For comedian Gabriel Iglesias, losing weight was no laughing matter.
“I’m down a hundred pounds. I have a lot more energy,” he said on NBC’s “Cafecito.” “I just went low-carb for a while and I started doing yoga and fortunately I’m in a good position where my diabetes is more under control.”
The 38-year-old Mexican funnyman – whose is the first Latino to have a theatrical comedy release nationally with his film “The Fluffy Movie,” out Friday – knew he had to do something about his weight or else.
“Death, bro! I didn’t want to die,” he told host Feliciano Garcia after being asked what inspired his new healthy outlook. “When you’re young you don’t think about stuff like that, you’re invincible.”
As his physique sizes down, his career is exploding – with upcoming roles in “A Haunted House 2” alongside Marlon Wayans, and “Magic Mike 2” after appearing in Part 1.
“Fortunately for me I’m in a really good position right now ’cause of YouTube and social media and how strong of a presence I have there,” explained Iglesias, who has nearly 7 million followers on Facebook, 652,000 on Twitter, and 386,605 on Instagram.
“I’m getting phone calls from all these great actors that want to give me small roles in their film,” he added.
However, Iglesias’ immediate attention is on his big screen comedic debut, which he described as more personal than any standup he’s ever done before.
“This is going to be the fifth special that I do,” he said about his latest taped standup show. The last four aired on Comedy Central. “I tell the story of how my mom and my dad met (and) I talk about my dad showing up after 30 years being M.I.A.”
But he hasn’t only opened up to his mainstream audience; he’s also embraced fans from other Latino cultures, appearing in New York City’s Puerto Rican Day Parade in June.
“It’s one thing for a Latino artist to cross over into the mainstream America,” he said. “When you can cross over and you’re the Mexican on the Puerto Rican Day Parade, that’s amazing. That’s a whole different level of crossing over.”
The self-proclaimed “Fluffy” had a clear message for the Mexicans who questioned his involvement in the Boricua celebration.
“If J.Lo can play Selena, then a Mexican can be in the Puerto Rican Day Parade,” he quipped. “As far as I’m concerned, we’re even now.”
ON A MOBILE DEVICE? CLICK HERE TO WATCH VIDEO.
