Tariq Jahaan, Why Club

Hey Tariq! Can you tell us why you became a bouncer?
I used to work as a security guard but the pay was really low. The salary is higher here.

It’s pretty busy inside now. What would you do if I tried to sneak past you?
I’d stop you and ask if you have any booking or if you know somebody. If it’s a full house, then you’ll have to wait.
What if I slipped you a couple hundred…
If it’s full already, no-one can go in. Just wait outside.

What if… I’m a beautiful girl.
[Laughs] Then yes, you can go inside.

Really?
Yes, because beautiful girls will make the crowd happier. If our boss tells them they can come inside, we can’t stop them!

And what about a really good looking man?
No, they have to wait outside.

Do you enjoy your work here?
Well, it’s quite a dangerous job. There are a lot of gangsters that come here, especially because we’re in Tsim Sha Tsui.

So if a fight breaks out in the club, what do you do?
We can’t really stop them or say anything to them. So we just ‘help’ them out by taking them out of the club. Then they can finish it outside.

Have you ever been beat up?
One time, earlier in the evening, someone tried to start a fight with me. He was a gangster. I didn’t know him. He went away but came back later at 4am. I was by myself. He hit me in the head and I got ten stitches here [he shows us his scar – it’s rather impressive].

Tell us a funny story.
Last night… [laughs] we saw one guy open his fly at the bar and start urinating. We just threw him outside, but everyone was laughing about it.

So, would you recommend this job to someone else?
No. If I can get a better job, I’ll quit. 

Interview: Andrea Yu