THE SUMMER OF PLUMMER! – Tim Plummer Interviewed

Age? I am 27 years old.

Where are you from? I am originally from Jacksonville Beach Florida, but I spent about 6 years in Orlando, Florida too. I now reside in Fabulous Las Vegas, Nevada!

How long have you’ve been Bartending?I have been bartending since I was 19 so about 8 years now. How the time flys by behind the bar!

And Flair Bartending? I only started really practicing when I moved to Las Vegas 2 1/2 years ago, but I used to mess around in between commercials all the time.

Where do you work? Harrah’s Carnaval Court.

What got you into Flair Bartending? Originally, I only planned to bartend my way through college. Then the bar bug bit me when I was at a T.G.I Friday’s and say a guy throw a double behind his back and catch it with the same hand. I don’t know what was so great at the time, but that bottle grabbed my attention real quick!

How did you start out learning to Flair? When I first started Flairing I went to a competition called Battle of the Bartenders in Orlando, Florida. I was competing with my best friend Joey Torres and we got our asses handed to us by James Hadhazy, Peter Medina, Sweet T, Ati Tedesco and Robyn Closson. Ya that’s right, both of them! It was a deep burn, so I owe my ambition to all of them. The person who got me to see what practice really is and one of the biggest reasons I am in Las Vegas is James Hadhazy. I am happy to say that now I am great friends with all of them and have had the pleasure of working with each one of them. When I arrived in Vegas in 2004 I went to THE PARK on Flamingo all of the time. I had never seen working Flair in my life until I moved here. If I wasn’t at work I was practicing. I used my time wisely when the opportunities came up to practice at a friends house or get time on the bar with other bartenders to get inspired. Now I have been given the best opportunity as a Flair bartender to work at Carnaval Court. Bottom line if you really want to learn how to Flair,… go and get beat!

Tell us about the Flair Bartending scene in Las Vegas, Nevada? If it wasn’t for all of the incredible bartenders and their dedication out here, I wouldn’t practice half as much as I do. Now that I am working at Carnaval Court, I have a lot of to live up to. Surrounding myself with some of the best in the world doesn’t hurt for motivation. I have to constantly stay on my game and keep my moves fresh to give people a reason to hold Vegas up to it’s reputation!

Describe to us your style of Flair? I pride myself on originality and that I keep my style of Flair fresh, so that every time I compete you have to watch everything from beginning to end because I am constantly throwing new moves.

What makes you stand out from other Flair Bartenders? I think my personality and style of Flair stand out the most. If your not having a good time with your Flair, neither is the person who is watching you!

What do you hope to get out of Flair? I have already had so many opportunities with Flair. I get to work in Las Vegas, travel all the time when I compete and meet all of the friends that I have made along the way. I have recently started coming in to my own with Flair and only want to start competing more. I love pushing myself and testing my nerves to seeing if I can keep doing better and better. Eventually I want to take what I have learned back to Florida. I miss my family!

What is your favorite Flair Bartending competition and why?  UFBC at Harrah’s Carnival Court! This comp gives me the freedom to do what I want with Flair. Everyone involved in any King of the Ring or UFBC event knows how smoothly it goes. Practice area bigger than any other, beverages readily available, bottles for days, and a staff that works so hard you practically could show up with nothing and the comp would still run on schedule.

Who do you look up to in this Sport?  Where to begin? Everyone I mentioned earlier or any Flair bartender living in Vegas from Fla. (there are so many!) I look up to different people for different reasons. I look up to people that keep their own style and originality like Sebastian Oguic, Stretch, Justin Keane, and Joey Torres. Then there are people like Tim “Flippy” Morris who no matter how good they get they are so humble and will show you anything. I look up to James Hadhazy for bringing me out here and letting me sleep on his couch my first 2 months. Thanks dude! I want to mold myself to be all of these. Original, helpful, unselfish and above all humble. Thank all of you who have helped me!

What are your thoughts on the FBA Pro Tour? I like the FBA Pro Tour a lot. I think it drives people to practice more and will eventually bring the sport to where it needs to be. I like that they combine professionalism and Flair to bring us a presentable professional sport. I think that anyone should be able to compete. If Joe Schmo can beat me, he can beat me.

If you could help influence Flair to change our sport somehow, what would it be and why? When I started competing it was to have fun and compete against myself or Joey Torres for bragging rights at work! Now people are out to chop heads! It’s all about money and politics now. I think that everyone needs to take a step back and remember why we do this. Flair because you love it and help the person next to you who is trying to learn. I don’t even know what the prize money is when I go to a competition or if there is one, let alone see if I would have made more money staying home and working. I just love competing!

