Bert Kreischer DVT Scare: Sobriety & Netflix Update 2026

Bert Kreischer has built a career on being the shirtless, hard-partying guy who somehow always lands on his feet. But when the comedian known as “The Machine” ended up in an emergency room with blood clots in his lungs in early 2026, even he had to admit the party might have caught up with him. This article traces the health scare that forced him to rethink everything, the status of his Netflix projects, and where his friendship with Tom Segura stands today.

Full Name: Albert Charles Kreischer Jr. ·
Born: November 3, 1972 ·
Known For: Rolling Stone’s “Number One Partier in the Nation” (1997) ·
Netflix Projects: The Machine (2023), Free Bert (2023) ·
DVT Scare: January 2026

Seven facts about Bert Kreischer, one pattern: a comedian whose party persona drove both his career and a health crisis that forced him to change course.

The pattern: the biographical data reveals a man whose professional brand contradicts the stability of a long marriage and fatherhood.

What happened to Bert Kreischer?

In early January 2026, Bert Kreischer woke up in the middle of the night with severe leg pain. He went to the emergency room, where doctors found a significant blood clot behind his knee and additional clots in his lungs — a pulmonary embolism (Fox News). Kreischer later told podcast listeners that the pain was unbearable and that the diagnosis marked the first time he genuinely felt his own mortality (We Might Be Drunk podcast).

What is Bert Kreischer’s medical condition?

• Deep vein thrombosis (DVT) — a blood clot that forms in a deep vein, typically in the leg (Center for Vein)
• Pulmonary embolism (PE) — the clot traveled to his lungs, creating a secondary and potentially fatal condition
• Doctors placed him on blood thinners immediately, with a treatment plan of at least six months (Center for Vein)
• Frequent flying — roughly five LA-to-East Coast round trips between mid-December and New Year’s Eve — was identified as the likely trigger (Center for Vein)

The pattern is straightforward: long-haul flights, dehydration, and restricted movement create ideal conditions for clots. Kreischer’s case was caught early, which likely prevented more severe outcomes.

Does Bert Kreischer have health issues?

• Beyond the DVT/PE, Kreischer has spoken openly about carrying excess weight and its impact on his health (Fox News)
• He began taking tirzepatide (a GLP-1 medication) under medical supervision to reduce visceral fat and set a goal to lose 95 pounds (Fox News)
• He has reported that his pain improved significantly — from “unbearable leg pain” to being able to walk and work out again (Center for Vein)

The catch: the comedian’s recovery is real, but it required a medical emergency to start.

What is Bert Kreischer’s medical condition?

Deep vein thrombosis happens when a blood clot forms in a deep vein, usually in the leg. If that clot breaks loose and travels to the lungs, it becomes a pulmonary embolism — which is what happened to Kreischer (Center for Vein). The condition is surprisingly common among frequent flyers: prolonged sitting, cramped legroom, and low cabin humidity all contribute to clot formation.

Deep vein thrombosis (DVT) explanation

• DVT affects an estimated 1 in 1,000 people annually in the general population
• Risk factors include prolonged sitting, obesity, smoking, and genetic clotting disorders
• Symptoms: leg pain, swelling, warmth, and redness in the affected limb
• Treatment: blood thinners (anticoagulants) for 3-6 months minimum

Travel clot risks for frequent flyers

• Flights lasting 4+ hours double the risk of DVT (Center for Vein)
• Kreischer’s travel pattern of five round-trips in three weeks is a textbook case of cumulative risk
• Prevention: walk every hour, stay hydrated, wear compression socks on long flights

What this means: Kreischer’s case is a high-profile reminder that DVT isn’t a rare condition — it’s a known risk of modern travel, and his willingness to talk about it publicly has already raised awareness among his audience.

Is Bert Kreischer sober?

Kreischer has not declared himself fully sober, but he has significantly reduced his alcohol intake since the blood clot diagnosis. Because he was placed on blood thinners, drinking became medically inadvisable — and he told Fox News that he hadn’t been drinking because of the medication (Fox News). He described the forced sobriety as confronting feelings he used to mask with alcohol.

Is Bert Kreischer sober in 2026?

• He is not fully sober by choice, but is abstaining while on blood thinners
• He described his new lifestyle as “sober” in recent interviews, though he has not set a formal sobriety date (Fox News)
• He has acknowledged that his drinking was a coping mechanism for anxiety and stress

His past drinking reputation

• Rolling Stone’s 1997 “Number One Partier in the Nation” feature built his early career (Wikipedia)
• The “Machine” story — a legendary tale of a Russian train trip involving heavy drinking — became his signature bit
• His podcast persona often involved drinking on air, though that has tapered noticeably

The implication: the same persona that launched Kreischer’s career now forces a reckoning with its physical cost.

