What Now? with Trevor Noah - Gabriel “Fluffy” Iglesias and the Art of Mentoring [VIDEO]

Episode Date: May 9, 2024

If it wasn’t for Gabriel “Fluffy” Iglesias, a trip to Footlocker could have ended Trevor’s career. Iglesias shares about his journey to become the headlining, stadium-filling comedian known to millions as Fluffy. The two pull the curtain back on the 2012 tour that introduced Trevor to stand-up in the United States, and Fluffy explains why mentorship comes naturally, as long as you surround yourself with the comedians who really make you laugh. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Are you living out here now or? No, I'm living nowhere. I'm living nowhere. I'm a nomad, Dave. You know what's funny is I sold my house. I don't have an actual residence. Oh really? Yeah.

I sold it because they broke into it and I didn't spend enough time in it. So I was like, you know what? I don't need it. Is there anything they didn't take that you hoped they would take? Oh, for the sake of... No, like for me, I remember when I used to have crocs, like back in the day. But then my house got robbed. They stole everything, all my clothes, all my shoes, everything.

And then my friends, we were all then we're like, oh, the house got robbed, the house got robbed. We're going to everyone's room because I live with my friends. And then my friend was like, oh, they left your crocs. Well, at least we know they had taste. And I was not. Ouch. Yeah.

Insult to injury. Ouch. Yeah. Insult to injury. Ouch. This is What Now with Trevor Noah. So when I need a judgment-free zone, I go to Planet Fitness. Get started for $1 down and then only $15 a month. Offer ends April 12th. $49 annual fee applies. See Home Club for details. You love Taco Bell after a night out, but the new Cantina Chicken Menu from Taco Bell hits different during the day.

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Thank you. Gabriel Iglesias. Every time I'm going to have a conversation with somebody I know personally and intimately, I have to think about how I would introduce that person to my audience. I think you just did it. Yeah, but I think- That's pretty good. I think there's two things that I honed in on that I'd love to talk about in this conversation

particularly. Obviously the comedy and the life and the stories we share and just how much of an amazing I think there's two things that I honed in on that I'd love to talk about in this conversation particularly. Obviously the comedy and the life and the stories we share and just how much of an amazing person you are. But there's two big things that I haven't heard many people speak to you about. One is mentorship and the other one is business acumen. And I mean raw business acumen. But maybe I'll give a bit of backstory.

And you're gonna have to fill in some of the backstory, by the way, for how we met. First of all, you know I have a high school education, so what the hell is acumen? Acumen, hey, acumen. Acumen, hey, ven, ven pa'cah wey. It almost sounds like Spanish. I have an idea of what it means.

You have, you have a knack. Come on, man. How, like, how did we meet? I actually don't know the full story of this. How, how did we? Well, I was in Bakersfield doing a show. I remember vividly, I was in Bakersfield doing a show. And at the end of the night, I was in my hotel room and I'm flipping through,

flipping through, you know, the channels and I came across The Tonight Show. Okay. And I saw Jay and Jay was introducing, they have a funny comedian from South Africa, you know, and you came out there, you came out there and I was like, who is this person? They are freaking amazing. You were so talented, your charisma, your energy, the way that you presented yourself. I'm like, this dude is hysterical. Oh, wow. Thank you. I'm like, clearly he is way too comfortable, way too confident, way too smiley. I'm like, no, this dude is already way too smiley. Yeah.

It caught my attention right away. How the level that you were already at. And so I went online to see where you were going to be performing. And I saw that you were going to be at the improv in Irvine. And I'm like, Oh my God, you know, uh, I was, you know, I live, I live by there. And so I said, I'm going to go check them out. And so then I went out there to go see your show and I'm in line with all these South Africans and all these girls, these white girls with South Africa flags and they're like, we're here for traffic. I'm like, this dude already has a following.

Of course he's famous. I knew it. This guy wasn't just some nobody. He showed up there and he already had a following. And so I saw your show, the full hour, not five minutes. So afterwards, that's when I walked up to you and you had your little South African posse right there in the corner of comics and stuff. And I just walked up and you recognized me

and you're like, oh my god, hey. And I'm like, hey. And I said, I just wanted to come. So I'll tell the story from this point. So from my perspective, this is how it happened. By the way, your whole story is the exact same story as many of my stalkers, by the way, which I love. Nice. It's amazing how the intention changes.

We saw you on television and then we waited outside. I saw you and I was like, he smiles so much. And then I researched you online and I was like, this is where he will be. And I came there and I waited for you after the show, Trevor. And there you were. There you were. So from my perspective, first of all,

I didn't know you were there. I was on stage. I do the show as normal. This is Irvine, California. It's one of the few places where I was able to get people to buy enough tickets to fill out a club, right? Nobody knew me in America. Nobody. And so I do the show and at the end they go, hey, there's a comedian here, Gabriel Iglesias, he wants to chat to you. I'm like,

Gabriel Iglesias? I'm like, isn't that the singer? They're like, no, that's Julio Iglesias. I'm like, oh shit, okay, wait, Gabriel. I'm like, who's Gabriel? Because I'm terrible with names. And as soon as I see you, I'm like, oh shit, the guy, the guy that, and you must remember for me, it's so weird because obviously I come from South Africa. We don't bump into people who you've seen on TV,

who you've seen on like any competition shows or any big shows or any, I knew you. I was like, this is the guy. So I come over to you and it's funny, you said I was with my South African posse because you were with like, it seemed like a little, it was sort of like a little Mexican mafia vibe. Nice.

