You started this thread 6 days ago. How many bars have you applied to?
Also you’re looking at your sports connections wrong. The way you have to spin it is, I know all the athletic associations and I’ll get them in here. Most important thing is a busy bar and the more people you know, (whether you are a bouncer, barback or bartender) the better chance you have.
Our bar manager asks people how many facebook friends they have in job interviews!
[quote]165StateChamp wrote:
[quote]waylanderxx wrote:
Honestly man it really is more about diffusing the situation verbally than fighting most of the time. Being big and bouncing is a double edged sword. On one hand people will listen to you because you’re bigger than them and they don’t want to have to fight you but on the other hand they want to see if they can knock down the top dog and make a name for themselves in front of their friends and the bar crowd.
The turnover rate at these places is fucking ridiculous, especially college bars. They are almost always looking for fresh blood. In 3 years I’ve seen probably 40 guys come and go, I don’t even learn names anymore unless they’ve been there for a few months.[/quote]
Yeah, that’s why the first things I wrote were that I communicate well and get along with people. I’m an intelligent guy, I know that being able to talk people down when they’re drunk and looking for trouble is better than just being able to fight. I have plenty of confidence in what I can do. If I were to get a job, I would be in Norman, Oklahoma, OU’s college town. I wouldn’t be dealing with anything too bad, I’m not tempted to drink on the job and I know a whole lot of people so I don’t think I’d have trouble keeping the peace and having them listen to me.
I’m underage though (19) and short for a bouncer. Is that going to keep people from hiring me? What can I do to make them want to hire me despite those negatives?[/quote]
Most bouncers aren’t really THAT tall and at the bars I’ve worked at you post up at a spot and either stand on a platform they have placed specifically for that purpose or you find some other elevated area to help you have a better vantage point.
Usually under age guys don’t get hired, but I started when I was 18 so you might get lucky. The head of security said I had a “presence” about me, whatever that means lol and that he’d give me a try. Just be articulate when you apply/are interviewed and I’m sure you’ll be fine
[quote]MementoMori wrote:
You started this thread 6 days ago. How many bars have you applied to?
Also you’re looking at your sports connections wrong. The way you have to spin it is, I know all the athletic associations and I’ll get them in here. Most important thing is a busy bar and the more people you know, (whether you are a bouncer, barback or bartender) the better chance you have.
Our bar manager asks people how many facebook friends they have in job interviews![/quote]
I guess this is addressed to me but I didn’t start the thread. It did light a spark in my brain though and now I really want to give it a shot. I guess I could take that angle. Most of them only go places where they’ll let you in even if you’re underage, so it’s kind of a contradiction to try to bring them in if I’m a bouncer right? I dunno…
Edit: Also, I’m still in Nebraska. I’ll head down to OU on the 20th. I looked at some of their websites though. One of them is definitely hiring door security according to their website but I don’t know how accurate it is and they’ve started turning away underage people so I don’t know how keen they’d be to hire me. I’m still doing research on the others.
[quote]waylanderxx wrote:
[quote]165StateChamp wrote:
[quote]waylanderxx wrote:
Honestly man it really is more about diffusing the situation verbally than fighting most of the time. Being big and bouncing is a double edged sword. On one hand people will listen to you because you’re bigger than them and they don’t want to have to fight you but on the other hand they want to see if they can knock down the top dog and make a name for themselves in front of their friends and the bar crowd.
The turnover rate at these places is fucking ridiculous, especially college bars. They are almost always looking for fresh blood. In 3 years I’ve seen probably 40 guys come and go, I don’t even learn names anymore unless they’ve been there for a few months.[/quote]
Yeah, that’s why the first things I wrote were that I communicate well and get along with people. I’m an intelligent guy, I know that being able to talk people down when they’re drunk and looking for trouble is better than just being able to fight. I have plenty of confidence in what I can do. If I were to get a job, I would be in Norman, Oklahoma, OU’s college town. I wouldn’t be dealing with anything too bad, I’m not tempted to drink on the job and I know a whole lot of people so I don’t think I’d have trouble keeping the peace and having them listen to me.
I’m underage though (19) and short for a bouncer. Is that going to keep people from hiring me? What can I do to make them want to hire me despite those negatives?[/quote]
Most bouncers aren’t really THAT tall and at the bars I’ve worked at you post up at a spot and either stand on a platform they have placed specifically for that purpose or you find some other elevated area to help you have a better vantage point.
Usually under age guys don’t get hired, but I started when I was 18 so you might get lucky. The head of security said I had a “presence” about me, whatever that means lol and that he’d give me a try. Just be articulate when you apply/are interviewed and I’m sure you’ll be fine[/quote]
Cool, thanks for the advice man. I’ll make sure to bring a background check too.
Be nice. Sriouslt, be nice. An 2 the 100 bucks they are paying is not worth getting hit, or hitting someone for.
what type of bouncer are you trying to get hired as?
if you work the door checking ID’s always go in well dressed. not a suit but nice shirt and pants. you’ll be the first one to be seen by a potential customer. greet them like they’re a regular. don’t just watch the cute women as you’ll also be the first to see potential trouble. keep the other bouncers informed if something doesn’t look or feel right. watch for idiots already plowed and looking for trouble. I’ve had to throw assholes out of a club while they were in line trying to pay the cover.
if you’re gonna be a walker you’ll probably get a “Staff” or “Security” shirt. maybe you’ll be plain clothes so no one knows you’re a bouncer so carry around a coke. you’ll be moving around a lot so make sure you have a signal that the other bouncers will spot if you need to stop a problem before it gets too far. we used a blue penlight that we would flash to get backup. you should already know to keep an eye on a really loud person or group, especially if they start talking shit or grabbing at women, but also watch for the loner drinking as they seem to attract assholes looking for someone to fuck with.