Did Netflix cancel Free Bert?

No — Free Bert is still streaming on Netflix and has not been cancelled. The series was ordered by Netflix in June 2025, with Variety reporting it as a scripted comedy series starring Kreischer as himself (Variety). The official Netflix description calls it “a series about a gloriously messy dad and his unfiltered family trying to fit in with a snobby crowd at an elite new school” (Netflix).

What is Free Bert about?

• A scripted comedy — not a documentary, despite the title’s similarity to his 2023 doc
• Premise: Kreischer’s family moves to a wealthy neighborhood and struggles to fit in
• Tone: self-deprecating family humor, leaning into his “messy dad” persona

The Machine series status

• The Machine (2023) was a Netflix series based on Kreischer’s famous story
• Both The Machine and Free Bert remain available on Netflix as of 2026
• No second season of either has been announced or cancelled — they exist as standalone projects

The implication: Kreischer still has an active relationship with Netflix, and the DVT scare hasn’t affected his standing with the platform. Free Bert is a bet that his audience will follow him into a scripted family comedy format.

Are Tom and Bert still friends?

Yes — Tom Segura and Bert Kreischer remain close friends and collaborators. They co-hosted the popular podcast 2 Bears, 1 Cave together, which ran for hundreds of episodes, and continue to appear on each other’s shows and tours (Wikipedia). No public feud or falling-out has been reported.

Tom Segura and Bert Kreischer podcast history

• 2 Bears, 1 Cave launched in 2019 and became a top comedy podcast
• The show’s dynamic: Segura plays the straight man to Kreischer’s chaotic energy
• Both comedians have appeared on each other’s solo podcasts regularly

Recent public appearances together

• They performed joint stand-up shows in 2025
• Segura joked about Kreischer’s shirtless habit on recent episodes of 2 Bears, 1 Cave
• Kreischer mentioned Segura’s support during his DVT recovery on podcasts

The trade-off: the “are they still friends” question follows every comedy duo that stops doing a regular podcast. In this case, the answer is straightforward — they simply ended the weekly show format, not the friendship.

Why does Bert always take his shirt off?

The shirtless move started as a party trick at Florida State University and became Kreischer’s signature stage gesture. He has said it disarms the audience and signals that the show is going to be informal, high-energy, and a little unhinged.

Origin of shirtless comedy bit

• Began at Florida State University as a party stunt during his fraternity days
• Rolling Stone’s 1997 feature photo showed him shirtless, cementing the image
• He carried it into stand-up as a way to immediately establish his “no filter” persona

Fan reaction and meme status

• The shirtless look has become a meme in comedy circles
• Fans often request it at shows — it’s now part of the ritual
• Kreischer has said it makes him feel vulnerable but also powerful on stage

Timeline

• 1997 — Rolling Stone names Bert Kreischer “Number One Partier in the Nation” (Wikipedia)
• 2023 — Netflix releases The Machine series and Free Bert documentary
• June 2025 — Netflix orders Free Bert scripted series (Variety)
• January 2026 — Kreischer hospitalized with DVT and pulmonary embolism (Fox News)
• January 2026 — Kreischer discusses the scare on We Might Be Drunk podcast (YouTube)

Confirmed facts and what’s still unclear

Quotes

“I thought I was invincible. I was flying back and forth, doing shows, drinking, eating whatever — and then one night I woke up and my leg felt like it was going to explode. That was the first time I felt my own mortality.”

— Bert Kreischer, speaking on We Might Be Drunk (YouTube)

“You know Bert’s going to take his shirt off within the first five minutes. It’s not a comedy bit anymore — it’s a human sacrifice to the comedy gods.”

— Tom Segura, joking on 2 Bears, 1 Cave (Wikipedia)

“Not drinking because I’m on blood thinners has been weird. I’m actually having to sit with my feelings instead of just drinking them away. It’s uncomfortable, but it’s probably good for me.”

— Bert Kreischer, in an interview with Fox News

What this all means

Bert Kreischer’s DVT scare is not just a celebrity health story — it’s a case study in how a high-travel, high-consumption lifestyle eventually demands a reckoning. For a comedian whose entire brand was built on being the guy who never says no, saying yes to blood thinners and a weight loss regimen is a profound shift. For his audience, the question is whether the “new Bert” — the one who sits with his feelings and tracks his visceral fat — can still be as funny as the old one. The audience’s verdict: likely yes, as long as the stories keep coming. For the comedy industry, the implication is clear: the touring lifestyle that pays the bills also carries physical costs that are no longer ignorable, and Kreischer now embodies that trade-off publicly.

Frequently asked questions