Joe Rogan Experience #2001 - Gabriel Iglesias

1. 0:00 – 15:00

   (drumbeats) Joe Rogan podcast,…

   1. NANarrator0:00

      (drumbeats) Joe Rogan podcast, check it out.

   2. The Joe Rogan Experience.

   3. JRJoe Rogan0:06

      Train by day, Joe Rogan podcast by night. All day. (rock music) Finally, finally you're here. Finally.

   4. GIGabriel Iglesias0:14

      Finally. (laughs)

   5. JRJoe Rogan0:15

      You're one of the most requested guys ever.

   6. GIGabriel Iglesias0:17

      (laughs)

   7. JRJoe Rogan0:17

      And I was like, "I gotta see him somewhere. I gotta run into him." We'll make it happen. So we made it happen. I'm excited to see you, brother.

   8. GIGabriel Iglesias0:24

      It's a, it's a pleasure, finally. I mean, we've, we've run into so many similar circles for so many years, and it's like-

   9. JRJoe Rogan0:28

      Well, we ran into each other at the Canelo fight.

   10. GIGabriel Iglesias0:30

       Yeah.

   11. JRJoe Rogan0:31

       Yeah.

   12. GIGabriel Iglesias0:31

       But I mean, I, God, I've, I've been seeing you for 20 years.

   13. JRJoe Rogan0:34

       Yeah.

   14. GIGabriel Iglesias0:35

       You know?

   15. JRJoe Rogan0:35

       Well, you were always the hero of the Icehouse. We'd go down to the Icehouse, well, "How the fuck does he sell out so many shows?"

   16. GIGabriel Iglesias0:41

       (laughs)

   17. JRJoe Rogan0:41

       Gabriel's doing like a 2:00 in the afternoon show, (laughs) a 4:00 PM show. How many shows did you do in a day at one point in time?

   18. GIGabriel Iglesias0:47

       Uh, the most I ever did in one day, uh, like full sets, not just like-

   19. JRJoe Rogan0:50

       Yeah.

   20. GIGabriel Iglesias0:50

       ... a 10-minute spot? Four shows.

   21. JRJoe Rogan0:52

       Four. (laughs)

   22. GIGabriel Iglesias0:52

       Four, four full one-hour shows.

   23. JRJoe Rogan0:54

       (laughs)

   24. GIGabriel Iglesias0:54

       But yeah, we were doing, uh, matinee shows at the Icehouse.

   25. JRJoe Rogan0:57

       It's wild. It was wild. Like, you know, it would, we'd go down there and see the signs and all the p- It was like, "This is crazy." Like, "Who the fuck is doing that?"

   26. GIGabriel Iglesias1:06

       You know, 'cause I was doing, uh, like, they were calling them kid shows because I was allowing all ages, like-

   27. JRJoe Rogan1:10

       Oh.

   28. GIGabriel Iglesias1:11

       Bob Fischer was bending the rules to let me have, you know?

   29. JRJoe Rogan1:13

       That's great 'cause your act is perfect for that.

   30. GIGabriel Iglesias1:16

       But, you know, I mean, I ge- I, I, I tailored it. I tailored it.
2. 15:00 – 30:00

   (laughs) Yeah. …

   1. GIGabriel Iglesias15:00

      (laughs) Yeah.

   2. JRJoe Rogan15:00

      I want that right there.

   3. GIGabriel Iglesias15:02

      And then-

   4. JRJoe Rogan15:02

      I want to be able to switch hands or move it around. (laughs)

   5. GIGabriel Iglesias15:05

      And then I'm one of those that tells stories with their hands, so I'm always, you know, I gotta, gotta be able to-

   6. JRJoe Rogan15:09

      Yeah.

   7. GIGabriel Iglesias15:09

      ... be mobile and move and just... You know, all right, here we go.

   8. JRJoe Rogan15:12

      It's crazy that you m- made it and then started getting into clubs in LA. That is crazy.