Where do you see the future of our sport? I think that the world hasn’t caught up with Flair, especially in the past 3 years. People are getting so good so fast. The present and the future is working Flair! More and more people have to practice working Flair so that they can do it anywhere at anytime. Not just with an empty bottle in between customers. I think that when people start seeing it everywhere, all the time is when the sport will be more accepted. So that means it’s up to all of us!

What are some common myths about the profession of Flair bartending? Not everyone likes to do the cherry trick! I am not Shaun Plummer’s brother by the way, although he is a great bartender.
How often do you practice? When I am at work it’s like one long practice, so everyday I touch a bottle at least once. How long is another story. If I feel inspired I won’t leave the garage for 6-8 hours. I practice the most when I have a competition coming up.

What is your advice to some of the new people wanting to start competing, any helpful hints? Learn how to do bottle tin before you start juggling. Trust me it will be you bread and butter your whole career.

Tell us about your first Flair Competition and your experiences there, What were you feeling, Did everything go as planned? My first competition ever my friend Doug Lewin was trying to make me throw up for fun. He kept asking me if I had to throw up and if I felt o.k. Pretty messed up huh? I will never forget it. As nervous as I was, that’s the most relaxed I have ever been at a competition. Now I do it to all the new guys who I’m friends with. A little payback!

Tell us about your experience moving to Las Vegas to find a Flair bartending job and what people should know before they attempt it themselves? If you are going to move to Vegas, move here for a reason. Not just for fun. In 2004 my friend James Hadhazy called me in Florida and told me that there was a job opportunity at The Rio in Las Vegas. My best friend Joey Torres had just moved there 3 months before that so I took a chance. I flew to Vegas for the first time, passed the audition, flew home, put my two weeks in, and packed. On the drive I got in the worst car accident in my life. I totaled my SUV and lost everything in the U-Haul behind me except my clothes. I rented a car for the rest of the trip and slept on James’s couch for a couple of months. That was my motivation in Vegas and it has been great since then. Just for the record it snows in New Mexico in October!

What advice do you have for someone wanting to come to the United States and get a job as a professional Flair bartender? You can Flair anywhere so don’t limit yourself to just one city.

Tell us about the level testing in Las Vegas? Level testing is the most nerve racking non-competition that you will ever do. You would have to go through the experience yourself. My explanation won’t do it justice.

Tell us about working at Carnaval Court and how you got the job their? I was bartending at the Rio and in the middle of my shift John Arishta walked into my bar and asked me to come to an audition that was coming up. Apparently I did well! Working at Carnaval Court is my dream job. My first day on the bar I felt like someone had taken handcuffs off my wrists and let me do what I wanted to do with Flair.

What is the Flair scene like at Carnaval Court? Carnaval Court is it’s own Flair monster. It’s like a breeding ground for Flair. Everytime you go there you are going to see something different and amazing. It’s great being surrounded by people that love Flair as much as I do.

Are all of those countless hours of Flair practice worth it? Sometimes when I get into a groove at work free styling, not dropping a thing, I think about all that practice and how it was worth it. Then sometimes I drop everything and think about how much more practice I need!

What are your plans now? I wish that there was a Carnaval Court in Fla., but I love Las Vegas and for now I am riding this train till it stops!

What obstacles do you see our sport of Flair Bartending encountering in the near future and in your opinion, how can we overcome them? Sponsorship and more television access. I think we need to start thinking outside the box more and explore other opportunities when it comes to both.

If you had the opportunity to convince a skeptical Bar manager to hire a Flair Bartender, How would you go about it? Flair is a form of entertainment. It’s like having a great band playing who is rocking the crowd and not having to pay for them. Ask the manager for a full bottle, mixing tin, and five minutes of his time. The rest is up to you!

What are some common obstacles you face as a Flair bartender opposed to a regular bartender? Flair. Most Flair bartenders can make a drink as fast if not faster then a regular bartender. Some people just need to relax and enjoy the show. In 2006 eight of us including yours truly Rob Husted worked Cinco de Mayo. With 2 less bartenders and 2 registers between all eight of us we more than doubled the ring of the regular bartenders the year before.

What is your favorite drink? Grand Marnier Straight up in a rocks glass so I can shoot it!