its hallucinogenic effects, and local wariness of its intensity.

“I talked to this guy, he was the one who owned the cliff where the honey is. And I said, how often do you do it? He goes, I did it 20 years ago. That’s the last time ... I couldn’t walk for 24 hours." — Sonny [104:27]

Joe and Sonny taste the honey on air, noting an odd tingling sensation (“it’s almost got that feeling, like you’re reacting to it—almost like a hot pepper...”). Sonny's advice: start slow.

ASIA AS HOME BASE & OBSERVATIONS

• Why Asia? Sonny now lives in Vietnam, married into a Vietnamese family, has a mostly Vietnamese crew. Chose Vietnam for affordable living and proximity to varied cuisines.

• On Language:
  Vietnamese is challenging for tonal differences and honorifics; explains some basics and compares with Korean.

• American and Asian Food Abroad:
  Notes differences in authenticity and quality compared to what’s available locally.

THE PHILOSOPHY: CURIOSITY, HUMOR, AND EMPATHY

• Empathy Over Spectacle:
  Sonny's approach is not to present foods as “icky” or “weird,” but rather to offer context and foster understanding.

  “It’s to try to create some understanding and empathy for people around the world and understanding as to why are people eating this way.” — Sonny [38:37]

• Called out the arrogance of modernity; cultures and traditions give perspective—today’s globalizing world risks erasing them.

JOE ROGAN’S REFLECTIONS

• Rogan relates about hunting, wild game, and culinary traditions.
• Praises Sonny (and Bourdain, Zimmern) for offering windows into the unfamiliar: “You’re giving people to travel. ...most people don’t have the time or the resources to go to all these different places, but you’re going there and you’re getting involved…” [172:20]

NOTABLE QUOTES & MEMORABLE MOMENTS

• On always having diarrhea:
  “That’s my secret. I’m always angry. So I always have diarrhea. And I don't remember the last time it was just like, a nice, really solid one.” — Sonny [25:14]

• On eating monkey:
  “I'm trying to figure out how to broadcast my emotions to the camera. I don't want to be judgmental, but also I'm not going to be like, 'oh, monkey, this is normal and cool.'” [78:25]

• On Egyptian bureaucracy:
  “With the permit ... I asked our fixer ... what's the permit doing? ... He just goes, well, we're not in jail, we're not in jail.” — Sonny [154:08]

• On success and meaning:
  “I cracked the code. I know how to do this now. ... Sometimes success can make people depressed.” — Sonny [135:53]

TIMESTAMPS FOR KEY SEGMENTS

• Guest intro and backstory: [00:12–08:51]
• Korea years, teaching and filmmaking: [02:54–13:53]
• Starting on YouTube, show concept: [17:13–19:02]
• Food as storytelling: [20:55–22:54]
• Eating stinky tofu, bandana origins: [22:54–25:05]
• Eating blood/organs in Africa: [26:57–39:53]
• Zebra hunt, conservation debate: [40:09–53:41]
• Eating monkey with Hadzabe tribe: [75:52–89:46]
• Mad honey experience: [99:56–116:12]
• Vietnam/Asia as home: [139:58–143:56]
• Egypt filming nightmare: [148:12–160:44]
• Reflections on food, culture, and modernity: [127:15–172:20]

CONCLUSION

Sonny's adventurous and humor-laced storytelling shakes up preconceptions about food and culture, arguing, with lived experience, for curiosity, humility, and understanding in a world rapidly losing unique traditions. The episode is filled with wild stories, blunt truths, and a sense of gratitude for improbable journeys—from Minnesota poverty to the global stage.

Connect with Sonny:

• YouTube: Best Ever Food Review Show
• Social: @BestEverFoodReviewShow

“Best Ever Food Review Show. We're on YouTube and you can look up to see any of our social media...” — Sonny [181:59]