When going on a night out to bars and clubs you’ll normally come across bouncers on the door and inside the venue. The common misconception or stereotype with them is that they’re big scary people who’ll kick you out if they think you’ve had one too many or if you’re causing a problem. They deal with countless arguments from drunk people and often end up with tons of abuse hurled at them for what is just their job. But for one doorman, he gets on with it regardless of what people say, mainly as he’s a student himself so he knows what it’s like from both worlds.
James Fitzgerald, ‘Fitzy’, has been working the doors at ‘Moomoo Clubrooms Cheltenham’ for the last 3 years. He found out about being a doorman at his local gym, while he was working out with one of his friends who was also a doorman. James learnt from him about the course had to take to become what is legally known as an ‘SIA Door Supervisor’.
After taking a week-long course where he learnt about the different aspects of being a doorman, such as conflict management and physical intervention, he got his SIA license meaning he could now work as a bouncer and commenced work at ‘Moomoos’.
Speaking to him about what it’s like being a bouncer, whilst being a student at The University of West England studying Mechanical Engineering, he told me about the common night-to-night things you come across while working at the club. “I see people progressively become more and more drunk in the space of three hours and it just baffles me how they can get to that state, but it’s our jobs to look after them. So you keep an eye on them and make sure that they aren’t becoming a danger to themselves and that they are with their friends and not isolated.”
I also asked him for advice he could give to new students who venture out into night life as they start uni and adulthood itself, these were his tips:
-Go out in groups and make sure everyone knows where each other is at all times.
-Make sure phones are fully charged and bring a power bank if possible.
-Never leave your drink unattended, and if you are worried about spiking ask for a ‘stop top’ or cover for your drink, most bars and clubs have them and are free of charge.
-Have fun, but know your limits and most importantly ask for help if you need it, doorman and bar staff are always willing to help you.
