Meet BJ Owens: The Toilet Titan Fearlessly Reviewing America’s Bathrooms Gives OutKick A Look Inside The Stall

When you spend enough time wading through the overwhelming cesspool of content on Instagram, you will eventually find some gold. It takes time to fine tune the algorithm.

The easy part is getting it to lock in on what you're into. The much harder part and the part that is much more rewarding is getting the algorithm to suggest content you're not currently aware of, but might be interested in.

BJ’s Poo Review is one such piece of content gold that I didn’t know existed, but the algorithm decided that between the Instagram models and food content that I just might be interested in bathroom reviews.

BJ Owen's tells OutKick about his bathroom reviews. (Image Credit: Getty)

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The algorithm was right. The moment I came across BJ and his bathroom reviews, I was hooked. I quickly became a member of the "Fecal Fam," the loving nickname BJ Owens, the genius behind the content, calls his followers.

He doesn’t just enter a bathroom, destroy it, and give it a score. No, he approaches it like a professional with a comprehensive breakdown of the entire bathroom experience, from toilet paper quality to the cleanliness and everything in between.

It's one of my new favorite things. Once I realized that BJ was doing many of these reviews in North Carolina, I reached out. I wanted to see if he happened to be close to me.

I wanted, if possible, to get boots on the ground and watch the man as he worked. This still may take place, but I didn’t want to wait any longer for that to get set up before doing an interview with BJ to find out how BJ’s Poo Review got started.

So, I reached back out and sent a few questions his way to get the interview on the board and go from there. I learned that for BJ these reviews are fun, but the state of the bathrooms he encounters is also personal.

He's a man who battles irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). This is a story about courage as much as it is about bathroom reviews or anything else. Let's get into it, shall we?

I Posted It As A Joke, Kind Of A Riff On Influencers Reviewing Everything

I started off the line of questioning by making sure I had the official title of BJ's work down, which I do. It's BJ's Poo Review. I then asked how he got into reviewing bathrooms, and how long has he been doing them?

A couple of solid questions right off the bat if I do say so myself.

"As far as getting into it, I made a Facebook post back in April or May. The first review wasn’t a Reel/Tiktok, but an actual post. I used the Google image for the local Lowe’s Foods here in Asheboro. I posted it as a joke, kind of a riff on influencers reviewing everything," BJ replied.

"I thought it was funny because I’d never seen anyone review a bathroom. I’d seen food, makeup, books, music, vacations, etc., but never a bathroom review. Once I posted it, a comedy friend, Major Keys, commented on the post, then messaged me and said to continue doing them. She enjoyed the concept, and recommended I start creating Reels/Tiktoks. So, I did."

Brilliant idea and a brilliant suggestion from Major Keys. My initial thought when Instagram's algorithm served up that first video to me was that I'd never seen a review of a bathroom before, and I hope he's done more.

Naturally, I wanted to get into what he looks for as he goes into a review. What is the grading system in use? Are there any areas that are given more priority over others?

You know, is cleanliness graded more heavily than, let's say, toilet paper quality or vice versa? What are we working with here? For BJ, the smell is the first thing he notices.

As Far As Performance Anxiety, I Have IBS, So That’s Never A Problem

"Going into a review, the first thing I pay attention to is smell. If it smells bad, I try to describe it since it may look better than it smells. Then, I look at ambiance. Is it utilitarian, only serving the purpose of getting in and out? Is inviting? Well lit?," he said.

"I’m a big guy, so I’m looking for bathrooms that can accommodate me at 6’3" and 350 lbs. I’m looking at the quality of the TP, the presence of paper towels, handicap accessibility, the gaps in the stall walls and doors, and if it’s a facility or business geared towards families, does it have a baby changing station?"

Fascinating. The gaps in the stall walls and doors is one of the things that stood out to me in his reviews and told me he was legit. This wasn’t about dumping and running. He was breaking it all down.

Now to the grading system. BJ said, "As far as the grading system, I reserve 9-10 for Japanese style toilets with bidets/fancy toilets. The type of bathroom you’d leave home to poop in."

I've seen, as have the other members of the Fecal Fam, several successful reviews. I was interested in finding out if he had ever gone into a bathroom review and had to pull the plug? Was the facility too disgusting?

Or, and I was hoping this never happened and that it never does, was there a time when he had any performance anxiety? Were the lights too bright and the pressure too much to pull off a review?

"There was a gas station restroom that I reviewed and I mentioned that I didn’t use the facility because it was just too nasty. It had an awful smell, had been obviously neglected for a while, and would’ve required a serious cleaning before anyone could use it," BJ said.

"As far as performance anxiety, I have IBS, so that’s never a problem."

That's great news. Not the IBS, but that he's never going to have any performance anxiety doing a review. These bathroom reviews are too good to have to worry about that. He could fake it, but I don’t get the sense that he's that type of guy.

Finally, I asked BJ what the highest and lowest scores he's ever handed out were. There's a top dog sitting there with an 8.5 that someone needs to step up and try to take out.

"I believe the highest was an 8.5 at a local salon. It had accommodations like someone’s home. Name-brand, 2 ply TP, standard paper towels like you’d use at your house, smelled good, exceptionally clean, plenty of soap, hand sanitizer, and even deodorizer and small area with cleaning supplies should you need them," he said of the high score.

"Good lighting, handicap accessible. The only drawback was no baby changing station, but they cater to adults, so I didn’t hold that against them."

That's how you put a bathroom together and, even more importantly, how you put a bathroom review together. The lowest score given out was 1.

It wasn't a memorable experience. He wrote, "I honestly can’t remember which one it was. But I seem to remember scoring a one. Maybe our local parks."

What a concept. I'm a fan. As I said, I now consider myself a member of the BJ's Poo Review "Fecal Fam." Go check him out on Instagram @bjowenscomedy.