#1873 - Brigham Buhler

Brigham Buhler (0:04)

The Joe Rogan Experience. Good to be here.

Joe Rogan (0:15)

Listen, first of all, I want to thank you, because over the last year and a half, you have, and your company, Ways2Well, has fucking sorted me out multiple times, all these little nagging injuries that would have set me back a long time.

And as you know, I've been fucking waving the flag for stem cells for quite a while, since I had Neil Riordan on, and since I've had my own stem cell therapies. So how did you get involved in this, the whole stem cell world?

Brigham Buhler (0:43)

So, I kind of have to go back to the beginnings. I was a drug rep right out of college, and did that job for three years, and then I jumped into that into surgery.

Joe Rogan (0:55)

You've got some fucking fascinating stories about being a drug rep.

Brigham Buhler (0:57)

Oh yeah, it was crazy.

Joe Rogan (0:58)

It's so illuminating when you were telling me like the just, if you could get into that a little bit, I'd love to just get into that.

Brigham Buhler (1:04)

Yeah, it'd be easier to get into that and tell you how we got here, because then the reason we're doing what we're doing makes a lot more sense.

Joe Rogan (1:10)

Okay.

Brigham Buhler (1:11)

So, right out of college, I was actually interning at Hewlett Packard, and I thought I was going to go into like work for a computer company. And so I was a business major in college, I took the sales class, and for shits and giggles, I like went and interviewed with Eli Lilly, but I wasn't supposed to graduate for like a year and some change.

And they offered me a fucking job. And so I literally had to graduate college in two and a half years to be able to get this job with Eli Lilly. And it was like a dream job.

Joe Rogan (1:45)

So you had to have a degree?

Brigham Buhler (1:46)

You have to have a degree.

Joe Rogan (1:47)

So what did you do?

Brigham Buhler (1:49)

I took 24 hours in summer school, I got a letter from the dean, or letters from four professors to the dean, asking if I could take extra hours every semester. And I worked full time jobs. So I was interning at Huipaagard, then taking all these night classes. But I'm like, this is a chance of a lifetime. I'm gonna come right out of school, make more money than I've ever thought I'd make in my life, have a company car and expense account. And it was the wild west. Like I didn't even know what drug I was launching. They just told me we have a blockbuster drug coming.

There's an opportunity, but you've got to be graduated and ready by this date. So I don't remember the exact dates, but I took 24 hours in summer school was the hardest part.

One of the professors had me like write the case studies for the next semester students. And they just kind of gave me unique ways to get my credits, if that makes sense at all, so I could get out quick.

And that all transpired because I had a meeting with the dean and I said, hey, I understand why you have these rules and limitations. You're limiting me by not allowing me to take a shot at this. I have a 399 GPA. Let me take a shot at this. I can get out of this shit quick and go get a job and make money.

Joe Rogan (3:01)

So they let you.

Brigham Buhler (3:03)

They let me.

Joe Rogan (3:03)

So what was it like being a drug rep? And what did you think it was gonna be like versus what was it actually like?

Brigham Buhler (3:10)

Yeah, I didn't really have a means of comparison because I was right out of school. So I was young and naive.

Joe Rogan (3:17)

So you're going into it blind.

Brigham Buhler (3:18)

Blind, and I start and they give me a $17,000 a month expense account, a company car, and the drug I got to launch was Cialis.

Joe Rogan (3:28)

Now when you, ooh, that's a good one.

Brigham Buhler (3:30)

36-hour Viagra.

Joe Rogan (3:32)

So when you say expense account, like does that mean to take people out? It does. Rining and dining clients?

Brigham Buhler (3:39)

Avamed had started, it already existed, but it wasn't as strict. And so I can't really speak to what they do today. All I can tell you is what they did when I was there, which at this point was 20 years ago. You know, I'm 42, I was 21, so yeah, almost 20 years ago.