Because you give off like Godfather vibes. I don't know if you've ever noticed this about you. You have like a, but it's like a kind, you have like a kind vibe. Nobody gets whacked. No, no, no, no you have like a kind vibe. Nobody gets whacked. No, no, no, no, no, no, no, nobody gets whacked, but it's because there's an understanding, you know what I mean? It's an understanding. It's like, yo, you know, you don't want to get fluffy angry. You've got like this and it's, and

everyone around you has like a really peaceful, but protective demeanor, you know? And so, um, you waited for me afterwards and it's just a small little crew and you're like, Hey, how you doing, man? And I remember how kind you were, and I was just like, oh, this is great, I can't believe. You know, I think every comic has this. Every comedian is deeply grateful and feels seen when another comedian

watches their full set. I remember, I was shocked, it's like, why are you here? And you're like, I came to the show. You didn't like ask me for tickets I didn't know you and then you said the sweetest thing a human being has ever said to me you said hey man I know that you're a big deal where you're from but I wanted to I wanted to offer you an opportunity I want you to come on the road with me and you said and you said please don't be offended I'm not saying you should be my opening act. I'm not saying any of that.

I know you're big in South Africa, but I really think it would be good for you to come out on the road with me because I could expose you to audiences who you would have otherwise never gotten to and who I think will love you. You're like, I think a lot of people in my audience would love you.

And I remember thinking to myself, I was like, who is this person? Do you know what I mean? Who is this Hispanic Santa Claus? I said yes to you. I didn't know what I was getting into. I came on the road with you and I was like, I've never seen that many. Like, but when I say fans, I don't mean, I don't mean people who have come to the show, I don't mean people who have come to the show.

I don't mean people who are watching you. I mean, fans. And that's maybe, you know, my first question about like your business acumen. What do you think you did right to build an environment where you don't just have, you don't just have people who like your comedy. You have people who buy your face, you know face on those little dolls that have the bobblehead things. You have people who buy plushies of you and you have people who buy your t-shirts. But I want to know if you intended that from the beginning and then also how did you even

begin that journey with people? Because there was some point when nobody knew your comedy and now when you're filling out like a Dodger Stadium, what happened in between? Where did this begin? I think it was, you know, to say that I had a plan to design this almost sounds like maniacal and evil,

like it was my plan all along. No, it was one of those things where I was just grateful that people would come to the shows. And I would always thank them and I would always say, hey, if you like the show, tell somebody about it. And that's the word of mouth is the best thing. You guys, if you enjoy what I'm doing, please share, please talk about it. And then after the shows, I would just go outside

and if anybody wants to come by and say hi, I made it so that people knew that I was somebody they could come up to. I wasn't putting this divide in between, where it's like, no, my show's over. Now you go home, I take a check, and I go buy a car. By not making people ever feel like I was above them or better than them, it's just, I'm this lucky kid

from the same area that they're driving from. I'm like, hey, I'll see you guys on the 405. I'm that guy where I'm like, hey, if you see me in line at Jack in the box and you like my show, let me cut. And they're like, ah, okay, go ahead. You know, so I'm somebody you can run into by the bathrooms and I get people always asking, can I hug you or can I feed you?

And I'm like, yeah, this is not the norm. You know, so to say it was a plan, it was not a plan. It was just, it was just me, uh, welcoming the audience and, and trying to be cool with everybody. And it wasn't until years later where it just got so out of control, where you had to start putting things in place so that you didn't find yourself.

Cause I came really close to getting kidnapped a couple of times. I know, save the jokes. Uh, but yeah, people were just trying to see, I didn't have a joke. I know there's something in there. Jokes before like really kidnapped. Yeah, come on. But, uh, yeah I didn't have a joke. I know there's something in there. The jokes before like really kidnapped. Yeah, come on. But, uh, yeah, it wasn't a plan. It was just, uh, you know, let me just, let me just treat my audience the way I

feel like I would want to be treated. Like when I go to a concert, I look to see how the artist welcomes their audience. There's some like singers that will just start singing. Yeah. And they won't even say, yeah, there's no good evening. Yeah. Ram, ram, ram, ram, ram, ram, ram. There's no, good evening, ladies and gentlemen. Welcome to the show. Thank you for being here.

We're going to have a fun time. Yeah. It's great. I got so-and-so working on sax. I got so-and-so on drums. We were talking about being here tonight. Little things like that go so far and people don't want to break that wall. They're afraid of engaging for some reason.

And I think that's a mistake. I think a lot of artists would go so much further by bringing audiences in. All it takes is looking at someone, smiling, even if they're smiling too much. I do it too. Smiley recognize smiley. But you know what I think it is actually? I think it's what you just said. It's a fear and not necessarily a bad fear.

I don't take for granted that there are two types of performers. I think there are performers who are trying to get into themselves and there are performers who are trying to get out of themselves. Do you know what I mean? I've seen this with comedians as well.

So there are some performers who get on stage and in order for them to hit the marks that they need to hit on that stage, they can't be themselves. They can't that stage, they can't be themselves. They can't be Gabriel, they can't be Trevor, and they don't want to be that person. So they've got to transform into this other being. Like I'm sure you've met tons of comedians who can't go on stage sober. Have to get in the zone.

Yeah, yeah. I need to get in my space. Yeah, but I think it's a protection thing where they go, if you don't laugh at this joke that Gabriel has told, then Gabriel has failed. But if it's like El Matador who told the joke and then the joke doesn't land, well, what would El Matador do? Do you know what I mean?

It's like, it's just this- It's the protection. Yeah, it is. It is completely. And you have a vulnerability to you that really is unique, honestly. Like where do you think you got that from? What were your first experiences in life that allowed you to open yourself up in that way? I think the fact that I've always wanted acceptance and I've been used to not being accepted,

it's just been one of those, you know, I was very much the kid that didn't have very many friends. I was always overweight. I had really bad teeth. I had acne. And for somebody who was not accepted, I was never picked in sports. I was always, you know,

anytime people would get together for groups, I wouldn't even get picked for groups. So it's like, really? I can't even, you know, this has nothing to do with being physical. And I can't even get picked for the science team or get picked for this or that. So it's like, I did not fit the entertainerers mold. But I was drawn to comedy. I loved watching

Eddie Murphy. I loved watching Saturday Night Live. I loved hearing the laughter because to me the laughter was acceptance. The one thing I've realized as I've become an adult is I was like awkward because I was always just observing people. And I don't know, like you seem very affable now. You are very affable now. Were you like that as a kid as well? I feel like I was very much the same as now. Well, you've seen me off stage.

