Comedian Gabriel Iglesias aims for fluffiness

Gabriel Iglesias is a big, huggable, fleecy, lovable, relatable kind of guy.

Or, as he and his fans would readily tell you, he’s not fat, he’s “fluffy.” (Not to mention, he would probably lay out his “six levels of fatness” for you, edited for family-friendly newspaper purposes: “Big, Healthy, Husky, Fluffy, Dang and Oh Heck, No.”)

Iglesias will bring all his fluffiness with him to Memorial Auditorium 8 p.m. Feb. 11 as he launches his “Fluffymania World Tour: 20 Years of Comedy.” The 27-city tour kicked off just a week ago in Dallas and will continue through the end of October in Europe.

Iglesias was just 10 years old when he discovered what he loved to do. That’s when he first got on stage to do impressions.

Then in high school, he said the only A he received on a mostly D report card was in speech class. He got extra points for getting up in front of the class and talking. Talking was something he had no problem doing.

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Not that his family loved his choice of career, at least at first.

Iglesias, a native of San Diego, California, who mostly grew up in Long Beach, landed a nice, secure job with a cell phone company, though he split his time between the cell phone company and comedy. Although his mom told him not to do it, he left his cell phone job to try comedy full time.

Comedy, of course, did not pay well in the beginning.

Iglesias lost his home and his car and would pay his own way to comedy gigs just so he could perform on stage.

He persisted and started gaining steam in the comedy world after his run on the television competition show “Last Comic Standing.” Although he made it far in the competition, he was disqualified for having a cell phone with him to communicate with the outside world, which was a no-no.

His TV gig was followed by a slew of comedy specials, such as Comedy Central’s “Gabriel Iglesias: I’m Not Fat … I’m Fluffy” in 2009. He also has produced his own shows. He hosted and produced Comedy Central’s “Gabriel Iglesias Presents Stand Up Revolution,” a showcase comedy series.

Iglesias also is known for his voice work. He voiced all the family members in a “Family Guy” episode called “Padre de Familia.” And he voiced a set of identical twins for the Disney animated series “The Emperor’s New School.”

He has appeared on the big screen, too, most notably in both of the “Magic Mike” films, along with starring in his standup comedy film, “The Fluffy Movie.”

What has endeared Iglesias to his fans is that he shares so much about his own life in his comedy.

Iglesias, whose weight has topped 440 pounds, was told by doctors he had Type II diabetes and was told if he didn’t change his lifestyle he might not be around in two years. That’s when he decided to start living a healthier life.

In addition to his "Fluffymania" tour, in 2017 Iglesias will voice the character of Jokey in “Smurfs: The Lost Village” and will voice the character of “Cuatro” in the animated film “Ferdinand.” He also will reprise his role of Jimmy in the animated movie “The Nut Job 2,” along with Will Arnett and Maya Rudolph.

His sixth one-hour comedy special, “I’m Sorry for What I Said When I Was Hungry,” debuted on Netflix in December, and his TV show, “Fluffy Breaks Even” will be in its third season on Fuse TV.

In an interview with Go See Talk in 2014 (www.goseetalk.com), Iglesias said, “Why would anybody connect to someone who has everything going for them? It’s the person who has faults that people want to connect to. So people identify with certain insecurities on stage, and just by me talking about my diabetes, people come up to me after the show and tell me, ‘Gabe, my blood sugar is out of control, and I feel you.’ …

“If you put your personal stories out there, people always connect. People understand when I talk about my son not listening, or issues at home or his real dad coming back into the picture, or even stories about family members not seeing eye to eye with what you’re doing. By putting myself out there the way I’ve been doing, people see me as a real person.”

IF YOU GO

What: Gabriel Iglesias on his FluffyMania World Tour: 20 Years of Comedy

Where: Memorial Auditorium

When: 8 p.m. Feb. 11

Tickets: $50 to $85 (additional charges may apply)

Information: 716-5555 or www.wfmpec.com