From the South Florida Sun-Sentinel

Meet The Meat

A guy needs more than just muscle to be a good club bouncer.

by Jim Di Paola

July 5 2005

Sometimes, it starts with an unintentional bump on the dance floor. Other times, it's a smile to a girl across the bar. But when some drunken asshole is getting in your face, ready to throw down over some perceived slight, a bouncer can be your best friend, willing to risk his neck to save yours.

When you're the one causing trouble, a bouncer can be your worst enemy, ready to throw you out on the pavement, or worse, call 911 if you don't heed his advice and make a speedy exit.

Whether you consider bouncers to be goons or gods, the art of the bounce is something to witness. Can they talk the drunk out of his or her angry stupor before it's too late? Will they use a full nelson or resort to a sleeper hold to subdue their target? Will bottles fly before things calm down? Are they going to call the cops or handle it themselves?

What most people don't know is that bouncers have no more right to lay a hand on you than anyone else -- even if you are in a private establishment and the bouncers are being paid to keep the peace. In fact, there are only three legal reasons a bouncer can get physical with somebody: self-defense, stopping the commission of a crime and holding for the police someone who was committing a crime.

As a 25-year veteran with the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office, Capt. Bruce Barkdol has handled more disputes at nightclubs than he can remember. But he knows what most often sparks violence in these places. "Disputes over bar tabs, fights over women," he says simply.

He explains that when deputies are called after a bar fight involving a bouncer and a customer, they don't take anyone's side, at least not right away. They separate everyone, and the people with whom they are most interested in talking are not the people involved in the fight.

"We conduct a criminal investigation to determine what happened," Barkdol says. "We interview all available witnesses and determine who may have broken the law -- people who weren't involved but were witnesses. So we've ended up arresting the bouncers sometimes."

Barkdol also knows that these types of cases usually don't go away quietly. Many times, the officer finds himself sitting in the witness booth of a court trial, telling a jury what he saw.

"I remember one time, a country-western bar had a guy who ripped a sink right off the wall during a fight with [club management]," he says. "Two weeks later, I see him in the bar, and I was going to arrest him for trespassing when the club manager told me to stop. He said the customer was welcome in the bar again, because he spends lots of money. Now, this is a guy who ripped off a sink from the wall. No wonder this club is not open anymore."

Talk 'em Down

To Jim Murphy, the more physical a job is, the better. In high school, he was twice ranked the second-best wrestler in the state. He has immersed himself in martial arts, including a stint as the owner of a dojo in New Jersey. Today, he uses his pugilistic prowess to run security at Club Boca, one of the most popular nightclubs in South Florida. He supervises a crew of more than 20 guys who have as much skill as brawn.

"There's this team down here called American Top 10 that trains you to fight professionally," Murphy says. "I've already had nine pro fights. But that's how I got into bouncing down here. A couple of guys I train with are bouncing, and next thing you know, I'm working security."

It didn't take Murphy long to become the head of the club's security division, a position that allows him to create a diverse team of bouncers. "If you look at my staff, I got some guys who just look mean but who don't have a security-training background," he says, pointing out several shaved-headed behemoths. "On the other hand, I got some smaller guys, who usually are the ones who have a martial arts background or who wrestled or trained in something where they can handle themselves."

That said, Murphy can't remember the last time he had to throw a punch while on the job. "Basically what you are trying to do is protect yourself and don't let anything happen to the club," he explains. "You are not working there to bang on people," he says. "If you just come out hitting somebody, whether you're right or wrong, the club is going to get sued, and you are going to get sued. That is just the way it is."

Murphy prefers shrinking heads to cracking them. "To contain the problem, you have to get down to their level," he explains. "Talk to them: 'Hey buddy, it's not worth it.' These guys know they are drunk and know they shouldn't be here. As long as you talk to them as an adult, don't talk down to them, don't yell at them and don't put your hands on them, usually you can walk someone out."

Yet even that approach can fail. Murphy cites a recent incident that took place when The Pussycat Dolls performed at the club. "We had a guy in the area right out front of the stage that was getting grabby," he says. "So we walk him out real nice; we don't get too aggressive with him. At the last second, he reaches for his belt, and we take him to the ground."

Seconds later, Palm Beach County Sheriff's deputies arrived and frisked the ejected customer, discovering that he had been reaching for a handgun when the bouncers tackled him. "Because everybody was on point and we did what we were supposed to do, nobody got shot," Murphy says.

For Murphy, getting everyone home safely is the most important part of his job. "At the end of the day, [fighting] is just not worth it. Everybody's got some type of family to go home to," he says. "I got a little girl I want to go home to see each night."

Earn Respect

Michael Nunn has spent years practicing various styles of martial arts -- Chinese kenpo, tae kwon do, aikido -- so don't insult him by calling him a bouncer. As head of security for China White in Fort Lauderdale, he says his people skills are what keep him in business.