It's like I'm not the loudest person in the room. No, you're not. Nor am I trying to be the loudest person in the room. So as a kid, I think that I just didn't get the opportunity to connect with people. Okay. And I'm not, I'm not someone who goes out of their way to try to insert themselves. I would rather just see that there's an organic opportunity to join a conversation or to, to get to talk to people, but I'm not trying to go out of my way. So if that was awkward, maybe because I was quiet. Yeah. I wasn't outspoken, but, uh, as far as socially, like once someone starts talking

to me, he's like, all right, let's go. You know what I mean? And so I still have a couple of friends from my childhood that remember me from back then. And I, I value and I cherish them just because it's like, man, that's my only like grounding to before all this happened. Yeah. You know what I mean?

And so anytime I have a question about, hey man, am I acting a certain way? Am I doing something different? Is my view on this messed up? Because they'll be real with me and they're not afraid to tell me exactly what they see. And I think it's important to have a connection to the past like that. Okay. But then what do you want to lose of the past? I think it's important for us to-

Poverty, man. Sharing a bathroom, man. Fuck that. But you know what I mean? There are some things we hold from the past that are, you know, like I'm always careful. People will say, you're just the way you've always been or you've changed. And I always go, what is the way I've always been that you're holding onto?

Or what is the change that you wish I had maintained? Some things are good to hold onto and some things are good to change. Are there things that you don't do that you used to do when you were younger that you're glad you let go of? I don't think that I've changed too much. Things from the past that I definitely would want

to let go is the small thinking, the small like, oh, it's, it's the, you know, the, the thing is only this big versus thinking globally. So I was very much only thinking this much back then, and I didn't have the ability to see outside of that when I was younger. Whereas now it's like, it's endless, you know, you can make it as big as you want, or keep it as small as you want. But the problem is the bigger something gets the the more difficult it is to manage and Having control over yourself and your career and your surroundings. It is really hard when the circle gets really big Yeah, and unfortunately for me that circle did get too big at one point where I did start to lose control And I couldn't see see and the wheels were turning

and I didn't know who was making them turn. Right. And so it's kind of like, all right, you know, you say you want the big pie, well, when you get it, see what happens. You really made it a big pie, man. You like, there are a few people I know of in the world who have the footprint that you have with your comedy, with the way you've made people feel, which is, I think, crucial.

So I've been lucky enough to travel all over the world for comedy and otherwise, and I am always, always, always, always impressed at how many places I go to where they know you. What's interesting is what they feel about you and how they feel it. I wanna know when you decide and if it was an act of choice to take many of the things that ostracize you

at a young age and turn them into the tool that made you bring people to you and bring people together. You know, like so many people grew up being teased about their face, their weight, their vibe, their voice, their everything. Very few people have taken that coal, crushed it into a diamond, and shared it with everybody around the world.

Was there like a conscious moment where you did that? And how did you ensure that the audience was laughing with you and not at you? I wanna say about four years into it, because my whole act in the beginning when I first started doing stand-up was I was just doing characters and impressions and everything was a situation with cartoons or this character. So it's like, it was nothing to do with me. It was like, he's entertaining.

He can do all these characters' voices and sound effects and he's painting pictures, but you don't really know anything about the guy. And I remember I did a Comedy Central show called Premium Blend, and I did a bit about being at a nightclub and how I only wanted to dance with big girls because if I'm dancing with a big girl, then we would get tired at the same time. And I remember it was the first bit that I put out there like that, where it's like, wow, that was actually personal.

Yeah. You know? And for some reason, like it just, it started with that one bit and then it just started expanding from there. But, you know, of course there's, there's, there's self deprecating. And then there's just like, Hey man, look, this is just me and either, you know, you're cool with it or you're not cool with it.

I'm going to be good either way. Yeah. You know? And so, uh, I don't know. I think it was just that whole, I don't care. Call me whatever you want. You know, I've already gone through years of this as a kid, you can't phase me now.

So it's like, whatever. And then the more, uh, the more shows I would do and the more laughter and afterwards it's like, okay, well, if, if I'm this big joke and people just laughter and afterwards it's like, okay, well, if I'm this big joke and people just want to make fun or laugh at me, why would you want to talk to me after the show? Why would you want to get in line for a photo? I'm wearing freaking New Balance with a stain on it right now.

I got a hoodie that I'm wearing. It's not fashionable, but it keeps me warm. It fits. By maintaining certain things and not letting the business turn me into something else. That I think I did have to work on because you can get consumed really quick. I wish I could make everybody happy, but you can't. But I just think it's one of those people understand

and they relate to people who have flaws, someone who's not trying to pretend to be perfect. Yeah. We're gonna continue this conversation right after this short break. What did the business want to turn you into in the beginning? Oh, dude, man. Well, when the money starts coming in, all right, everybody who goes from having a certain amount all of a sudden, whoom, overnight, the money quadruples and you're like, what the?

So of course, for me, out the gate, man, I bought two Hummers. I went from living and I was still living in an apartment. So yeah, the money will mess with you. Yes, I had two Hummers while living. Same color or different colors? Different colors. Okay, good. Yeah, different colors.

But I was living in an apartment. I mean, you're not that crazy. Oh man, yeah, so I just started doing stuff like that, putting TVs and PlayStations in the car. And I'm like, what the hell am I doing? But at the time I'm like, how cool is this? I was just so excited. I'd never seen money like that before.

