Has anyone worked as a bouncer ?

[Tomas]

I Work as a bouncer at the moment and you dont need to be big or well build its all about state of mind if you are willing to face down a drunk or drugged up 6ft tall bloke threating to bottle you, you can do the job some of the best doorstaff i know are short and not much to look at but they can do the job better than most monster sized blokes for the simple reason they are in the right state of mind and know what they are doing

[Steppenwolf]

Hi Guys and Gals
Yep! I concur wholeheartedly with all who have said it is attitude rather than bulk. Confidence is paramount but - well to be honest a bit too easy. Drunks and Drugged-up antagonists are at a very great disadvantage if they wished to actually carry out their threat to attack.

But it is always a good idea to 'hide a sword within a smile'.... It really works. And speak respectfully and calmly - after all they are the establishments customers - perhaps they are just having a bad day, or even worse 'celebrating' something *chuckle* and have gone too far.

It would be nice to see them come back as a regular customer.

My experience has taught me that many come back and thank you for your attitude and behaviour - when their friends tell them what happened of course - lol

[thebc]

im not a big bloke by anymeans im 5"10 and 13.5 stone,i also have a fantastically stylish haircut lol for me its all been a matter of training my manner with people,ill open doors with a smaile and maybe a witty comment or 2 to engage a smile,the thing whats always worked for me is ive not been an angel in my past most of the stuff im confronted with ive done myself at somepoint so i can relate to their mindset most of the time,everybody makes a big issue about excessive force etc which to some degree i agree with,but what about for those people who soley go out to have it with a doorman or to smash some innocent reveller for the fun of it then wants to fight everyone involved in stopping him? i have the "would i allow this to happen if i wasnt working" rule. if this/these person/persons want it with me and thats what their about, you know the kind of retards i mean (ie: not a pissed up office worker who thinks while he's drunk he's a fighter but by day probably a nice guy) then ill happily have a row with them,i was once told its better to be judged by 12 than carried by 6. however the point of my rant was it doesnt matter how big you are it depends on you,if you dont think you capable then your probably not.confidence is key but over confidence will break you.

[Belfort]

If you are 5'7'' you are better off working on very low profile places like restaurants that need not a bouncer, but a host with a door badge. Unless you are a very skilled martial arts guy, do not try to work on busy venues, as you'll be picked on big time. I'd say that in this game size matters but it's not everything, it's safer what comes out of your mounth from a 6'0 and over guy than a 5'7''. Go and work where you'll know trouble would be minimal, I am telling you the truth as I work in doors since 94, and I am not a huge guy... but I have over 20years martial arts experience and I can make any big man "my b...ch" if I wanted to. I'm 6'1'' btw.

Good luck man and let us know how it's going.

[seanyseanyseany]

you dont need to be built like garth to do the job, iam 6ft 6ins but that doesnt mean iam any better than you would be.in my experience of 4yrs, the most important thing you need to be able to do is be able to talk to people, both in the normal talking to people and obviously to defuse any conflict situations.my advice would be to gat your badge,get some experience in the job, then see if its the role you want to do in the future.all the best anyways.

[Ben325]

if ur worried about ur size its easy.... go to the gym .. and get wider
also train in martial arts..
doesn't matter if someone is 6'5 or 5'5 if its physical its what u know and how u do it.. never is it if someone is taller that automatically makes them tougher!

your advantage is that ur sober and not on drugs (hopefully) advantage doesnt need to be height..

failing all of the above.. get some big boots and where a few pairs of socks

[tapmaster]

If I might weigh in with my 5p on the issue of size and being a door supervisor not bouncer. Terminology is everything in professionalism.

Size has nothing to do with being a good door supervisor. I have worked the doors before so I think that I can say a few points about this. It comes down to the softer skills, negotiations, conflict management, conflict resolution etc. The day of the hard fighter are over.

I want to remind you of something that my first door supervisor trainer (Meido Ltd.) taught me and I hope that you will listen. There are three things that 95% of security personnel get wrong in this profession. They are:

1. Being on time.
2. Being in the proper attire (uniform) to do the work
3. Being mentally and physically prepared to give everything to get the job done right. To be prepared to think of different options with violence as the last resort to get the job done.

I can say that if you follow these steps listed above you will be in the top 5% of security personnel in the industry.

Martial Arts is not the only answer. There is alot involved in Martial Arts and it has nothing to do with violence. Martial Arts is the peaceful way. Every martial artist has will tell you that the inner peace involved is higher than the techniques that you learn. I would suggest you meet with a professional door supervisor company or trainer before you spend your money on a course and a license.

Good luck to you mate and best wishes

Tapmaster

[Stoney]

My tupence worth,

I'm 5' 10", and 10st, have been doing the doors for 4yrs.
I have worked most types of venue, from family orientated pubs to busy clubs, and have often seen the big guys inflame situations because of the "I'm big, therefore I'm hard" attitude.

Often these guys will tell you that you shouldn't do the door because your small, don't listen to them, THEY ARE MORONS.

I've been in a lot of dangerous situations where the other guy was twice my size, be polite and proffesional until the time comes to stop being nice.......

Use controlled aggression, speed and skill as these are your best weapons in physical situations.

Some of the posts in this thread have made me laugh, I have seen a doorman who was 6' 3" bodybuilder KO'd by a 5' 7" female...... so the argument for having to be a gorilla to work the doors is a moot point.

Professionalism is the most important attribute/weapon that any DS can possess.


Regards,
Stoney

[welshman08]

hi mate i worked on the door since i was 18 but took a brack when the sia came in to power (lol) size dont matter realy im only 5ft 4 but big built its not about size it all about how u reponed to the people you are dealing with in work and sometimes how fast you can move out the way from a punch or a bottle belive me i have had a few lol also a good team helps loads in any conflict you may have to deal with
wm08

[PabloGonzales]

Hi JAY BEE, there are two kind of people to work on the doors, one like to fight, the other like to talk, I'm personally working in a venue to help out some guys (they r in red now) (see the codes given by the police) and the team is looking like that: 3 guys between 6ft2" and 6ft and the 4th one just 5ft7". This lad is where the trouble are and every time I see him stopped next to somebody I'm there (I'm 6ft1" tall an 13 st) If there is a problem just call another guy from the front door. There was no fight in two months in that place since. The idea is if you are alert and you keep the place in eye is no matter of size. You don't need to touch anyone. The bloke I'm talking about is not only short but is also black (no offense to anyone) so is easy to be bullied. The point is if you 've got a good team with experienced people and rely on lot of surveillance, communication between and hard working guys you can do really good job. The place is in Northamptonshire. The major problem I see is that it 'll be very hard for you to get the necessarily experience to be included in a team in special now when the economical situation is pushing the people to the alcohol and drugs, when the venues keep cutting the no of door staff to save some money, when there r less and less places of work and the violence increase and you.... got no experience at all ?! ( a experienced doorman can tell you that any time) . Don't take me wrong but there is very hard to learn doors in a busy place just because the professionals got not time in a busy night to teach you what to do. You also need to find out couple of books about human behavior, psychology and psychiatry that being this job involve lot of thinks like this, and a good memory to remember people and incidents. A good IQ is involved and lot of nerves. I think not so many guys in this forum 'll agree with me but, I was prove it that is working. A mentality like in French legion must be included is well (that is seeing: " every comrade of your, is your brother" ), so you must look after each other at all time. In rest.... God mitt uns!... Think!