   9. GIGabriel Iglesias15:19

      Yeah, so, uh, first time out on the road I was, uh, I was doing a, a comedy club called Bart Reads Comic Strip in El Paso, Texas. And I was there as an opener, and that was the first time I did a comedy club, was Bart Reads Comic Strip El Paso. That's where I had to go, and I'm from LA.

   10. JRJoe Rogan15:35

       Mm.

   11. GIGabriel Iglesias15:35

       You know what I mean?

   12. JRJoe Rogan15:35

       Yeah.

   13. GIGabriel Iglesias15:35

       Like, I'd done a million bars-

   14. JRJoe Rogan15:37

       Yeah.

   15. GIGabriel Iglesias15:37

       ... and dives and little holes in the wall.

   16. JRJoe Rogan15:38

       But that was the first real comedy club.

   17. GIGabriel Iglesias15:39

       But first actual comedy club. And then, um, I remember I went on the road actually with Joe Diaz and with Marilyn Martinez.

   18. JRJoe Rogan15:46

       Mm.

   19. GIGabriel Iglesias15:46

       And so, uh, I- I did (laughs) a show with the two of them. And getting a comedy course from Marilyn Martinez and Joey Diaz at the same time-

   20. JRJoe Rogan15:53

       (laughs)

   21. GIGabriel Iglesias15:53

       ... is something I will never forget because the two of them are so, like... They, they were just yin and yang, you know?

   22. JRJoe Rogan15:58

       Yeah.

   23. GIGabriel Iglesias15:58

       I remember how, how awesome that friendship was. And they were just so real and raw with me, and I'm just sitting there and I'm this 21-year-old kid and I'm just like-

   24. JRJoe Rogan16:07

       (laughs)

   25. GIGabriel Iglesias16:07

       ... "Oh, my God." (laughs)

   26. JRJoe Rogan16:08

       (laughs)

   27. GIGabriel Iglesias16:10

       You know? And if you knew the two of them, you'd know, like, wow, that's, that's a hell of a, uh, a lesson that you-

   28. JRJoe Rogan16:15

       Yeah.

   29. GIGabriel Iglesias16:16

       ... you get.

   30. JRJoe Rogan16:16

       Well, that is a beautiful thing about people when they think you're funny, that they will take you, take you under their wing. They will give you some advice and will talk to you about stuff.
3. 30:00 – 45:00

   It's not really, yeah.…

   1. JRJoe Rogan30:00

      It's kind of not really a 1974 car.

   2. GIGabriel Iglesias30:01

      It's not really, yeah.

   3. JRJoe Rogan30:03

      You know? It's really a 2023 car.

   4. GIGabriel Iglesias30:05

      Mm-hmm.

   5. JRJoe Rogan30:06

      Like, if you had a '74 Porsche built by some madman who, like, made you this wicked air-cooled engine, and... So, you're driving around in a 1974 car that's got all brand new parts.

   6. GIGabriel Iglesias30:16

      Yeah, but they're still gonna hold you to the rules.

   7. JRJoe Rogan30:18

      Yeah.

   8. GIGabriel Iglesias30:18

      I, uh, I did do a, with one of my Volkswagens, I actually, uh, s- did a, a s- it's called a Subaru swap. So, I took out the engine from, uh, the Volkswagen and I put in a Subaru turbo engine in it.

   9. JRJoe Rogan30:30

      Oh, Jesus.

   10. GIGabriel Iglesias30:30

       'Cause it, 'cause it fit perfectly.

   11. JRJoe Rogan30:32

       Oh, wow.

   12. GIGabriel Iglesias30:32

       And so now, that car is like, it, it's fast. It is super fast, and it's quiet.

   13. JRJoe Rogan30:38

       I saw a video online. See if you could find this. It was a Ford, an old Ford Econoline van that they put a supercharged Coyote engine in.

   14. GIGabriel Iglesias30:47

       Oh, wow.

   15. JRJoe Rogan30:48

       So, it was this r- those ones where your face is, like, right at the windshield. You ever see those?

   16. GIGabriel Iglesias30:52

       Yeah.