And so yeah, I did a lot of stuff. But you know what I loved about your vibe? So there were two things that I found impressive is that like, one, just personally on the bus, what I loved about rolling with you on your tour bus was how diverse the people were, the schools of thought were. I mean, I would be having fights about Republican politics, Democratic politics. I remember your bus was the first time I realized that this was even like a thing was, you know what I mean? Because where I come from, there is no just like strict delineation.

It isn't you're Republican, you're Democrat. We don't have that. And I always say to people, this is my opinion, I always say to people, I think one of the worst things that's happened in America is that it's become Democrat, Republican, blue, red, because it makes it that people have chosen a side or a thing before they engage in the topic.

Whereas in South Africa and in many other places, we just fight about each topic. And you find like people agree on different things, and people disagree on different things, but you find coalitions and moments that connect you. And I love that on your bus, for instance, we used to have arguments for days. You would just sit in the corner laughing, by the way, which I love. You were the best audience member. And you were just like, asked like a really, like it wasn't incendiary, but you'd ask a question, you'd be like, but Trevor, what about this?

Or you'd be like, but Rick, what about that? And it would spark a whole conversation. But I do love that your environment encouraged that. And what I found particularly interesting was, you as Gabriel have said, I don't engage in politics, et cetera, but you not once, not once said to me, hey, Trevor, don't talk about certain things on stage. Not even, and I mean, there's not even one time

when you came to me and said, hey, man, please don't say, hey, that thing you said about slavery or hey, that, no, you gave me the full leeway you gave me. And maybe that goes into like the mentorship of it all. Anybody who asks me and thousands of people, anybody, they go like, oh, who made your career? And I go, guys, I couldn't have gotten, you see me on the Daily Show and stuff, I'm like, none of that would have happened without Gabriel Iglesias.

Oh, come on, dude. No, no, no, I'm telling you, you know why. Because you genuinely, one of the greatest gifts you gave me was you put me in front of audiences that I never otherwise would have been put in front of. And there's still comedians today who I know of who don't go to the markets you took me to. Places where people exist in America, but I learned thanks to you,

they feel like they don't exist. Do you know what I'm saying? Nobody comes and does a show. Nobody even considers them politically because they don't really shift a needle in either direction. They're just like these forgotten places in America. And you put me there. So let's talk a little bit about mentorship in that way.

You were mentoring me. You were teaching me about merchandise. You were teaching me about comedy, about sets, about... In fact, here's a story. The only time... Mexican food. Man, food. we're gonna talk about food the the the only time you you told me something instructive where you said don't do that or do that was I was doing a set and we you know you're on

stage you're on you're going from one show to the next. And I have a whole host of material, I have a bunch of material, but I've been doing the same set with you on the road. And so at some point I was like, man, let me switch it up. I've been doing the same jokes, let me switch this thing up. And I had a great set and I walk off stage

and Fluffy standing there, almost like a, not angry, but just like a disappointed father or uncle, you know? And you were just like, you're like, hey, you're like, yo, what happened to the joke? And I'm like, what joke? And you're like, you didn't do Namin. And I had this joke, you know, Namin and was, you know, I did it like on Leno and I did, it was a great joke and I loved it. But I was like, yeah, I was like, I don't need to do it.

And you're like, no, these people haven't seen that joke. I was like, yeah, but it's fine. You're like, no, you need to let these people see that joke. And I was like, no, I was like the time and you're like, hey, and you looked at me, I'll never, it was like a coach in a basketball movie. And you looked at me, you were like Denzel or somebody, one of those motivational, and you looked at me and you were like Denzel or somebody with one of those motivations. And you looked at me and you were like, hey, you remember something. These people weren't with us yesterday and they weren't with us the night before and

they won't be with us tomorrow. You might be getting sick of these jokes, but they're not sick of them. You go out there and you do it like it's the first time ever. And he said, those people deserve NaMeen. You go out there and you give them NaMeen. And I was like, I can't go back out there. I'm going to look like an idiot. I've just got off stage.

I'll do it tomorrow. And you're like, no. They're like, yo, man, he forgot to tell you a joke. So he's going to come back on stage. And I'm like, I can't come back. What is going on right now? I can't come back. And you were like, you go out there

and you show them what you're made of. You give them that joke. And then I came back on stage. Like, this is the most awkward experience I've ever had in my life. No opening act has ever had an encore. I'm willing to bet money No opening act and I went out and I did the joke and it got a standing ovation And I came back and you just hugged me and you were like, that's what I'm talking about

So like talk talk me through this. Why do you have comedians on your show? Talk me through this. Why do you have comedians on your show who don't perform your style of comedy, who may not even like complement your style of comedy and could at times like, you know, surprise your audience? Why would you do that? I thought you were funny. I thought you were very funny and the show,

you added more to the show. You were so different. You were so unique. Whenever I put on shows, I look at the entire show as a whole. I don't just look at my performance. I look at what's the fan experience? Are people going to enjoy it from beginning, middle, end? Are they just sitting there waiting? So I did have a lot of comics on the show. I mean, at the time, I think with you was you, Rick Gutierrez, Alfred Robles, Martin, Sean Latham.

Yeah. Yeah. And then of course, you know, you switch and- And then there were people who'd rotate and pop in. Rotate and pop in, yeah. So it was already, most comics only have one guy, you know, maybe two. The only other person that I know that had more people on their show was Kevin Hart. And I know this because I went to a show and told him like, wow!

