A Portrait of Bouncers
Kiki Gorei, Goldener Reiter (Munich)
Goldener Reiter opened in 2018 and is located on the edge of Munich’s Gärtnerplatz neighbourhood. Kiki Gorei has been a door supervisor at the club for ten years – and has no plans to stop.
By Sascha Ehlert
Sascha Ehlert: How did you end up working on the doors?
Kiki Gorei: When I was about 19 or 20, I used to hang out at a bar in Munich, so we were regular guests, if you want. A good friend of mine started working there, and he asked me if I wanted to give it a go too. It looked fun, the staff there are cool, so I thought, “Definitely”. Having a part-time job at 19 that pays 100, 150 euros an evening, two or three times a week was fantastic. I’m 29 now and I still work every weekend.
Are you a club-goer yourself when you’re not working?
Yes, I am. I also work at various clubs as a DJ. I started doing that when I was 17 or 18. So for a long time, I’ve known lots of people who work in the same field. My friends hang out in the same places as me. It doesn’t matter whether I’m DJing or selecting guests.
When you select guests, what are your criteria?
I think I’m somewhere between strict and laid-back. I pay attention to all the usual things like not letting in all-male groups early in the evening, so that things don’t become unpleasant for other guests. The same goes for people who are too drunk or high. Generally though, I have a short chat with people and if they’re cool, anyone is welcome in the place where I happen to be working. We don’t have a strict door policy.
While I’ve been doing these interviews, I’ve noticed that the different clubs have very different philosophies and team sizes. How big is your team?
We have between eight and ten door supervisors. There are always two of us on a shift, plus someone who is in charge. So it’s actually quite a small team. We all step in for each other if need be.
What role does the club play for you as a social place?
I do spend a lot of time at the club at night when I’m not working there. And most of the time, when I’m there privately, I hang out around the door with the others.
How much has your relationship to nightlife changed over the years?
Not at all, actually. But that’s probably also to do with the fact that Munich isn’t as big as Berlin, of course. Everyone knows everyone here, and we’re all in the same circles of friends. Nightlife somehow offers me a change from my 40-hour job. It helps me chill a bit and forget about the rest of the week.
The pandemic has also helped to promote more of a community in the scene.
Obviously, there have been some COVID closures. On the other hand, though, I think the pandemic helped promote a sense of community in the scene, and to a large extent, the rigid division of genres between the different clubs, the hip-hop clubs and techno clubs, for example, have disappeared. My environment, the people I regularly DJ with and I myself have done a lot to change that. At some point, I just realised that as a DJ I wanted to play everything – regardless of whether it’s garage, trap or house. And the people who dance feel the same way.
How old is your clientele?
It’s super mixed. I’d say the people who come here are between 18 and 45.
Would you say the so-called Generation Z, so the new club generation, behaves differently at the doors and in the club than the generations before them?
Yes, I would. They’re much more polite. If I say, “Sorry, not tonight,” they’re actually okay with it, whereas the older ones like to get into a discussion.
How much has supervising the doors changed since you started? For example, do you make sure now that you have a balanced number of men and women and that you create spaces where people who are perceived as female feel as comfortable as people who are perceived as male?
In our club, I don’t think much has changed in that respect. I’m not sure exactly how we do it, but I don’t think there is any other club in Munich where so few women make complaints about feeling uncomfortable. We just make sure the people we let in are the right fit for the music style. We also have a lot of regulars who we know well.
How do you see the future? Do you ever think about quitting at some point?
I don’t at all, actually. I just really like the place. I like seeing everyone here and I generally enjoy being in the company of people.
Club culture has become an important part of Germany’s social fabric over the last few decades, and, of course, club patrons are also getting older. And so, too, perhaps the people who work on the doors. Can you imagine still doing this job when you’re 40 or 45?
Absolutely. I can definitely imagine working on the door more than being a DJ at 45.