   17. JRJoe Rogan30:53

       It's, like, such a flat-faced, weird thing. But he's got this crazy fucking supercharged Coyote Mustang engine in it. Just ... with a, an Econoline.

   18. GIGabriel Iglesias31:06

       Yeah. S- some of these, uh, modifications, they don't really, you know, they're not worried about the height or the, you know, it, you gotta put everything else in there to match so that-

   19. JRJoe Rogan31:13

       Yeah.

   20. GIGabriel Iglesias31:13

       ... it can handle, right?

   21. JRJoe Rogan31:14

       They're doing it just for funsies.

   22. GIGabriel Iglesias31:15

       (clears throat)

   23. JRJoe Rogan31:16

       Nobody really needs an Econoline-

   24. GIGabriel Iglesias31:17

       N- nobody needs an E-

   25. JRJoe Rogan31:17

       ... van with a supercharged fucking Coyote engine in.

   26. GIGabriel Iglesias31:20

       Like, I heard-

   27. JRJoe Rogan31:20

       You find it anywhere?

   28. GIGabriel Iglesias31:21

       I heard a rumor that they, they were gonna make a Hellcat minivan.

   29. JRJoe Rogan31:25

       (laughs)

   30. GIGabriel Iglesias31:25

       And I'm like, "You know what? I, I think I'm down."
4. 45:00 – 1:00:00

   Hmm. …

   1. JRJoe Rogan45:00

      So I don't even know if he's still there anymore. This is quite a while ago.

   2. GIGabriel Iglesias45:03

      Hmm.

   3. JRJoe Rogan45:04

      I would have fucked around like (screams) .

   4. GIGabriel Iglesias45:05

      Yeah, you did. (laughs)

   5. JRJoe Rogan45:06

      Yeah, but I mean, I would have if I was in downtown LA, I really would have.

   6. GIGabriel Iglesias45:10

      (laughs)

   7. JRJoe Rogan45:10

      Like, that place is crazy. Dude, I remember filming Fear Factor in downtown LA in like 2003 or something like that. It was crazy back then. I was like, "This is wild." There's so many homeless people down there.

   8. GIGabriel Iglesias45:22

      It is insane the, the amount of, I mean, tent cities everywhere you look.

   9. JRJoe Rogan45:27

      Insane.

   10. GIGabriel Iglesias45:27

       Everywhere you look and it's just like, "What the hell?"

   11. JRJoe Rogan45:30

       Yeah.

   12. GIGabriel Iglesias45:31

       You know, it's-

   13. JRJoe Rogan45:31

       What, what the hell?

   14. GIGabriel Iglesias45:32

       ... so much. It's like, it's ... And what kills me is some, some of these tents have, like, electricity. Like, they got generators-

   15. JRJoe Rogan45:39

       Oh, yeah.

   16. GIGabriel Iglesias45:39

       ... and TVs, I'm like, "Whoa!"

   17. JRJoe Rogan45:41

       They're kind of wiring right into, like, these-

   18. GIGabriel Iglesias45:42

       Are, are you homeless or are you camping?

   19. JRJoe Rogan45:44

       ... poles and shit. They're opening up poles and pulling wires out and diverting power, like ...

   20. GIGabriel Iglesias45:48

       Mm-hmm.

   21. JRJoe Rogan45:50

       Some of these guys are like homeless electricians.

   22. GIGabriel Iglesias45:52

       Yeah, no, it's like, okay, that's-

   23. JRJoe Rogan45:54

       Yeah.

   24. GIGabriel Iglesias45:54

       You know, I, I don't... I, I feel like that they're making that choice.

   25. JRJoe Rogan45:57

       Well, there's probably, as fucked up as it is, some kind of community to being a part of this struggle with all these other people that are sleeping on the streets.

   26. GIGabriel Iglesias46:05

       Mm-hmm.