There's a lot of people on the show. But yeah, no, I enjoyed what you did. And you know, it's funny that you brought up the NaMean bit because we love that joke so much that your nickname- My nickname became NaMean. It became NaMean. Yeah. So Martin, when he told me today, because I was going to bring him with me, he goes,

hey man, give NaMean a big hug for me. So even years later, that still that stands as Namin. Yeah. So maybe the reason I'm asking this question is because I feel like we live in a country and in a world where people are less likely to engage in ideas and other human beings who aren't completely aligned with them. And here you have this person who has done really well building an audience that has an idea of them, but then every time you are risking the association with another human being and you are risking the audience that you've built for that human being who doesn't have much, like why are you doing this? Why take the risk? I don't feel like it's as much a risk. Don't get

me wrong. There was a couple times when I would get emails and they're like, Hey, listen, we really like what you do, but we didn't like what you're one of your other comments said. Yeah. And it's like, okay. Um, I, I can see that. Uh, but for some reason, I don't know, man, it's just the only time I acted on it. And when I did, I felt terrible for it and I still haven't fully, you know, recovered from it.

And that was with Martine. Martine's been on the road with me forever. Yeah. But I do remember that there was a year where we started getting a lot of complaints about certain talks. Cause I tell Martine, just go out there, be you. Yeah. I had gotten a few emails and, you know, talking

to management, talking to all the people around me, they're like, Hey man, look, this isn't a good thing for you. And, uh, you know, I had, I had a whole break in the, in the tour and Martin went off to do his own thing for, for a while and I missed him. I missed him and I felt like it was a breakup, but I'm like, this is still my friend.

But if the way that things went down, it just, it didn't sit well with me. And, um, I felt, I felt like it was a breakup, but I'm like, this is still my friend. But if the way that things went down, it just, it didn't sit well with me. And I felt terrible for it. And I'm like, I should have just had a conversation with him versus just letting all the powers that be dictate that. But it was one of those things where I like to support and make sure that everybody around me does whatever they do.

And if they have a different idea or different opinion, that just, you know, I don't want everybody to think the same way as me. That's boring. You know, I want people to go up there and shake the room up a little bit, have me say something that's so crazy. I can make a call back on it or say something

that's like, Whoa, you know, I like that. Cause I remember one time I had Rick Gutierrez on the road with me and, uh, I told him, Hey dude, what the hell? I said, I just saw your set. Why did you know you didn't do this? You did, you know, you didn't do this. You didn't do this. You didn't do this.

I'll call people out when they don't do the stuff they're supposed to do. Clearly. And he goes, Oh man, I was just, you know, uh, I didn't want you to have to follow the, the thing, the this and this and this. I go, Rick, I'm a headliner too. If I can't follow you, I shouldn't be closing the show. You go out there tomorrow and you put your stank on that stage. All right.

And, and let me worry about following you. You putting on a kick-ass show will make me work that much harder. I don't want to be lazy and complacent. You going out there and killing that stage elevates my game because now I have to perform better than I'm, you know, used to performing. Right. Because it just, it makes you a better comic. Right. It makes you better. It's, it inspired me. I mean, it's the reason I do my tour the way I do now. You to performing because it just makes you a better comic. It makes you better. It inspired me. It's the reason I do my tours the way I do now.

You know, I was thinking about how some of my favorite memories, genuinely, whenever people ask me about America and they go like, what are your favorite memories in America? I want to say eight out of 10 of those memories involve you or the way you took me. There are places I remember, and I've told jokes about some of these things, but like the woman in Lexington, Kentucky, who came up to us after the show, and she was so sweet and she was like, she's like, I just want to let you know you're by far the funniest and handsomest nigger I've ever seen. And I remember every, but I had never experienced this firsthand.

You know, you see America on TV you see and here she was and I know It's a strange thing to say but it's like seeing somebody Who is not trying to be racist nor even thinks they're saying a thing that she was just like what what? And what the best you know, I do tell the joke, but it was all true It was delivered to me was my favorite was when Alfred and the gang said to her They said yo, you can't say that you can't say that that. And she's like, what, I can't say he's the funniest? I didn't mean to offend y'all. And we were like, no, that's not the part of the sentence

that was a problem. But I think of the memories I've had, and one of my favorite memories on the road with you. So there were a few. So this was in El Paso, Texas. You were the person who took me to El Paso. I'm new in America. I'm on the tour bus with, with Fluffy and we get to this town and El Paso at that time was like, was this really interesting place where you were in America, but it

really felt like you were experiencing a city in Mexico. Do you know what I mean? It had like a, had an interesting feel to it. It is a border town. Yeah. It is neighboring in Mexico. Do you know what I mean? It had an interesting feel to it. It is a border town. It is neighboring to Mexico. On this day, I remember I was trying to look for a, searching for a footlocker. This was years ago. We are talking, 2012. Yeah. So this is 2012. So I remember I'm using Google Maps. Google Maps wasn't as sharp as it is today. So I'm using Google Maps and I go Foot Locker. I'm like, that's where people buy their shoes in America. I'm like, right,

Foot Locker. And Google Maps shows me a place without even thinking. I leave the tour bus that we're sleeping on and I just start walking and I just follow Google Maps, follow Google Maps, follow Google Maps. The more I'm walking, I'm like, wow, people are getting more and more brown. People are getting more and more brown as we're walking. I'm like, all right, people are getting more and more brown. And then Google tells me to walk up onto some embankment. And next thing I know. But now there's this weird part where I'm essentially walking upstairs and it looks like I'm going into a mall, I guess, but I'm walking upstairs.

But very quickly, the stairs are enclosed in like a cage. You know what I mean? So you couldn't hop off the stairs on either side. Does this are enclosed in like a cage. You know what I mean? So you couldn't like hop off the stairs on either side. Does this make sense? Okay. Okay. So I'm walking and now there's a lot of people coming towards us and a lot of people going where we're going. So now it's the inertia of the crowd and you're walking. Then you're on a bridge and I'm walking and walking and walking on a bridge. And I'm like, is that

a river? What is happening right now? Where is this wall? Oh my God. And then as I walk down the bridge, I see a sign and it says, welcome to Mexico. Now in my ignorant brain, I didn't know because I've never walked across a border in my life. To me, borders happen at like ports and at airports. And I'm just like, wait, what is it? Bienvenidos a Mexico. I'm like, what? So now I'm walking, I'm like, oh shit, no, no, no, no, no. This is wrong.