"We cater to a higher clientele, an upper-class people, so I consider my staff to be distinguished gentlemen," Nunn says. "I look for people who can talk to people and [are not] about beating people up or [being] scary-looking. But I do want people who can handle a situation if it does come about."

Nunn began working security while based in England during a stint in the Air Force. "I've been bouncing for 18 years, and I can count the number of times I actually got in a fight with somebody," he says.

One of those incidents almost got him killed. In October 1995, Nunn was working at the now-defunct Rose's Bar and Lounge in Miami Beach. "I was working outside, and he started talking trash to us," Nunn recalls of a customer who had just left the bar. "I said, 'Why don't you just walk away?' And he pulls out a gun and puts it in my chest and says, 'I'll kill you right now, motherfucker.' "

Nunn convinced the man to leave, then followed him while calling 911 on his cell phone. As The Miami Herald later reported, the man drew his handgun and shot at Nunn, who dodged behind cars as bullets whizzed by him. The man, who refused to drop his weapon when confronted by police, died in a hail of bullets. "I was on the ground, and it felt like it was forever," Nunn told the newspaper. "They told him, 'Drop the gun, drop the gun, drop the gun.' And he wouldn't."

Nunn has yet to face another situation so life-threatening, though he has had his share of beer bottles thrown at his head and pool cues swung his way. Such experiences inform his decision when hiring a new member of his security team. On a busy night, 750 customers walk through the doors of China White. Nunn uses seven people to protect them.

"I try to have a no-nonsense, no-tolerance security staff that provides a comfortable and enjoyable atmosphere for our clientele," he says. "I want my people to have a presence. They don't have to be big, just somebody who can be respected."

Finding those people can be difficult. "A lot of the people [coming in for security jobs] are muscleheads," Nunn admits. "The first thing they want to tell me is how good they can fight, and that is not what I want to hear as far as hiring somebody. I want to hear, 'I'm good with people.' "

Enjoy The Show

If Jabaar Patterson isn't bouncing at the West Palm Beach club Release, he's likely pumping iron in one of the many gyms of which he's a member. He has been working nightclub security for only about a year and has no formal training in any contact sport other than high school football. "I've dipped and dabbled in a little bit of boxing, but I'm no Golden Glove. If I was a Golden Glove, I wouldn't be a bouncer," he says with a laugh.

But his new career complements his real passion -- competitive bodybuilding -- and night owl personality. "It's just a bunch of smiles," he says of his job. "I get to work with my friends, and you get to watch all these people walk in shy. Then, they have a couple of drinks, and the next thing you know, it's 4 a.m. and they don't want to leave."

On Friday and Saturday nights, Release may have 10 bouncers controlling the crowd. When trouble breaks out at the club, it's usually on the dance floor. "The biggest problem we have is when it's crowded, and someone gets tired of being bumped and they get an attitude," he says. "I tell them, 'If you don't want to get bumped, I suggest you don't go out on the dance floor. Stand at the bar or go home.' "

Despite his intimidating build, Patterson likes to joke and laugh with the customers in order to let them know he wants everyone to have a good time. "We don't try to walk around with a frown on our faces and scare them to where they won't even buy a drink," he explains. "We want them to enjoy themselves. But since it is 21-and-over, hopefully they will be smart enough to be an adult."

The management of Release requires security to ask someone causing trouble to leave. Most of the time, that works. "We don't want to embarrass anyone if they have been drinking too much," Patterson says. "But every now and then, you get some dick who won't take the 'you have to leave' message. We don't like getting physical, but in some cases, you have to. And we have guys … ," he says, pausing to laugh. "We don't really want to touch them, but you have to get them out."

Patterson says celebrity sightings are a perk of his job. "We get a couple of football players regularly, and in baseball season, we have some 'basebutt,' " he says. "But you usually don't know about it because they look like everyone else. Snoop Dogg came in. And Ice-T had this beautiful lady with him, so it was hard not to notice him. I wasn't even close to serving drinks [to Ice-T's table], but I was thinking about it just to get next to his beautiful lady."

Beware Angry Exes

For the past month, Paris has been working security at Boynton Beach's Platinum Showgirls, a strip club that has operated for more than two decades under various names. "Bouncer is so clichéd. Friends would just say I'm meat," says Paris, who by day helps run a waste-management business and works in construction.

Paris has been the "meat" at nightclubs in South Florida; Buffalo, N.Y.; and Montreal for more than 10 years. It's a career he does not take lightly; he requested that his last name not be used in this article for fear of being targeted by people he has ejected. So it's no surprise that he admits to wondering if he has had enough of the nightclub world. "In the 1980s and '90s, it was more fistfighting," he says. "There wasn't really any danger. But down here, I would say there are more guns involved, more ammo involved. It becomes something you have to be aware of -- that there is always that danger."

