My name is Stanley Cruz. I have been working as a bouncer for the last nine years; only recently I’ve been promoted as a personal bodyguard. I got into this field because of my personality. I am 6-feet-4, and 30 years old. Right now I am the personal bodyguard of Mrs. Nandini Alva and her son Aditya Alva.
While physique is the main quality for a bouncer, you must also be good in communication. Being a bouncer doesn’t mean just hitting people. You should know what’s happening between people. It’s not just muscle power; it’s also about your brains and being able to negotiate in situations to avoid violence. Today every guy who has a good physique thinks he can become a bouncer by wearing a black suit. But it’s not that simple. Bouncers became recognised in Bangalore around 1999/2000 as the “guys in the black suits” as the pub culture started growing in the city.
Right now I’m a freelancer. But my guru and first boss is Babu-anna from Ulsoor. When we start off, we go along with other experienced bouncers. The world always seems to need more of us. New Year is the best time in our business.
I have gone as escorts to VIPs, ministers, and Sandalwood, Bollywood, and Hollywood actors at public functions and weddings. Some people hire us to protect them, some just to “show off”. Some pubs hire us on a monthly salary, some call us only for weekends when the crowd is large and people tend to get drunk and fight. I have hit people sometimes, on the job, but only with my hands. Most of the time, when I warn them, they look at me and the argument ends there.
Sometimes we stand continuously without food and water; we are treated like slaves. Some people take very good care of us, offer us food and support us. Chancery Pavilion is one of the best employers; they support us. We usually charge Rs. 1,500 per day but people always bargain. We’ve been hired by real estate agencies too, when litigation is involved.
The timing in our profession is bad. We start at 6 p.m., and work ends after 1 p.m., much after the pub closes. I’ve been shown the gun at least five times, when I have not let people into a pub. I say ‘Shoot me’. They can’t do anything. After the pub closes, there are people who attack us, because we didn’t let them in. When we stand at the door of a pub on duty, the manager instructs us not to let in stags and rowdy-looking people. Then someone else from the management comes and says ‘Let this person in; he’s my friend’. They try to make calls, use influence. We get into trouble like this. Sometimes people smoke ganja in the pub; we have to deal with them.
We bouncers are also a smart lot we know how to make money on the side. If you are well settled in the profession, you can make a lot of money. But there’s no guarantee for you life, no life insurance. I am a trained gunman, but I am yet to get my licence. Once that happens, my salary will get better. I’m a different person on the job, and a very different guy in my area, Ulsoor – there I’m known as ‘Ulsoor Kutty’.
I have also acted in movies, short films, and TV serials; every role is a bit role. I either get to act as a bodyguard, or as a rowdy. I keep changing my hairstyle and my looks often.
See here, I’ve been a bouncer for so many people (shows photos on his mobile with stars) including Rob Schneider, Upendra, Salman Khan, Kamal Haasan, Sonakshi Sinha, Amitabh Bachchan, Aamir Khan, Kiran Rao, M.S. Dhoni, Chris Gayle, Vidya Balan, Radhika Kumaraswamy.
It feels good to be seen with famous people. Our pictures with them are sometimes published in papers, or our friends see us on TV with them. It’s flattering when people who come to see film stars instead start taking photos with us. Girls want to date us. I want to tell all young bouncers — don’t forget the first person who forms the stepping stone for your success, work smart; we are not slaves. Don’t show muscle power unnecessarily, and never hit a woman.
I Am… is a weekly column that features men and women who make Bangalore what it is