same goes for the “trees” standing and watching a section. we called them “trees” because you knew they were there but you really didn’t pay a lot of attention to them. if they make the customers nervous they’re not doing their job. also because they were usually the most physically imposing bouncers.
as far as gear I knew guys that wore thick leather armguards under their long sleeve shirts so they were covered for blades or bottles. some carried riot gloves. I knew a guy that would slip an ink pen in a drunks nose and pick him up by it. the drunk would be on his tiptoes and never gave him any problems. I knew a woman that carried a blunt tip spike of metal about 10" long and 3/4" thick. grab them by the collar and pick them up by the crotch with the spike. also seen her hit a guy on the fist when he shook it in her face. he was crying when she put him out the club. don’t forget the steel toes!
if a guy is getting in a fight with a pool cue watch how he holds it. if he holds it by the thin end he’s not been in many fights because when he swings it, after it breaks, he’s left with a short but sharp stick. if he has it by the thick end watch him. after it breaks he has a better club that still has a long reach and a sharp and solid end.
keep an eye peeled for people putting shit in drinks. I’m not just talking about customers. they have busted some bartenders that were selling female customers. they were putting ambien and other drugs in the drinks of a woman or women that were picked out by some sick assholes for a few bucks.
football players get rowdy but always watch out for soccer players. in Scotland I met a bouncer that played soccer and he loved giving troublemakers a “Glasgow Kiss”. he was about 5’7" and 160 lbs. saw him headbutt a drunk about 6’4" and 300 and knocked his ass out cold.
[quote]TheBodyGuard wrote:
It depends on the environment. Small college town, no trouble? Sure, I can see you there. All you need a shirt and a pulse. No special qualifications.
Big city? No experience? No.
Size does matter and I don’t care who tells you otherwise. Size does not make you a target. Intimidation (appropriately and applied with discrimination) is better than physical force. At 210, I’m sorry, neither you or anyone else is intimidating even if most patrons are smaller; you’re just that guy that they start thinking they can take after a few drinks. I, and any other good sized security guy can tell you that they’ve intimidated people into compliance with their physical presence and demeanor. It’s the ability to non-verbally communicate that failure to comply will have a bad result for them and having the physical presence where that non-verbal message is not in question.
That said, the job is actually more social and psychological than anything. Understand how to talk with people and get what you want with gentle persuasion and a reasonable demeanor, and that’s 90% of the job. But there is a part of the job where you need to be ready to throw down, without hesitation. Some places more than others. I’ve worked places that you fought every weekend (NOT worth the money) and others where you’d have no trouble except every few weeks. I’ve worked everything from a NYC mega-club to a Philadelphia hip-hop club, to a middle of PA dive club, to executive protection (mostly).
The point is, whether you’re qualified to work somewhere depends entirely on the environment and its clientele. Don’t expect good pay for the environment you describe, in which case I’d ask you…why do you want to be a bouncer if they pay isn’t good?
Let me put it into economic perspective:
Let’s say you make $10 and hour and you have a 5 hour shift. That’s $50 a night (if they pay under the table) or $100 a weekend (let’s leave weekdays out of it for simplicity sake). Let’s say the nature of the establishment requires you to be physical 1 night of the month. Pretty reasonable? Well, “getting physical” means you’re at risk of getting injured or worse and I don’t care who the hell you are or how tough you are. So, for $400 a month, you may have to fight once a month. If you were a real fighter, and I was your agent, and you fought for $400 a fight, you should fire me. If you put $400 in my hands right now to walk across the street and fight someone for no other reason than my employment required it, I’d find a new job.
But now I’m back full circle about experience (and environment). If you have size, and you have experience and a gift with people, you rarely have to fight. I worked the Philadelphia club I referred to and the guys on staff were always in the middle of some ridiculous physical shit. I on the other hand, broke up as many problems (mostly prevented) and NEVER had to strike a patron. Who did the most fighting? The smallest guy on the staff.
Size counts. Experience counts. End rambling reply 
Sorry.[/quote]
QFT Great post BG. I started working security at a small college bar in Wisconsin and now I work at a night club in San Diego so I can attest to the difference in environment and how different the requirements are.
[quote]krazylarry wrote:
Be nice. Sriouslt, be nice. An 2 the 100 bucks they are paying is not worth getting hit, or hitting someone for. [/quote]
THIS. And I’ve been paid much more.
165statechamp - If you are desperate to bounce, you may be able to pull double duty if they don’t want to hire you on as strictly security. We had a small guy who was the club sound guy and doubled as security (put on the shirt to pick up chicks between equipment malfunctions). Pretty much guarantee that as long as they’re paying you to do something else, they’ll gladly let you put a shirt on and be a presence in addition, although you may not get paid extra for it.
My advice would be if you’re dead set on working the bar scene, work behind the counter. If I could do it again, thats what I would do. You make a TON more money. After a while of bouncing, you start to realize that the risk of getting sued, bashed in the back of the head with a beer bottle, almost getting stabbed, and being dead ass tired for your lifting in the morning isn’t worth the 10 buck an hour.
Looking back, this thread makes me lol. Thanks for the advice, waylanderxx and Most Major. Bouncing at a college bar is not very hard and I got hired as a 5’9" 19 year old. Nobody messes with me and I’ve had no issues bouncing anyone. I guess despite having a username with 165 in it, I’m not too small 
Only downside is not being able to hang out with my underage buddies as much. Anyways, thanks brahs!