By TOM SHORTELL
Freddie Paiva anchored his 6-foot two-inch, 370 pound frame to the stool in front of Caroline O’Toole’s Friday at 5 p.m. He’s been a regular doorman since the bar opened earlier this summer. His arms are covered with tattoos, and an earpiece rests in his right ear so he can communicate with the doorman at the Beach Bar on the other end of Asbury Park’s Convention Hall.
Don’t be fooled by appearances, though. Paiva uses reading glasses to check IDs, two of his tattoos are of Calvin & Hobbes and The Little Mermaid and for his dream job, he’d open up a Portuguese Barbeque. Someone once called him “a teddy bear in a gorrila suit,” and Paiva approves of the description.
His philosophy for his job fits the description, too. He tries to get people to laugh as it helps cool people down when things get hot.
“A smart doorman calms things down before it gets to a fight,” he said.
Paiva is a fan of European soccer, and he picked up a trick of the trade while in a pub in Portu, Portugal. The pub, which is across the street from where the soccer team FC Portu plays, had its doormen wear referee jerseys. If a patron got a little too rambunctious, a doorman would give them a yellow card, which serves as a warning in soccer when a player breaks the rules. If it happened again, the patron was given a red card and told to leave.
“I thought it was a good idea. It really breaks the tension sometimes,” Paiva said. “It works. It’s all about defusing the situation.”
Sometimes, tension needs to be broken before people even enter the bar. “Technically, we have to ID everyone,” Paiva said, and he does for anyone who isn’t a regular, even people clearly of age. “I either get a laugh or I get hassled,” he said. If a couple hassles him, Paiva said he counters by saying just needs to check the woman’s since she’s clearly young enough to be the man’s daughter. “The ladies love it,” he said smiling. Fortunately for Paiva, O’Toole’s hasn’t had any real fights yet, he said.
Paiva has patrolled bars and clubs since 1979, back when he was a relatively skinny (about 100 pounds lighter) 19-year-old and when doorman were still called bouncers. These days, the term bouncer is frowned on, he said. “It’s become politically incorrect,” he said.
Aside from checking IDs, Pavia summed up the main part of his work as, “Stopping people from fighting; stopping people from hurting other customers; stopping people from destroying property.”
Sometimes, that does require force.
“If I have to, I get someone out of the bar, and that’s it. I don’t throw punches,” he said.
When things get busy, he’ll double as a maitre d’, setting up placemats, taking group sizes and generally helping waitresses. He’s also the backup support for the doorman at the Beach Bar.
Paiva said he’s worked at bars in north Jersey and Manhatten, including one that regularly had 5,000 people in it (twice the fire code allowance, he guessed). As an employee of Madison Marquette, he also works in the Wonder Bar, Beach Bar and the Stone Pony, which can large crowds for many of its concerts. Still, he said he prefers the more mellow confines of O’Toole’s. “I’m getting old,” he said.
The money and the people make the job worth it, he said. “It’s always something good to fall back on,” said Paiva, who said he sells paper products for his day job.
His favorite part of the job is people watching, Paiva said.
“I can go into New York City and just sit on a bench all day. You can learn a lot about human nature that way,” he said.
He also had glowing things to say about Madison Marquette. “This is the best bunch of people I’ve ever worked for. If I need a day off, I don’t get hassled,” Paiva said. At the same time, he’ll come down an help if they’re in a fix as well.
It’s only the beginning of the night, and Paiva has a large cup of tripple shot expresso to help him through his shift. It’s the hardest stuff he’ll drink all night, as he gave up drinking 20 years ago – too many run ins with bouncers, he said. On Fridays he works unil 2 a.m., so he needs the energy boost. Saturdays he works between 12 and 14 hours. He usually downs another one or two a night. “Caffeine is your friend,” he said.
Read more about your town by picking up The Coaster at your local newsstand or subscribe today.
Published every Thursday.
