Get to Know the 'Izzy Does It' Family

You may recognize Israel "Izzy" Battres from HGTV’s Flip or Flop; he was the construction guru who helped Christina Hall and Tarek El Moussa with their clients' home renovations. Today, this fan-favorite has his own hourlong renovation show on HGTV called Izzy Does It, where viewers get to see Izzy, along with his extended family, help homeowners create dream homes on a budget — without sacrificing style or quality.

Izzy works with his wife, Lilly, his kids, Brianna and Joesph, and his brother, Rudy, along with countless other family members and friends. “I wouldn’t be where I am today without them,” shares Izzy.

Beginning construction in his 20s, Izzy, a child of Mexican immigrants, was trained by his father before becoming a contractor. He then founded his company Battres Construction, which completes more than 60 projects a year in and around Santa Ana, California.

Izzy grew up with three siblings: his older brother, Rudy (the company’s project manager), a younger brother, Sam (with whom Izzy started the business), and a younger sister, Yvette, who once worked for the company in human resources.

Izzy met his wife, Lilly, at church, and after they were married, he became the stepfather to her children, Brianna and Joseph. “I became an instant dad," he says. "I jumped out of a plane without a parachute, the turbulence, the pigeons hitting my face on the way down!”

Izzy first appeared on HGTV in 2013 on Flip or Flop and has since appeared on Christina on the Coast and The Flip Off. Online commenters have been begging HGTV to give Izzy his own show for a long time and having one greenlighted was an emotional moment for him. "Getting my own show affirmed all the naysayers," he says. "Hearing that news was like the Lord saying to me, ‘I got you.’ It proved all my hard work had paid off.”

Izzy even came up with the name for his show. “I grew up in the '80s and '90s listening to rap music,” says Izzy. “There was an artist called Eazy-E who co-wrote a song with Ice Cube and Dr. Dre called 'Eazy-Duz-It.' While filming the sizzle reel, that song came into my head and I started rapping it and the showrunner was like, ‘That’s really good!’ The rest is history.”

Lilly grew up in Santa Ana with her parents and two sisters. “In high school, some would describe me as shy, others would describe me as someone to stay away from," laughs Lilly, who always dreamed of being a designer.

Before meeting Izzy, Lilly was a single mom with two small children working two jobs. "Those struggles have taught me hard times may come," she says, but her faith helped her overcome "the impossible."

After Brianna and Joseph finished school, Lilly came on board as the company's designer. Izzy praises her ability to connect with clients and turn their dreams into reality. “Design is very emotional and personal," he says. "She’ll ask, ‘How does this color or space make you feel?’ She goes shopping with them and helps find the best deal. We complement each other.”

“What attracted me to Izzy was his kindness and his smile," Lilly says. "On our first date, even though I was nervous, what I remember most was the feeling like I knew Izzy.”

Izzy has said he can’t live without his wife’s cooking, and Lilly says her favorite meal to make for her family is carne con chile and chicken tortilla soup. “Making these meals warms up my heart knowing my family can enjoy them,” she says.

To relax, Lilly loves spending time in her garden and disconnecting from her phone. Besides the show, the one thing that has Lilly excited these days has been the connection she’s made with a local school where she has been able to share her journey of how her family has created a successful business. “The one piece of advice I often share — when you’re going through a hard situation, don’t give up. Every day, little by little, things get better,” she says.

At 22 years old, Brianna (Bri) is the company’s social media and marketing manager. Bri was drawn to the fast pace and creative nature that comes with her job and applauds her dad for “trusting I know what’s best,” she says. When HGTV greenlit their family show, Bri’s reaction was one of nervousness. “It was something new and outside of my comfort zone,” she shares. “But I actually did have fun being on set with my family and the crew. The best part of filming the show was getting to see all the houses. At every stage, I'd be there on and off camera, so I got to watch [our] team tear the [place] apart and [then] see them put everything back together with the new designs."

