Joe Rogan has carved a niche for himself. While his stand up career was successful, he’s found fame as more than just a comedian. His podcast is one of his most successful endeavors, and while The Joe Rogan Experience is often funny, it brings much more than humor to listeners.

He’s had some very intelligent, although lesser known, subject matter experts on his show. He’s interviewed the likes of Elon Musk and Neil DeGrasse Tyson. To say what he does is pure comedy would be an oversimplification.

However, when the show started, it was more entrenched in a comedic genre. Rogan and his first producer later parted ways, changing the show forever.

Joe Rogan and Brian Redban go way back

Joe Rogan | Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

Brian Redban was the closest thing The Joe Rogan Experience had to a producer in the early days. Redban’s history with Rogan goes back much further than the podcast. Rogan and Redban first began collaborating almost 20 years ago, in the early days of the new millennium.

Their first ventures were YouTube videos. These shorts, called The Joe Show, weren’t nearly as successful as The Joe Rogan Experience would be later. Then, in 2009, Rogan switched formats.

His changeup shows a lot of foresight. Podcasts were popular in 2009, but they weren’t as big as they are now. Rogan got in on the ground floor, and Redban was his right-hand man.

Brian Redban couldn’t make the podcast a success

Eventually, Rogan and Redban were forced to part ways. Redban didn’t have the technical knowledge needed to make The Joe Rogan Experience a success. He was a producer and co-host at the same time, and he was lacking in both areas.

First, having two comedians as hosts didn’t really make sense given the direction Rogan wanted to take the podcast. He is a comedian, and The Joe Rogan Experience is funny, but it’s not a comedic podcast.

Rogan has worked hard to curate a wide variety of guests from a wide variety of areas, including scientific experts, history buffs, and famous authors. Redban’s goofy comedy style just wasn’t a good fit.

Redban would go off on long tangents or interrupt Rogan’s tet a tet with a guest. This wasn’t funny or productive in any way, and it started to get on Rogan’s nerves. Redban’s last episodes on the show felt a little tense.

Second, Redban wasn’t an experienced podcast producer. He had never produced anything more complicated than a YouTube video. As the podcast began to take off, Rogan wanted to increase the episodes. That’s hard to do without a sound expert.

Rogan hired Jamie Vernon, who is still with him to this day. Vernon is an audio engineer, and had all the skills Redban didn’t.

Joe Rogan and Brian Redban are still friends

Even though Rogan fired Redban, they still seem like they’re friends. Redban’s career never really took off, but Rogan has him on as a guest occasionally. He and Rogan didn’t get along as co-hosts, but as host and guest they do okay.

Over time, Rogan has refined his style, while Redban continues with the same characteristic jokes. He’s still making new content, and has enough of a following to maintain his status as a professional comedian.

He still produces shows sometimes too, although like the early episodes of The Joe Rogan Experience, the quality is lacking. Still, every time Rogan has him on the show, google searches for Brian Redban spike.

Even though Redban didn’t make the show popular, he still benefits from its popularity today. That wouldn’t be possible if he were still on the show.