![]() ![]() ![]() Lynnette Marrero is a bartender, mixologist, and a co-founder of the world’s first all-female speed bartending competition, “Speed Rack.” She’s currently the beverage director at Brooklyn’s Llama Inn. We spoke with industry vets Lynnette Marrero and Pamela Wiznitzer, who’ve each tended bar for over a decade. You’ve got to be able to think on your feet, be a self-starter and, most importantly, a team player. Like any other industry, you’ve got to hustle your way up the ladder, and even though there aren’t any technical requirements to become a Master of Booze, not everyone’s cut out for it. Signing up for the most profitable shifts may cost you nights-out with friends, and you never know when a customer will leave you a stingy tip. This is a small extract from our latest episode of Extremes: a VICE podcast exclusive to Spotify.While working in the world of nightlife can be lucrative-some bartenders take home hefty six-figure salaries!-it isn’t always glamorous. There was definitely a hangover time when I thought j eez, maybe I should have gone to Spain after all. I felt like Macaulay Culkin after Home Alone 2: like you’re hot one minute, and then you're sort of not the next and it's a bit hard to take. I learned that faced with temptation it's easy to lose your true self, but I'm slowly getting back to neutral. What has it been like going back to working in a bar earning $22 an hour, after being a millionaire? I pleaded guilty, got one year inside, then I was allowed out on an 18-month community corrections order. There were many blank looks the bank provided minimal evidence so it was really just a case of “bad Dan, cop a whack” and that’s it. I thought I was going to get totally reamed, but the court was weird because no one actually understood what I did-not the judge, not the prosecutor-so it was very odd. The rationale was that I wasn't taking anyone’s money. I knew that no one thought it was missing, so my thinking was that it never existed in the first place. Up until that point it was literally just numbers on a screen. I didn’t think the money actually existed until I’d bought something with it or transferred it somewhere. They don't really chat about their clients and how much money they've got.ĭo you feel like you ripped anyone off while doing this? I would have probably moved all the money not into other banks but into casinos, because there's a lot of casinos and they don't really talk if you deposit money with them. I would have moved to Spain, maybe to Majorca. ![]() If you hadn’t turned yourself in, what would have been your escape plan? Basically it took three print stories and an appearance on national TV to be taken seriously. So in an effort to get things resolved I went to the Herald Sun and then several other media companies, including a video interview on a Current Affair. He didn't tell me what to do or anything like that, but he said that turning myself in would be important and it’d clear my conscience and make sure I could move on. The first psychiatrist I saw said "I'm not qualified to do this" and I was like, “Mate you're the shrink, surely you're qualified.” But then I found a guy who was a bit more sensible. I felt like I needed to talk to someone about it. I was seeing a psychiatrist as a result of the guilt and the anxiety. So how did the police finally get involved? The bank would just ask: “Did you just go here? Did you just go there?” and I’d say “Yeah, that’s me” and then they’d say “No worries just checking it’s you.” It was truly bizarre. I think there was a small part of me that wanted it to end but I was past the point of no return. When the phone rang I always answered it. If you’ve pretty much done the “right thing” for the best part of your life and then start doing the “wrong thing” your body freaks out. They're coming to get me”-which would have actually been a relief-but it turned out to be the maid saying "Would you like some fresh towels?" I remember waking up in a pool of sweat, realising that it was just a dream and the hotel doorbell rang. One night I had a nightmare that the SWAT team was out the front of the hotel room I was staying in. ![]() Did you worry you were going to get caught? It’s unbelievable the bank failed to notice for four-and-a-half months. ![]()
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