A Portrait of Bouncers
ALEX WINKELMANN, BAR 25 & KATER HOLZIG (BERLIN)

In the 2000s, Bar 25 was one of the first clubs in Berlin where patrons could party for several days straight; and its successor club Kater Holzig continues to attract big crowds every weekend. Alex Winkelmann worked at both clubs for over five years. He talks to us about his experiences.

By Sascha Ehlert

Sascha Ehlert: Alex, tell me, how did you end up at Bar 25? Was this your first door job?

Alex Winkelmann: Well, my first gig was at Kosmos on St. Pauli in Hamburg. I used to live in Hamburg and I worked there with a girlfriend. When I moved to Berlin, she was already there and already working at Bar 25. She said if ever I needed a job, I could knock on the door – and that’s what I did. I’m bad with dates, but it must have been 2007 or 2008, two years before the bar closed. This place had growing for some time, and that’s what interested me about it. I was intrigued by this organic, improvised quality.

When I first started out, I did the cleaning and stuff like that. I just needed a job. I grew up in the restaurant and hotel trade. I used to clean rooms with my mum when I was a kid, so I found it really easy. I learned at a young age that it’s worthwhile doing these jobs conscientiously and carefully. This was why the people at Bar 25 learned to trust me. Eventually, they put me on the backstage door, so I was checking who had a wristband and who didn’t. 

This was the first time I had some pretty tricky moments, for example when people didn’t have a band but were desperate to get in for some reason or another. Some of these people were really big, and I was a complete joke by comparison. Most of them, though, found it funny when a person like me said “no” to them. But, of course, there were some people who also got incredibly upset. That’s when you have to try and talk to them. Fortunately, I never got punched in the face or anything like that.

So are you good at de-escalating difficult situations?

I’d say I’m generally a pretty calm kind of person. I’ve always tried to keep cool during conflicts and find a solution, like suggesting to guests they call someone who can vouch for them, or something like that. Anyway, Bar 25 eventually moved to the other side of the Spree and called itself Kater Holzig. That’s where I started working on the front door cash desk. This was a job that required even more trust. My shifts often went from 10pm to 6am or so. Sometimes, of course, they were even longer, like on New Year’s Eve.

At some point, I started doing the cash desk on Sundays, when people came to Kater all day long. Usually, the same people came to the club, so they were always allowed in. A lot of the crowd that came to Kater on Sundays had been out partying for a long time, so of course I’d ask them where they’d come from, check them out a bit. There definitely wasn’t an agenda or anything – apart from the fact that we welcomed people who like to party for a long time, so people with a certain vibe. Otherwise, we just wanted people who seemed nice and relaxed.

Let’s go back one step: Bar 25 was already something of a living club legend when you started there. Did it appeal to you as a place to party? Or were you “only” interested in all the afterhours professionally?

More the latter. Well, I did find the place fascinating. It was a kind of temporary autonomous zone, completely out of control. And it was exciting to see the momentum that developed. But I wasn’t a raver when I came to Berlin. I’ve generally been a late starter all my life; it’s the same with partying and drinking. While I was working in nightclubs, I tended to be more the silent observer. It was only at the end, when I was allowed to host my own events, that I gave up that position. In retrospect, this was probably why they trusted me with so many things. Eventually, they assigned me a budget so that I could curate my own parties, also because they liked my music. I never stole anything or did anything like that – in the nightclub business it’s not easy finding trustworthy people.

When and why did the Bar 25 or Kater Holzig chapter come to an end for you?

I worked there for altogether four or five years. Obviously, I saw some good and beautiful things, but I also experienced the ugly sides of the job, sometimes even the dangerous ones. In any case, I started to realise that working nights – I was doing it two or three times a week back then – wouldn’t be good for my biorhythm in the long term. I was kind of okay with it for a while, but I didn’t see myself in this job for years to come. Then another job came up when friends of mine opened their own place. That’s when I started working at Heimathafen Neukölln, a traditional live venue, behind the scenes. Like I said, I grew up in the hotel business, so I think I’ve always been happy “serving” and being nice to people.

Steffi-Lotta, one of the founders of Bar 25, asked me if I wanted to do the guest selection on Fridays and Saturdays, but that was too much for me and I turned her down. Then I did my last shift there, which was really cool. Actually, there was always a good community at this club. If you were part of the inner circle, it was great. I’m still friends with the people who used to work there today. When you do such a long shift together, when all this stuff is going on, it’s obviously exciting and always fun. Nevertheless, I made my exit in the end.

Did the end of your job mean a break with this social cosmos, or has it remained part of your life? 

I still see people I met during that time. I occasionally have these flashbacks when I go to some bar or Modulor on Moritzplatz and bump into a guest there. We might just look at each other in surprise and not talk. But I don’t make a point of going back to my old workplace, or what is today the Holzmarkt area. I did once, four or five years ago. Everyone was really friendly and welcoming. But generally speaking, this period of my life is over for me, and I rarely go out partying any more. 

What’s left of Bar 25?

We shouldn’t romanticise Bar 25 too much, obviously, but it really was a very open and free place. And I think we still need places like that. I’d say I grew up in a relatively unconventional environment – at least, my parents were always a bit critical of everything that was conventional. I think that’s why I’m good at adapting to unconventional places. I’m also very flexible and open in terms of social norms. And that’s what Bar 25 was all about. It was definitely a place where you could try out new things. I loved being able to go through so many different phases there. And, of course, places like that are important for a city. Places where you can switch off a bit and move freely. Environments like this are important for people. This is something my job made me very aware of. And people don’t necessarily have to be on drugs. Clubs like this are also social meeting places that really mean something to people. I think it’s great that I could contribute to this.