is it true that clubs in berlin won't let you in if the bouncer don't like the way you look?

[coomer]

im into leather but im also brown so i do not conform to what everyone else in the leather community look like

[rexTO]

I think it has more to do with age. But, there are enough bars to find some to enjoy

[Leather69]

Yep.. been there many times and have experienced the idiots at some bars etc looking for  the "younger" types.. as rexTo has said there are other bars etc

[PupBoiRapeSlut]

There’s always enough bars everywhere to find somewhere accepting just as there’s always more exclusive clubs like I don’t think my little pasty white ass would be welcome in a black centric bar in Detroit  

[Erik62]

On 1/13/2025 at 7:27 AM, coomer said:

im into leather but im also brown so i do not conform to what everyone else in the leather community look like

I'm not experienced with the bar scene these days but judging by the STORIES, photos & comments I read on BZ, Blueskye, Tumblr there is a demand for darker skins. You don't mention "HOW" brown but, hey WTF 😵‍💫, your a man with a cock & an arse, therefore they / YOU will be desired. Top, bottom or Vers you'll find your bar & FUN. 

GOOD LUCK🍀, HAVE FUN 🍆💦💦💦💪. 

[DJ2023]

Well I love all skin colours and will be in Berlin this week.

[PupBoiRapeSlut]

47 minutes ago, Erik62 said:

I'm not experienced with the bar scene these days but judging by the STORIES, photos & comments I read on BZ, Blueskye, Tumblr there is a demand for darker skins. You don't mention "HOW" brown but, hey WTF 😵‍💫, your a man with a cock & an arse, therefore they / YOU will be desired. Top, bottom or Vers you'll find your bar & FUN. 

GOOD LUCK🍀, HAVE FUN 🍆💦💦💦💪. 

All skin looks hot in leather but especially dark skin I know it’d be an absolutely dream for me to find a dark skin leather daddy who looks straight out of a Tom of Finland drawing

[lj1987]

Only in Berghain as far as I know. 

[VersGuyAnon]

A long time ago I was refused entry into a venue that I'd been to previously, on a number of occasions (a few years earlier). After going to and fro with the guy, I realised there was no point in arguing and ended up having fun elsewhere. 

[Leather-lee]

I've never experienced this in ANY gay bar in Berlin in all of my years visiting and I'm black.

[fuckholedc]

On 1/12/2025 at 3:27 PM, coomer said:

im into leather but im also brown so i do not conform to what everyone else in the leather community look like

To be honest this can happen at many Gay male mostly places in Germany.  It happened to me once in Cologne at a sometime exclusive club when I was coming out (early 20's) probably because I was dressed like an American that weekend.  This is actually what my friends in Cologne told me at that time.  One friend of mine was a ballet dancer and he told me to go to this particular club.  This wasn't a LGBT club per se but lots of Gay men went there (which just means that it was part of the in scene in Cologne at the time).  I did go back to this club months later, maybe even a year later.  They had lots of the same Gay guys that you'd see in the major Gay clubs but they were more likely to talk to you at this place (a guy who was a Gay twin came up to me and talked to me there, something he didn't do at the main club we three hung out at).  I admit this was now a long time ago but this kind of thing can happen in Germany.

And at Berghain it's of course well known.

 

[Bob1119]

On 3/31/2025 at 8:57 PM, VersGuyAnon said:

A long time ago I was refused entry into a venue that I'd been to previously, on a number of occasions (a few years earlier). After going to and fro with the guy, I realised there was no point in arguing and ended up having fun elsewhere. 

Was at  The Jax?  

[PozFunBER]

That’s not Berlin specific - that’s the job description of a bouncer ! 😅 (Only people that match the party crowd)

[GermanFucker]

On 1/12/2025 at 9:27 PM, coomer said:

im into leather but im also brown so i do not conform to what everyone else in the leather community look like

I think there is a fundamental misunderstanding here. This is about 2 things above all: a.) Dress codes and b.) Germans taking things seriously. 

1.) There are dress codes in the US, too ("no shirt, no shoes, no service"), but Americans are sometimes laxer about enforcing them with the customer being king and all. Germans are much more serious about things. A rule is a rule and it's there for a reason. Either follow it or you're out, there is on point in arguing.

2.) Of course big cities like Cologne, but especially Berlin take this to an extreme. In some backwater town, you may not even have a gay club, only a queer club for lesbians and gay alike, or just a weekly LGBTQ night at a local college bar. Those places are welcoming to everyone. Berlin is different with its huge, but also fragmented scene. Many clubs cater exclusively to specific crowds and fetishes. These clubs don't care about a general appeal to the wider public, but they pride themselves on being "the place to be" when it comes to e.g. getting pissed while wearing farmhand attire. 

3.) It's also about the crowd feeling comfortable. You don't want looky-loos wandering around the establishment staring at you while they're not really taking part in the debauchery. Or a guy in flip-flops having a go at you when you came to the club to meet leather daddies.

4.) It's usually not about how well you can pull off a look, but rather how authentic you are and how much you respect the theme of the party. Skin color is not the issue. It's not about fitting a stereotypical picture, but understanding the fetish and making an effort with your wardrome selection. Sure, if the motto of the evening is "barely legal pretty faces", you have a hard time getting in as a daddy type. But I have seen incredibly attractive guys turned away from clubs because they didn't want to follow the rules and the red carpet being rolled out for barely average guys, because they nailed what the party is about. 

5.) Best is ALWAYS to ask a local friend (who has been to the party before) about possible pitfalls. It's usually tourists (be it a Americans, but also Germans from a different state) run afoul of local dress codes, because they usually don't have the time to get informed in advance and aren't introduced to the fetish scene gradually by friends and aquaintances. But if you know someone in the area, take advantage of it. 

[ellentonboy]

"Dress codes" so to speak have been going on for years.  I've been with friends in New York at a leather bar who were asked to leave because they were far too formal.  I don't think it's indicative of any particular city, it is up to management as to who they want to let in.  In my situation, the guys were in their 20s and 30s, they were in shape, but their attire was not appropriate.  I told them so in the ride over to the bar and they laughed and thought because they were attractive they could somehow convince the bouncer they should be allowed inside.  Well it didn't work.

I do know of certain bars where you can come into the general area, and as long as you are of legal drinking age there are no issues.  But if you want to go into the "back room" or "dark room" there was another bouncer, and in this case the rules were different.  I usually wear 501 jeans, a tank top, and either boots or sneakers.  But that is what I wear in almost any gay establishment I visit. One thing that was not on the door - no cologne!  I have seen this in both the US and abroad, so you have to keep that in mind.

I've never been told by a bouncer I was too old, or too out of shape, or too ugly.  But the cologne rule, that was enforced.

I suppose clubs have 'fetish" nights, and like other posters have mentioned, talk to locals and make sure you wearing the appropriate attire.  It's a sobering experience to be told NO at the door.