There are also legal hassles. Before working at Platinum, Paris was head of security for The Ugly Mug, a popular neighborhood bar in west Delray Beach. "The deputies were always there," he says. "In two years, the bar was hit with several lawsuits against the security. The last one happened two months ago."

Paris and another bouncer ejected an angry drunk, who then began fighting his own friends as they tried to stop him from re-entering the bar. "He broke loose and came inside and hit my bouncer in the head and cut his eye open," Paris recalls. "That's when the deputies showed up. It was just in time, because it was going to get pretty messy."

One way for a bouncer to defend himself against an assault accusation is to collect witness statements immediately following the incident, Paris says. "If you are 5-foot-2 and the bouncer is 6-foot-5, automatically it's against the bouncer. That's why you get the witnesses."

Although Paris says his security teams have never lost a lawsuit, he chose to work at Platinum Showgirls because he believes strip club customers are less prone to violence. "Here, it's more about fun, about entertainment. Here the customers are sitting down, they're drinking and they're watching the girls, getting lap dances," he explains. "It's not an ongoing drinking, party, dancing, who's-looking-at-who problem."

Yet bouncing at an adult club does present one professional hazard: customers' jealous wives and girlfriends. "The occasional ex-girlfriend may pop in, but we try to avoid women going in by themselves," he says. "They can cause big problems. It happened three weeks ago. I wasn't working that night, but she caused big problems."

Another potential problem is becoming desensitized to the allure of beautiful, naked women. "It's fun, but if you've seen one, you've seen a thousand different sizes," Paris says with a shrug. "But if you go with friends, you have a good time. But now, you know what your friends don't know, because you are on the inside. You know how [the dancers] want to play you, so you just laugh and say, 'I know the deal. Go over to my friends.' "

Paris believes in showing strength in numbers when trying to eject a customer, particularly if that person has had too much to drink. "First of all, you surround them with security," he says. "But when you talk to them, you don't want to squeeze them so they feel like a rat."

When Paris has to remove someone forcibly, he relies on a few favorite moves. "If he says, 'Don't touch me, I'm not leaving,' you escort him two ways: by the hand or if he resists, put him in a full nelson. If he gets more violent, then I put him in a sleeper hold. You drop him and escort him out. It does work. My partner can do it in five seconds."

Lessons Learned

Thinking of working as a bouncer? Heed this advice before you begin.

Whether you call yourself "meat" or a "distinguished gentleman," handling nightclub security for a couple of years teaches you a thing or two about human nature. Three South Florida bouncers share tips on how not to get your ass kicked, why it sucks to be the bouncer in a girl fight and persuasive techniques to get very angry drunks to do exactly what you want without having to break a sweat.

How do you spot a troublemaker?

"I am constantly walking the entire club, watching everybody," says Paris, who works security for Platinum Showgirls in Boynton Beach. "You have to look at their mannerisms, how they talk to their friends, how they get along, how they are acting with the servers. You can have a guy who is happy and smiling but, when he gets drunk, becomes angry and very violent."

If someone is threatening to fight, what should you do?

Paris advises to avoid fighting at all costs, because you could be bringing fists to a knife fight -- or worse. "You can't assume anything," he says. "You have to treat everybody with special care, because alcohol is involved, guns can be involved, and nobody is acting normal."

"I think the best thing is communication," China White's Michael Nunn says. "If it does escalate to [violence], if you have a good security team, everybody else should be there before that confrontation."

What's the best way to handle a belligerent drunk?

"The first thing I do is assess the situation and make the customer feel like he is the better person or bigger man," Nunn says. "I come down to his level. And I usually walk the guy outside to talk to him. Once I got him outside to talk, half the battle is over, because most of the time, when I try to kick somebody out and tell them to leave, they don't want to go. That's when you have the confrontation."

How does someone not get turned away by the club doormen?

"It's very rare we have to eject someone once they are inside the club," Nunn says, "because we have a strict door policy so we can weed out the people who get in. So when people come in with the T-shirts, baggy jeans and chains and look like thugs, we don't let them [in]. Any type of gangster-looking people, we try not to cater to them too much."

"Who you accept sets the atmosphere," Paris says, "so you have to be really careful and have to inspect everybody. You want people who come by here because they want to enjoy themselves and relax. [They] want to get away from their wives or their girlfriends and that's what they want to do: have a beer, chill out, see a couple of girls and have fun.

"You don't need any guys from the hood or gangster wannabes," he continues. "Regardless whether black, Hispanic, white, makes no difference. It's all about the attitude."

What's the worst type of fight to deal with?

"Girl fights," Club Boca's Jim Murphy says without hesitation. "They are the worst. They go at it, and they know there is not a lot we can do. I mean, a guy knows how far he can push it without going to blows. But a woman knows: If she hits us, we are not going to hit her back. I've had guys where women have gone at them with chairs and bottles thrown at them knowing that they can get away with it. Any bouncer will tell you the worst fights to break up are women."

-- Jim Di Paola