   27. JRJoe Rogan46:06

       You know? And then there's open air drug use and it's tolerated and, you know, and then there's places where you can go, especially in Skid Row, and you can get some help, you can get food. It's fucked because it doesn't seem like it's getting any better at all. It j- they move them places, they shift them out of certain spots when it becomes inconvenient, and then they sort of drift back in eventually-

   28. GIGabriel Iglesias46:26

       Yeah.

   29. JRJoe Rogan46:26

       ... and then the other places, they get bigger and bigger. The places where they neglect it, they just keep getting bigger.

   30. GIGabriel Iglesias46:31

       That's, that's all I'm saying is they're getting kicked out and then they're finding, you know-
5. 1:00:00 – 1:03:23

   But that's not creative…

   1. JRJoe Rogan1:00:00

      important for non-creative people.

   2. GIGabriel Iglesias1:00:00

      But that's not creative advice, it's- it's financial.

   3. JRJoe Rogan1:00:03

      Right. But it's cre- But creative, for you-

   4. GIGabriel Iglesias1:00:05

      Mm-hmm.

   5. JRJoe Rogan1:00:05

      ... is, "I need m- to fill my creative void. I wanna go out there and fuck around."

   6. GIGabriel Iglesias1:00:10

      Yeah.

   7. JRJoe Rogan1:00:10

      "I wanna have a good time." That's the creative aspect of it. When you're doing a show, you got a show. There's 15,000 people in there. It's a show-

   8. GIGabriel Iglesias1:00:17

      Mm-hmm.

   9. JRJoe Rogan1:00:17

      ... it's a different kind of thing. You're not gonna, like, really write in front of 15,000 people.

   10. GIGabriel Iglesias1:00:21

       Yeah.

   11. JRJoe Rogan1:00:21

       You write and fuck around in front of a small crowd. Like, it's a creative choice. And they- they're wrong anyway. Like, you ain't getting off that wave, son. You don't have to worry about that wave, riding the wave. You'll be on that wave for the rest of your life. You don't have to worry about that wave.

   12. GIGabriel Iglesias1:00:36

       Thank you.

   13. JRJoe Rogan1:00:37

       Yeah. You don't have to worry about that wave at all. They can relax. You could take a year off and g- get off fucking Instagram and Twitter and just vanish for a year and come back-

   14. GIGabriel Iglesias1:00:45

       Ugh.

   15. JRJoe Rogan1:00:45

       ... and crush it. It doesn't matter. You can do whatever the fuck you want.

   16. GIGabriel Iglesias1:00:48

       That was the one thing about COVID is- it is- I- I had never taken a break that long-

   17. JRJoe Rogan1:00:53

       Hmm.

   18. GIGabriel Iglesias1:00:53

       ... from comedy, ever.

   19. JRJoe Rogan1:00:54

       It's amazing-

   20. GIGabriel Iglesias1:00:54

       And-

   21. JRJoe Rogan1:00:54

       ... how much energy you have when you don't have to work every night (laughs) .

   22. GIGabriel Iglesias1:00:57

       You know what? Yeah. Well, it's very diff- You can actually get on a schedule. Like, you know, for me, I've always dealt with the weight issue. It's always been a thing for me. But, um, being home for a year and actually being able to focus, and I had a trainer and everything. I was able to lose 70 pounds.

   23. JRJoe Rogan1:01:11

       Nice.

   24. GIGabriel Iglesias1:01:12

       See, uh, all my- all the doctors that I've been avoiding because I've been on the road, I've actually got to go see everybody and find out how I was doing.

   25. JRJoe Rogan1:01:19

       Yeah.

   26. GIGabriel Iglesias1:01:20

       So, I felt like it was- it was helpful. I never take time off, ever. I work all the time. I'm on the road 46 weeks out of the year.

   27. JRJoe Rogan1:01:27

       Well, you always have been. That's always been your reputation.

   28. GIGabriel Iglesias1:01:29

       Yeah.

   29. JRJoe Rogan1:01:29

       That's why, you know-

   30. GIGabriel Iglesias1:01:30

       Go, go, go.

Episode duration: 2:28:27