This is clearly wrong. So I turn around. Now I'm causing so much commotion in the flow that the border agents are like there now. And then he's like, hey, come on. He's like, come on, vamos, vamos, vamos. So I'm like, no, no, no, I'm sorry. I'm going to, sorry, I'm still wrong.

But I can't. Yeah, I can't hop to the other side. I'm like, oh, I'm trying to go to Foot Locker. And now they're pushing me. The crowd's, everyone's pissed off at me, understandably. I'm still wrong, but I can't luck. Yeah, I can't hop to the other side I'm like, oh, I'm gonna try to go to Foot Locker. And now they're pushing me the crowds. Everyone's pissed over me. Understandably I'm like trying to get to the other I can't get to it and Finally I like get down to where he is and he's like, hey and he's like I'm gonna let me do and I'm like no No, sorry, sir. I don't speak Spanish. Hey, man. I'm trying to get to Foot Locker and he's like what he's like No, no, keep going keep going. So I'm like, no, no, no keep going where I can't go I'm like, I can't go to Mexico. I can't go to Mexico. Gabriel Iglesias, I can't go to Mexico. And then he's like, what? Come on.

Then he's like, where's your passport? Then I was like, I don't have a passport. Then he's like, what? Then I'm like, no, not like that. Not like that. I just don't have my passport with me. I didn't think. Then he's like, why don't you have your passport? Then I'm like, I don't travel with my passport when I go to Foot Locker. This is not a thing that I do. Yo, we stood there for 15 minutes. I sat there begging this man not to deport me to not my country. Because it's one thing to get deported to your country. It's one thing to get deported to and not your country. And then I'd never done this before and I have never done it since. I pulled out my phone and I said, wait, wait, wait, let me Google me. And now I'm typing my name into Google and I'm praying to God. I'm like, Google, you better, man, wait, wait, let me Google me. And now I'm typing my name into Google and I'm praying to God.

I'm like, Google, you better, man, you better not mess with me on this one. And like Trevor Noah, and I like hit it. And then my face comes up and the Tonight Show and then like us like on like all kinds of like, you see, you see, and he looks at it and he's like, huh? He's like, oh, he's like, oh shit, you with Fluffy? Oh my god. He's like, oh yeah. Oh man, oh, you guys doing a show. I'm like, yeah, yeah, you know, fluffy.

He's like, yeah, man, of course I know fluffy. Then he's like, I love fluffy. He's like, I see, yeah, yeah, I get it. Oh my God. He's like, oh fluffy. And this guy, I will never forget, yo, I walked that he jumped me over to the other side. He's like, yeah, he's like, you shouldn't walk across a border without a passport. I was like, so I was going to Foot Locker.

I did not know that I was going to a border and he let me come back to you and I remember I was telling Alfred and the guys that And oh, you know Alfred classic classic of he's like yo not mean he's like I told you man He's like you Dominican bro. I told you man. They can see it. You might not see it, but they can see it man You Dominican bro. I was like, you know that that was day I was like, screw you, Google, and thank God for Fluffy. Don't go anywhere, because we got more What Now after this. Easily, easily, the best experience you and I shared for me was your fans, you would talk about something on stage.

And if you made the mistake of mentioning something, your fans would start to bring it to the show. Yes. And one of the things you talked about was loving cake. And so at all your shows, Gabe, it was like, I close my eyes right now and I can picture it backstage, with every cake you can imagine would be waiting backstage, like every cake.

And I remember I joined the tour. I felt like the African who had just come into this world, where I was like, there's just cakes all the time? Cause I'm not even lying, when I grew up, cake was a thing that would happen on occasion. I think it still is, cake is not, you don't just bump into cakes all the time in South Africa Every day we're on tour. There's a minimum of 12 to 14 cakes maximum We had a cake table backstage. Yo the shows because people would constantly bring

Chocolate cakes or you got to try my my co-sister cake or you got to try this cake Do you remember the yes? I've gotten a lot of penis cakes. I'm sorry. Yo, that penis cake was one of the best cakes I've ever eaten in my life. I remember nobody wanted to eat it. It was a cake in the shape of a penis. Yeah.

Oh, it wasn't a cake made of penises. Come on, get your head out the gutter. Look at this dick cake, here you go. No, can't make a cake out of dicks, come on. It doesn't hold, the eggs don't blend with it well. No, someone bought a cake that was a massive penis, giant, giant penis, right? And I remember nobody wanted to touch the cake.

And I had become the de facto cake taster. Nine out of 10 cakes weren't worth tasting or eating. And then that dick cake came. And it was weird, you know how there's that thing that- And no matter what angle, which side you decide to try to cut a piece. No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no was like, guys, it's a cake. They're like, I don't know, man. I'm like, it's a cake. We can eat it. It doesn't matter what it looks like. They're like, I don't know, man.

I don't want to eat dick. I was like, guys, you're not eating dick. You're eating cake. You can't eat dick with a spoon. And they were like, I don't know, man. I don't know if I can. And so I was like, well, I'm going in. And they were like, you're going to eat the dick?

I was like, I'm going to eat the cake. I'm going to eat the cake. They're like, yo, not me eating the dick. Not me eating the dick. Not me eating the dick. And I was like, man, you know what, you guys. And I ate it. And I turned to everyone. I was like, yo, you guys got to get some of the dick. Not me need the dick. And I was like, man, you know what, you guys, and I ate it and I turned to everyone, I was like, yo, you guys gotta get some of this dick.

