Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/15710
SEPTEMBER 2010 FOOD & WINE WRITTEN BY BRENDA DURAN PHOTOGRAPHED BY EFREN BELTRAN FUNNY AND FLUFFY When you Google the word "fluffy" don't expect to find a cuddly rabbit or an advertisement for a soft comforter leading your search results. Instead, at the top of the search engine results you will find 34-year-old, 400-pound comedian Gabriel Iglesias, also known on the comedy circuit as the "fluffy guy" who wears Hawaiian shirts. "I used to tell my mom, 'I'm fat,' and she would say, 'You're not fat, you're fluffy,'" said Iglesias. "It just stuck." His name, image and jokes about living large have gained this Long Beach-raised comedian national recognition. These days, you can find him doing stand-up somewhere in the country 200 days out of the year. His material includes everything from his obsession with food, which led him to create the motto, "live by the cake, die by the cake," to problems with his family and funny impersonations. "I put everything on the stage. When people leave my shows they know exactly who they saw," said Iglesias. Iglesias is a Wilson High graduate who has lived in every corner of this city and spent a good amount of time making people around him laugh. The idea for stardom came very early on his life. "I decided I wanted to be a comedian when I was 10," he said. ""I saw it on TV, I saw Eddie Murphy and I liked it and I said, 'I want to do that.'" While growing up in the city, he said his teenage years provided him with the ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT : LOCAL CELEBRITY 64 GABRIEL IGLESIAS