Interview With Jeff Lewis of Flipping Out

AE: You must see some awful things in your line of work. What is the worse property you've ever walked into?
JL: I had a property in Hollywood Hills, I think it was in 2001 when I purchased the house. It was truly one of worst we've done. It was an older woman who had illegally divided the house into four separate apartments and was renting to several different people. It was ... I'm trying to be politically correct here. There were some really, really low-rent people living there. I'm talking crack addicts, prostitutes. It was really bad.

At one point, after I'd gotten everyone out — and it took some time — we had gone in and some of the plumbing had not been working and they had been using the kitchen sink. We were literally cleaning up needles and syringes. It was really, truly one of the most disgusting places I'd ever seen. Not only did I have to take out all the dry wall, but I had to take up the sub floor just to get the smell out. I had to strip the entire house just to get ride of the smell. That's how bad it was.

It turned out to be a very lucrative investment. Nobody else wanted to touch it. They all thought it was a tear-down, and it almost was. I was able to at least keep the framing, but it was really bad. And the energy! I can't even tell you how heavy and depressing it was in there.

AE: In your experience, who takes better care of their property: gay or straight homeowners?
JL: That's a good question. I don't necessarily think there's a big difference. Hmm. It's a very good question. I want to say gay, actually. Just thinking to myself, looking at all these properties every single day, maybe it is gay.

AE: You're representing two minorities: people with OCD and gay men. Do you feel a sense of responsibility?
JL: No, not really. I'm not really looking at being a role model. I try to run my own race. I try not to look on the sidelines. I don't really feel responsibility. [laughs] What I do find is that a lot of people relate to me. There are a lot of us out there with OCD. I think it's one of the reasons the show has appealed to so many people.

It's something that you certainly have to manage. It doesn't have to be a disorder, but it does take work to manage it. I find if I'm not busy, if I'm only doing one, two, or three houses and I have a lot of time on my hands, that's when the OCD can get out of control and I start to control every aspect of my life and everyone else's. But if I'm busy and I have a full plate, I don't have time to focus it. Me being busy is the cure.

AE: What's been the biggest challenge for you professionally: your OCD or being gay?
JL: I don't think being gay is a hindrance in any way, or a challenge. The OCD could probably be considered a challenge for me. A therapist once told me that if you feel like your life is out of control, then you try to control whatever you can. I can't control the real estate market, and that's definitely a big fear of mine, so maybe in some way, the OCD becomes more exaggerated. Maybe I try to control the little things in my life because there are so many big things I can not control.

AE: Have you ever encountered homophobia on the job?
JL: Yes, I have a few times. No one has ever said anything to my face, but I have heard from other employees comments made on the job site. I usually correct it. I've gone through a few people. And it's not just homophobia. It's also racism. There have been situations where I've had to eliminate someone. My plumber who I've worked with for years, greatest guy in the world, he's African-American. I did have someone make a racist comment on the job, so he was eliminated.

I did hear about some homophobic comments made about me, about Ryan, and they were eliminated. I do try to control the job site as best as I can. There are a lot of different employees, a lot of different personalities, and they all have to work together on each property. Sometimes I have 45 to 50 people together on one job site. They've got to get along with each other. If there's one missing link, if someone doesn't get along with the rest of the crew, I can't use them. It doesn't matter how good they are.

AE: Bravo has now given platforms to gay business owners in hair (Blow Out), fitness (Work Out) and real estate (Flipping Out). What do you think should come next?
JL: I have to say that Bravo sometimes focuses on the gay issue, and for me, it's certainly a part of me, I'm very proud of who I am, but it's just one part of my identity. It's not my entire identity. I certainly don't have a problem being lumped into that category because I'm proud of who I am, but I don't think it needs to be the focus of who I am.

AE: I think the show has done a good job of not making that focus.
JL: That was important. That was something that we had discussed prior to filming. I said you're never going to see me hooking up with someone on camera. It's not going to happen. That's not the road I want to take. It doesn't matter if I'm gay or straight, I would feel the same way. That's not this kind of show.

AE: Your houses are truly gorgeous. You clearly have an eye for design. Would you ever enter a challenge like Design Star or Top Design?
JL: You know, I don't think so, and I'll tell you why. The kind of work I do is a little different. I've heard the comments from critics that all my houses are generic, or they call them McJeffs because it reminds them of McDonalds. And yes, they're absolutely right.

What I do? I'm not looking to get published. I'm not looking to make some huge design statement. When I'm redoing these houses, it's important to create a palette, to create a product that appeals to a general audience, so I can't be too specific with my choices because I will eliminate 85% of the market. That's what some of these critics are not getting. If I decided to break the mold and design some sort of huge statement piece, that wouldn't work for me. It wouldn't work for my business.

AE: Ultimately, you're looking for a sale.
JL: Absolutely, at the end of the day, I want to sell the house, and I want it to appeal to a large audience.