And everyone was like, nah, you lying. You just wanna, you want, and I was like, everybody, and I'll never forget, there was a moment where we were all gathered around this giant penis on a table and we were just all like, man, this is amazing. This is some good ass dick. This is the best dick we've ever, easily some of my favorite memories. But what it also triggered me-

And what everybody wants to know is, hey, where did you start? Did you start on the head of the shaft or the balls? I don't even know where I, I just went in. I still try and find that, I don't know where the baker is, I'll try and find it. But this triggered a random memory of mine that I've always wondered about, sort of what you said about receiving emails. I always wanted to know how you dealt with this and how you moved through this. There was a time when you went to the doctors

and they were like, hey, man, Gabriel, you can't be eating as much as you're eating. We're worried about your health, your heart, everything. You told the audience these stories. You're like, yeah, I've got to cut down on everything. And you started boxing, you started losing weight. And I'll never forget this, because this really like threw me off as a human being and as a performer. There were some fans of yours who were angry that you were losing weight.

Yeah. They were like, I'm not, more than any political thing. You're not going to be fluffy anymore. Yeah. It's like, hey, I'm gonna live longer maybe? I don't know. Yeah, but I did have some people that were getting upset because it was going against the fluffy thing, you know? And it's like, come on, man. It's like, why is this even a concern?

That is celebrating the fact that I'm trying to make my life better. But yeah, some people did not receive it that way. But I think it's a valuable conversation to have in society. The fact that I'm trying to make my life better, but yeah, some people did not receive it that way. But I think it's a valuable conversation to have in society. We take for granted how much the way we are makes people comfortable, and if we dare to change that, it changes how they feel in relation to us. Do you know what I mean?

I always felt like that illuminated something quite powerful that we're still dealing with today in society. And it's like, what do you think you've learned? Because you have real conversations with the people, which is why I ask you. What did you learn about how people see you? And then how you have to balance that with how you wish to be while still maintaining relationships with them? I value people's opinions, especially the people that are willing to come out and

support and make this work. I listen to people. I value their opinions. It's not a matter of opinion. I'm no longer young. I'm no longer a 20 year old kid that can be 440 pounds. I'm almost 50. And if I want to continue that, we already

know what's going to happen. Yeah. So in that situation where I have people that voiced their opinion, well, you're not going to be fluffy no more. I can't support you. Those are the people who, whose opinion is not something that's going to work well with what I'm

trying to do. Yeah. And again, if fans aren't willing to see the bigger picture and understand that I'm trying to do something to make myself better physically, I gonna work well with what I'm trying to do. Yeah. And again, if fans aren't willing to see the bigger picture and understand that I'm trying to do something to make myself better physically, not let me do something that's like, oh, all of a sudden he's

political. No, I'm doing something where I'm trying to improve my quality of life because I want to be around. If they don't agree with that, then I don't, I don't want them. I don't need them. And I have to be willing to accept the fact that, all I don't, I don't want them. I don't need them. And I have to be willing to accept the fact that, all right, I'm going to lose those fans, I'm sorry. Is that hard for you?

It is because you always want to make everybody happy, but I'm literally trying to make people happy by killing myself. So if me killing myself is going to make someone happy, then maybe I don't want to make those people happy. And maybe I'm, I need to let those people go. And that is hard, but I know for the greater good, I got to just be willing to say, sorry, you know, I'm not going to be fluffy. Maybe I'll just be toughy. Maybe I'll be buffy. Maybe I'll be, you know, scruffy. I'll be something with a Y at the

end of it. But I need to, I need to be around. I, man, that's why I say you continuously, like you, you always inspire me, man, because I think this is something that many performers, and again I go to like, I'm sure people deal with it in their lives, but when you're a performer it's amplified. Many people deal with this and aren't able to articulate it and don't deal with it publicly, but there's an idea. For instance, on comedy, I'll deal with it the opposite way to you. If I do a show where I don't say anything political, sometimes people are like, what the hell are you doing?

With everything that's happening in the world, you're just going to come out and make jokes? And I go, yeah, because that's what I do. I sometimes I'm just making jokes. Do you see what happened on the news today? I'm like, no, I don't watch the news every day anymore. And they're like, oh, why not? Then I go, because for my mental health, it's not great. I don't think for your mental health, it's great.. I don't think for your mental health it's great.

I don't think you should be watching the news every day. It's not good for you. I don't know. I just feel like you, this is not- You've changed. It's not what we signed up for. Exactly, it's not what we signed up for. And I'm constantly and continuously thinking about

how you find a balance in life between accommodating how people have seen you and how you wish to see yourself. You know, how you wish to grow. What do you make of the conversations about weight and weight loss today? Like with Ozempic and everything, like now when people talk about losing weight and Ozempic and all these things,

do you ever think about it? Do you have an opinion on it in that world? As somebody who's used Ozempic, and by the way, Ozempic approached me years ago before it really became popular. Oh wow. And they wanted me to be the spokesperson for Ozempic.

They wanted me to be the, the, the, oh, oh, oh, you know, they wanted me to be the guy and all the commercials, the, the modern day Wilfred Brimley, you know, me and my diabetes, my diabetes, when I'm dealing with my diabetes. So they, they approached me to, to be the spokesperson, but, uh, you know, the, the powers that be said, Hey, for what they want from you, your time commitment and what they're expecting, they're not willing to play.

And I was like, okay. But in hindsight, I would have gotten free Ozempic and that's, that stuff goes for like thousands on the black market. I probably could have came up, but I passed, but I, I've used it. I used, uh used Ozempic for a while and they're right. Even with me out the gate, first two weeks, I dropped 15 pounds. I didn't change anything. And so I can see why that would be addicting because you do, it'll kick in right away. Now I'm taking something called Monjaro.

Oh yeah, yeah, yeah. That's from Eli Lilly. Yeah, it's the other one. But you will plateau. Because, yeah, you lose so much weight. Oh, interesting. It's not like you just keep losing weight. No, no, no. You plateau, but it does regulate my sugar. So for example, I wear a monitor. You can't see it right now, but there's one of those on the arm.

What colors do you have? What is it? Like a next? Is the one that does continuous glucose monitoring? Yeah, continuous glucose monitoring. Okay, yeah, yeah, yeah. Oh, yeah, yeah. I like that.

