Study all day, bounce all night

Max Sterling is raising the bar.

The 27-year-old UNC student who works as a bouncer at East End Oyster & Martini Bar makes his living handling the intoxicated and those who wish to be.

As part of the door staff, Sterling is tasked with keeping the bar in order. He checks IDs, helps clean up and makes rounds occasionally to make sure no one’s getting “too crazy.”

He said he doesn’t kick people out very often.

“You try not to be too mean about it,” he said.

Sterling had plans to attend the University of Vermont in his home state when he decided to join the U.S. Marine Corps instead.

After a seven-month tour in Iraq in 2006, he came to UNC in 2007.

“I wanted to travel more, and I thought Chapel Hill would be more exciting,” he said. “I’m glad I did. I love it here.”

On especially rowdy nights like Halloween or after big basketball wins, Sterling’s job gets harder.

“People are crazy,” he said. “But it’s kind of fun. It keeps you entertained.”

Even on slow nights when there are no inebriated, body-painted students to keep in check, Sterling still has fun on the job.

“You just hang out and make friends,” he said.

Sterling used to work in a bar near Boston University. Shortly after moving here, he started at East End.

“It’s a great job,” he said. “And the UNC crowd is much cooler than Boston.”

According to fellow bouncer Will Deason, the job also entails being firm and assertive with people who might not cooperate — something he said Sterling is very good at.

“We’re basically there to keep an eye on things,” Sterling said. “But people are generally well-behaved.”

Sterling said the most important part of his job is to be patient with people who have been drinking.

His co-worker Andrew Keimig said Sterling is more than able.

“He’s real level-headed, real calm, and absolutely hilarious,” Keimig said. “He can be really attentive of what’s going on and keep a calm head.”

Aside from the occasional “riffraff,” Sterling said his job is mostly low-stress. He works one to two nights a week, from 10 p.m. to about 3 a.m.

Sterling is a part of the UNC Rugby Football Club and also plays intramural football, basketball and volleyball. Majoring in exercise and sports science, he hopes to work as a strength coach in the future.

Sterling said that even though he doesn’t get much appreciation for his work, there isn’t that much for people to be thankful for.

“Most people don’t pay attention to us,” he said. “We just check your IDs. It’s a pretty simple job.”

Contact the City Editor at citydesk@unc.edu.