Los Angeles Times

In loo ofa private retreat

A massive bathroom in his compound is the one place the comic can be alone.

- By Michelle Hofmann

Restroom, john, privy, outhouse, loo. Call it what you will, but for comedian and “Magic Mike XXL” actor Gabriel “Fluffy” Iglesias, the private bathroom at his Signal Hill compound is a sanctuary.

“Whether I’m at home or on the road or in the lobby or on a plane, I’m never alone,” said Iglesias, 39. “If I’m in that bathroom, people leave me alone.”

The 172-square-foot bathroom is one of four in the comic’s 14,404square-foot Signal Hill compound, where he stores his touring merchandis­e. It’s become a home away from home that sits five minutes from his Long Beach residence.

Iglesias is in the second season of Fuse TV’s “Fluffy Breaks Even,” a weekly peek into the comic’s touring life, and recording a onehour special for Netflix.

But the funnyman says his compound is no joke.

“There is a kitchen and a lounge and couches and fish tanks. It’s a glorified man cave. People say this is the world’s greatest man cave,” he said. “But there are no bedrooms. If I had bedrooms, I would probably never leave.”

What’s the best part about your bathroom?

The room has a remote-controlled TOTO toilet. When you’re done making magic, you hit one button and a jet of water cleans you. You can control the pressure and the temperatur­e of the water. It’s got a dryer feature that blows air. It’s magical.

Anything else?

There’s a sign on the door that makes it clear that it’s mine. The sign has my logo on it, but I’m having a keypad installed so that I can lock it and unlock it. I have a giant shower, a urinal, a shoe rack, a bench, a ton of drawer space, a closet and an amazing sink.

What makes the sink “amazing”?

It’s not full of hair, long hairs. There are not brushes everywhere. If I put a toothbrush on the edge of the sink, when I come back the next day, it’s still there. That’s what makes it great.

Besides the obvious, what else do you do in that bathroom?

For the most part I like to sit and listen to music.

Do you work on your stand-up routine there?

No, nothing is practiced offstage. I can only work on my shows while I’m doing the show. I don’t put pen to paper. What you see is what you get.

How green is the compound?

The entire Fluffy compound is run on solar power. It’s so green that we have had issues with plumbing because of how little water we use.

You have transcende­d from being a Latino comic to gain mass appeal. How did you do that?

A lot of it has to do with what I’m not doing. I don’t get political. I try not to talk about religion. And I don’t talk about sports. Those three things will divide a room in half. I’m not squeaky-clean, but it’s not a foul show. It’s a show where you would feel comfortabl­e bringing your family.

 ?? Photograph­s by Rick Loomis Los Angeles Times ?? GABRIEL IGLESIAS’ storage site — five minutes from his Long Beach home — has a tricked-out bathroom that is exclusivel­y his.
Photograph­s by Rick Loomis Los Angeles Times GABRIEL IGLESIAS’ storage site — five minutes from his Long Beach home — has a tricked-out bathroom that is exclusivel­y his.
 ??  ?? THE ACTOR-comedian’s 14,404-square-foot “man cave” compound has four bathrooms; his has a remote-controlled toilet.
THE ACTOR-comedian’s 14,404-square-foot “man cave” compound has four bathrooms; his has a remote-controlled toilet.

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