So every two weeks I change it out, and of course you scan it like when you're at the supermarket and you're like, beep, and then you kind of read, all right, that's what I'm Yeah. Monitoring. Oh yeah. Yeah. I like that. Every two weeks I change it out and of course you scan it like when you're at the supermarket and you're like beep and then you kind of read, all right, that's what I'm worth today. And that's been super helpful along with just trying to be somewhat active. I'm not as active as I would like to be. I don't do the boxing thing anymore, but I'm still moving. Yeah, man. You have had some of the more honest conversations about food and the emotional connection

It gives us and the support and the you know, like I know for a fact The reason I love food the way I do is because it reminds me of moments in my life When things were okay, do you know I mean man? There was never a moment in my life where we were broke and we had good food. And so food has this interesting connection to my brain that makes me feel safe, it makes me feel seen, it makes me feel welcome, it makes me feel, you know?

And I wondered like, if over the years, because we haven't spoken about it in such a long time, but if over the years you've tapped into that connection with food, because I know you and I, we'd literally talk about it while eating, like Arby's or whatever. It would just be like, ah, the way, remember how food makes it.

No, and I just wondered if you've had, like if you've worked on that more, if you, you know, with therapy or whatever, just like, have you delved more into that space of what food means to you as a person? Food for me has always been in a, like, comfort food. If I'm dealing with something when you eat, you have that moment where you're just like, like everything makes sense. Like for example, my favorite, favorite thing to eat in the world

is just a plain cheese quesadilla. Plain cheese quesadilla. And people go, really? That's what you like? You could eat anywhere you want, but you want a plain cheese quesadilla. I go, you know what? Plain cheese quesadilla makes me think of my childhood. My mom would make me a quesadilla, you know, and that was just it.

That's all I needed. I just needed a piece of cheese and some tortilla, fold it up. My mom would, you know, make it on the stove and I was a happy camper. And so anytime I have a quesadilla, it's very much comforting to me. It feels safe. It feels, it takes me back to a time when I had my mom. And you were close to your mom. Very close.

Amen. As I say, you and I were brothers on that trip, like figuratively and literally in the food. And yeah, I don't know. To see how much self-worth and how much value you gave to overweight people all over America, where you didn't allow them to be defined as being lazy, as being slobs, as like, you gave people just like a feeling of being seen, you know?

I remember when you said to me with my merchandise, I was making T-shirts and you had helped me make them and I didn't even know merch was a thing. And then you said, like, get your sizes and split them out and I was like, all right, I'm going to need small, medium, large. And then you were like, yo, and I mean, you're like, where's the, where's the double XL? Where's the triple XL? And I was like, you're joking, right?

And you're like, no, I'm not joking. You got to think about everybody. And I was like, where I'm from, there isn't a 4X. I wasn't even joking. And it was a learning. But to see the people's faces when you would have their size. And it's this weird, complicated thing where I think in society, we like to impose a singular idea. So you wanna go, well, if you're fat,

then no T-shirt for you. But you taught me that humanity in such a beautiful way. You made those people feel seen. You taught me to always try and see people as much as you can, just see them, meet them where they are. And then hopefully by holding their hand, you both embark on a journey that takes you in the right direction.

And so I guess that takes me to the question, that I ask everybody at the end of every episode, and that is, what now? Gabriel Iglesias has in many ways done everything. There are a few, maybe none, no comedians who are gonna sell out stadiums. Like Dodger Stadium is not a joke. Like, you know what I mean?

I'm still fighting with selling. Like as soon as an arena gets to like 15,000, it's like, oh, clench your butt cheeks, boys. Here we go. And you've done it. No, it's true, you've done it. No it's true you've done it. You've toured the world and so I would love to know like you know for Gabriel Iglesias like what now? What do you what do you hope to see yourself doing in the next few years and don't limit it to Korea by the way I want to

know like as a human being what now for you? Honestly I think that it's it's time that I take care of this weight situation. I've managed to be able to achieve every goal I have ever set for myself in my career. I've done everything I've wanted to do. And I think personally, I have failed myself by not working better on relationships, working better on maintaining a working better on maintaining, uh, a certain level of just health. I've, I've allowed myself to, you know, I've made excuses for years.

And I think that now it's, it's okay to, to get off the road for a little while. It's okay to take a little break and start working on myself. You know, during COVID I was, I was so depressed because I couldn't get on stage for almost a year. But during that time, I actually started working out and seeing a diabetes specialist and started getting healthier because I was actually able to get on a schedule

and a routine, and I lost about 75 pounds in that year. And then as soon as I went back on tour, I gained back 50 of it. And I'm like, wow, if I would have just kept this up for like another year, I could have, you know, but I got back into my old habits and I was, I got used to being comfortable. And I, I think that by saying it out loud and by saying this in front of people and I'm trying to make myself accountable because I hate letting people down. And I think that if people know that this is the goal,

they'll be supportive of it. And again, if some people don't want to support me making myself better, then maybe those people I don't need in my life anymore. Amen. I think they'll be with you. I think through COVID, everyone has appreciated life in a very different way. And I think they'll be with you. They'll be with you as fluffy, they'll be with you as buffy, as toughy, as scruffy. Scruffy.

Yeah. And I hope you know on a personal level, no matter what you do or don't do, you will always be enoughy. Thank you. Thank you, my brother, for real, man. Love you, man. Always great, Gabe. Thanks for coming. What Now with Trevor Noah is produced by Spotify Studios in partnership with Day Zero Productions and Fullwell 73. The show is executive produced by Trevor Noah, Ben Winston, Sanaz Yamin and Jodie Avigan.

Our senior producer is Jess Hackl, Marina Henke is our producer. Music, mixing and mastering by Hannes Brown. Thank you so much for listening. Join me next Thursday for another episode of What Now?