It is a chilly, damp Friday evening in the outside patio of Tiger Town Tavern, a downtown Clemson bar affectionately known as TTT, or Triple T. The clientele consists mainly of students, many of whom are happy and relieved to be back at their favorite spot to unwind from a long week.
A lone bouncer perches on an orange stool in a dimly lit corner. He is wearing a black hoodie under his orange TTT staff T-shirt. Raindrops pelt him relentlessly as he sits with his head down, texting on his phone. His responsibility? Making sure people don’t sneak in through the outdoor gate, bypassing the two ID-checking bouncers at the main entrance.
Bouncers, and all employees at alcohol-selling establishments, must keep a close eye out for those who are under the legal drinking age and still attempt to imbibe.
Despite his laid-back demeanor, Ryan, the TTT bouncer, is quite a diligent employee, making sure nobody enters illegally. Having worked at the bar for about eight months, he has the routine down by now.
Aside from gate patrol, he helps with resupplying ice, beer and the like. Dealing with “drunk people and fights” is the worst part, Ryan says, although “lots of (fights) get broken up.”
Seeing Ryan sitting alone in the rain on a Friday night begs the question: What made him choose to be a bouncer?
“I like being at the bar,” he answers. “And (the job) pays really good money,” Ryan says, “like tonight, I’ll make about $300.” The hours are a tough factor, according to Ryan, but it doesn’t bother him too much.
The camaraderie among Triple T employees proves strong as Ryan lights up a cigarette and chats with a coworker, smiling. All in all, it seems like an easy night for him.
Kyle, another bouncer, is working the door on the Friday of Homecoming weekend, checking IDs with the efficiency of a Vegas casino dealer.
Temperatures are low, but energy is high. Music blares through the speakers into the frigid air, promoting good vibrations all around.
A neon green hat sits backwards on Kyle’s head and a silver stud adorns his lower lip. He has worked at Triple for a few months but maintains the suave, confident mien of a veteran employee.
New hires typically work their first shift on a Thursday or Friday night when there is plenty of activity. An experienced worker quickly shows the wide-eyed newbies the ropes and remains available to answer questions, but overall, new bouncers are on their own.
“They throw you to the wolves and it’s sink or swim,” Kyle says. “You either got it or you don’t.”
One trainee worked a single shift and never returned. Bouncing is not the right career move for everyone, although it is undeniably an entertaining one.
In the fall, game day weekends make for an especially exciting bar scene in downtown Clemson, and Homecoming weekend is a prime example of the craziness that occurs.
Of course, for many bar employees, “craziness” means a lot of cleaning and restocking, but the plethora of jaw-dropping moments they experience largely make up for the mundane tasks on their to-do lists.
A particularly compelling story in Kyle’s ever-growing repertoire involves a female student’s mom who, upon being complimented by a TTT bouncer, immediately started making out with him. “It got hot and heavy,” Kyle says. “The girl had to drag her mom off the guy.”
Game weekends lead to a spike in the number of fake IDs encountered by bouncers; on a busy night, Kyle says he sees 50-60. He holds a small iPad that he uses to scan any ID that he is “a little hesitant about.”
TTT has a zero-tolerance policy toward fakes, and Kyle and his coworkers do not accept any.
For patrons, a night out on the town has the potential to be quite chaotic, but bars have rigid protocols in place to ensure that the chaos does not bring any harm to customers, employees or the business itself.
Kyle and the other “floor guys” all wear earpieces so that they can communicate with each other and prevent issues from arising. “If we notice that voices are getting raised and there’s tension in a specific area of the bar … we’re quick to assess the situation, shut it down and remove somebody if (we) have to,” he says.
According to Colton, a bouncer at Backstreets, one of his favorite parts of the job is “kicking people out.” Of course, this is done as a last resort, such as when customers get physical or call Colton and his coworkers “every name in the book,” as he claims one guest recently did.
Regarding the physical stature of downtown doormen, apparently, the widely accepted stereotype of the big, muscular bouncer with an imposing figure and the strength to lift a car is not entirely accurate. “It’s definitely a myth,” according to a bouncer at ITSURWIENER Restaurant and Bar.
Concerning the frequency of altercations, he says that fights occur primarily on game days, mostly due to people consuming too much alcohol. Overall, the job doesn’t seem to faze him, and he mentions the fights with a shrug of his shoulders as he leans back on a barstool.
If you think you can handle the responsibility of guarding one of Clemson’s beloved pubs, then go grab an application. Just make sure you keep a few tips in mind: be a team player, keep your wits about you and always take a second look at the flimsy piece of plastic the nervous, clearly underaged freshman slips to you.