Bri is married to Ben, the company’s accountant. “I met Ben in sixth grade when we were in the same class," she says. "We dated for three years before getting married." Bri co-parents her dog, Buckley, with her mom and dad due to her husband’s allergies. “At first, it was hard being away from him because we did everything together, but it's gotten easier over time,” she says.

Her mom is her greatest inspiration. “She’s not only a phenomenal mother but also a great friend, deeply family-oriented and someone who works tirelessly for the company," says Bri.

Bri recognizes and admires her parents’ strong work ethic but seeks more of a life-work balance for herself. “Constantly pushing yourself can take a toll on mental health, relationships and overall well-being," she shares. "While our parents, [and] especially those from immigrant families, often felt the need to work nonstop, we're trying to take a more balanced approach. For us, success is about more than just hard work — it’s about creating a life that feels fulfilling too.”

Three things Bri can’t live without are her family, phone and Hydro Flask water bottle. She’ll play anything off the American Teen album by Khalid on repeat, her favorite TV show is Grey’s Anatomy and, when she carves out time to unwind, she loves to read. “I have a poetry collection," she says.

At the moment, Bri is looking forward to a vacation. “Last year's filming kept us so busy that we didn't have much downtime, so this summer I'm really looking forward to soaking up the sun and making some new memories," she says.

When asked who inspires him, Izzy’s 24-year-old stepson Joesph (Joe) responds: “My parents have such a great underdog story, I choose to believe I'm inspired by them." The apple clearly doesn’t fall from the tree, as Joe describes himself as resilient, adaptive and useful (although he jokes that in high school, kids would describe him as a pain in the neck and a loudmouth).

As for Izzy Does It, “I was excited for my dad," says Joe. "He's always wanted to have a show about our family."

Joe admits his friends “clown [him] a bit” about filming the show, but that he’s proud of what he took away from the experience and the memories he made. "Israel has always shown me that opportunity is out there," says Joe. "I’ve just got to pick one."

Joe and Bri are just like any other pair of siblings. Growing up, Joe spent a lot of time playing outside with his sister while their mom was working. “We knew fighting wouldn’t do the passing time any good," he says.

Bri gives her brother points for always being reliable but gets annoyed by his impressions. “He’s actually really good at them, but every now and then he’ll bust them out in public and I can’t help but turn into one big side-eye,” she says.

To relax, Joe plays golf with his brother-in-law, Ben, and his dad. “It’s a stress reliever on a good day and a life lesson on the bad days,” he says.

Joe can’t live without caffeine and his vinyl records. “People Are Strange by The Doors frolics in the meadow of my mind when my social anxiety heightens,” he shares. Joe also says he’s “mildly OK” at Mongolian throat singing, a guttural style of singing and one of the oldest forms of music.

Rudy says he’s great at multitasking under pressure, sharing it’s what makes him a strong project manager. “I love building the vision my homeowners have and I hate missing the mark,” says Rudy.

He says he adopted his nickname "Rude Dog" in middle school — a time where tensions run high for most young people. Rudy says he came back from summer break one year and everyone had grown taller … except for him. "It’s a lot less painful to tear someone down sarcastically with words than to fight someone twice your size," he says. "And since my charm and good looks [were] all I had back then, I had to make it work."

That doesn’t mean there wasn't another side to Rudy — he was voted "biggest flirt" in the school yearbook five years in a row. Izzy says he was the exact opposite of his brother in school: "Unlike Rudy, who was voted most popular, I was an introvert. In a way, I couldn’t be in the spotlight because Rudy’s star was so bright — I couldn’t live up to that!”

Rudy, who always dreamed of becoming a baseball superstar, met his wife, Brandy, at church. They’ve been married for 21 years and have six kids and 10 grandchildren. They host a “married couples gathering” every Friday night at their home and hope to one day own a compound so their whole family can come live with them.

Rudy can’t live without “God, my wife and my family.” When the show was greenlit — he found out from Izzy while he and Brandy were taking a road trip up to Cali's Big Bear Lake — he said to himself, “America, here I come!”

He says the best part of filming the show was “knowing all my teachers were wrong about me. I did grow up to be someone!”