The Old Book
Chapter X
There was a long buzz, then the front door popped open. A muffled voice told me to come to the second floor. I passed a small cargo elevator on the right and continued straight toward the stairs. I always took the stairs.
I tried to wake up a bit, rubbing my eyes and slapping my cheeks. That morning, Anna had an early start, so she went to bed shortly after I'd stumbled in the previous evening. I should have followed suit but instead stayed up watching Sum Dog Millionaire on the sofa. I'd woken up with a foggy head and couldn't snap out of it.
The sign on the door read: Ultimate Party Amsterdam. I knocked and stepped inside to be greeted by one of the most handsome men I'd ever met. "Hi! Steven. Welcome." An olived-skinned baby face with wispy dark hair and large blue eyes gave Steven an exotic look, compliments of his Hungarian-Filipino heritage. He spoke with a deep, soothing Californian accent, and his boyish smile was warm and welcoming, like a big hug. His broad shoulders were a testament to his wrestling background in San Diego, while his skinny jeans and cardigan, hanging open to display a red Ultimate Party t-shirt, hinted at a skater vibe. Steven was cool, calm and edgy, and I liked him straight away.
Next was a short man with thick lips and a shaved head sitting behind the desk. "I'm Nir. I'm the owner. Have a seat." Born and raised in Amsterdam, Nir's family originally came from Israel and were heavily invested in the city. I'd later find out that, although he was born into wealth, Nir was a self-made man, becoming extremely successful from basically nothing. Against his family's wishes, Nir saw value in starting a pub crawl in Amsterdam. To him, it was a hole in the city that needed to be filled and a great business opportunity.
Without support from his family, he'd walk the streets promoting Ultimate Party to tourists and taking them to bars that wouldn't usually get a crowd and so would be happy to provide a free drink or two for groups Nir brought to them. To survive while building his business, he'd call friends between promoting and guiding his tours, asking if he could come to eat whatever leftovers they had from that evening's meal. He told them it would come back to them eventually, as I'm sure it did. Talk about determination and self-belief. I didn't know it then, but this fidgety, phone-addicted ball of stress before me, dressed in the same black jeans and black t-shirt he'd wear every day, was the fastest up-and-coming millionaire in Amsterdam at the time. The old lesson 'never judge a book by its cover' comes to mind.
In the corner were two other members of the team. Frankie was Mexican-American from L.A. He was quiet, tough, and loved hip-hop and weed. Frankie played baseball locally and was pretty good by the sound of it. He had a Norwegian girlfriend and had been in Amsterdam for a long time. He also had a massive chip on his shoulder and was usually a dick to new people joining the pub crawl at first, but once he got to know you, he was a good guy. I never quite figured Frankie out, to be honest. He was territorial, ready to go for the throat at the drop of a hat until he was satisfied you weren't a threat, then he was loyal and kind. Like a bulldog training people, not the other way around. Was it how and where he grew up? Was it Limbo? Perhaps it was Nir, whom Frankie had a love-hate relationship with. He'd actually headbutted Nir - who was of similar height and stature - to the ground one night over a discrepancy about money. That was before my time, but I could see it happening. Nir was a nice guy but stingy, and Frankie didn't take shit from anyone, so it wasn't surprising. Frankie and I would come to have our ups and downs in the proceeding months, but overall, I liked him.
Jenny was a short African-American lass from Brooklyn, New York. Like Frankie, Jenny had a hard exterior, only to a lesser extent. But once you got to know her, she was awesome and funny as hell. Jenny was the oldest member of the team, and there was something unspoken amongst the rest of us where she would receive the same level of respect as a mother or auntie - even from Nir. She'd been in the city a long time. She spoke Dutch and was married to a local back then - rest in peace, Finch. I liked Jenny. We all liked Jenny. She was cool.
Frankie and Jenny sat in the corner of the tiny office together, writing their names on cards and mumbling low. I tried making eye contact several times, but they kept to themselves, giving off a gloomy, unapproachable vibe. Getting a similar feeling from them as the Irish Pub staff the previous day, I gave up. I was too groggy and over dealing with grumpy people to force a greeting. Eventually, they slipped out the door without saying much to anyone.
Finally, I met Jimmy. He'd introduced himself as "James. Nice to meet you, Man! Welcome to Amsterdam." But he eventually became Jimmy to us. He was also American, from Florida. Extremely friendly and outgoing but also incredibly insecure, Jimmy reminded me of George McFly from Back to the Future, only much cooler. With a large yet inoffensive nose credited to his Italian heritage, he was handsome, with a charming smile that he dished out constantly. He had a raspy voice and a Bill and Ted-style laugh.
In fact, Jimmy's demeanour and style of speech could be mistaken for someone who is not very bright. On the contrary, this fellow pub crawl rat slash Limbo dweller would go on to be an extremely successful businessman. He even made a film, Chasing the Present, which I highly recommend checking out online. Another lesson from the old book.
In those days, however, this kind, energetic young man struggled with self-esteem and identity, hiding his quickly receding hairline under a cap and his diminishing sense of self behind a wall of laughter and hedonism. I liked Jimmy a lot. He was a good person with a big heart and played a significant role in my integration into Amsterdam Limbo.
Nir, Steven and I chatted while Jimmy wrote his name on cards. I told them about my travel experience, background in sales and hospitality, and my time promoting and running pub crawls on the Gold Coast in Australia. A mere formality, apparently. It turned out that anyone who wanted a shot at working for the pub crawl was more than welcome. The more money Nir could make, the better. But you had to go out one night first and party. To test the pub crawl out. To see if it's for you and if you're for it. Basically, what they were looking for, as I later found out, was that you were fun. Sure, walking around the city trying to convince tourists to join the pub crawl that night was important, but what was equally as important was ensuring the tourists that did turn up had a good time.
The job was to spend the day combing the streets, approaching tourists, handing them cards with our names on them, and explaining how the pub crawl worked and where and when it started. Then, we'd all meet at Sporties, where people would turn up to buy tickets and have a drink until things kicked off. We'd get a portion of the ticket sales for each person with one of our cards. If enough people showed up with our cards, we were working, which meant we'd get fifty bucks on top of our ticket commission to guide and party with our guests. The cards were to make sure we got our commission. If people already had cards from someone else, we had to back off. That was someone else's money. Trying to cut in on that was a Cardinal sin in the pub crawl game.
It sounded great to me. Walking around Amsterdam, getting to know the city, chatting with tourists, making some money, and getting paid to party for the night. I was in! There were a few rules, of course. The first was no drinking or getting high during the day. We were meant to promote to ensure people would turn up each night, keeping money coming in for the bars, Nir and ourselves. The second rule was no kissing pub crawl guests until half past one in the morning. That's when our shift ended, and we were free to do what we wanted.
We were guides at night, speaking with the bar staff, keeping our pub crawlers safe and happy, and ensuring they got to each place to claim their free drink and enjoy the party. "If a guy spends money to come out with us and my guys kiss all the girls, it's not fair to him. He'll complain to me, and I'll get mad. Wait until your shift is over." Nir wasn't always easy to understand, but with this rule, he was loud and clear. Besides, it made sense. I completely agreed with him. Also, keeping someone on ice for six hours while endless amounts of guys hit on them seemed like a fun challenge.
"Okay, go with James. He can show you around the city and explain where we can and can't promote. Then, come out tonight. If I'm happy and you're happy after that, you can start promoting and making money tomorrow."
I agreed and shook Nir's and Steven's hands. "Thanks guys! See you tonight. Looking forward to it." Then, I followed Jimmy to learn the ropes and begin my integration into pub crawl life and Limbo in Amsterdam.