Advice from the old lady:
My experience was more along the lines of
@BackInTheGame78 coming up. I echo that experience. I was in circle of club cool kids who were the DJs and the show off dancers and the go-go dancers. In the 1990s Club 54 had closed already in NYC but the Limelight was the place to be in an old cathedral. Decadent place that one, lol. Still have the t shirt, lol.
At the local clubs my circle was the insiders. We knew about everyone, the owners, bartenders, DJs and regulars. who was seeing who, who was getting together, who was breaking up, the after parties, the house parties etc. For my 21st birthday some guys I knew threw an enormous house party, charged cover and there was a line down the block. Paid for the alcohol and then some.
Another time a couple of DJs and I essentially four-walled a pop up club. This is like 1994 I think. We rented a cool old downtown ballroom with a mezzannine level that went around the second floor like a racetrack oval. Local DJs set up & spinning, Rudimentary bar set up. Downtown. Viral before the internet. Had a lighting crew come in that worked with the DJs, Hardwood dance floor. It was kinda an indoor rave right as EDM and house music were gaining steam. Cleaning crew came in after. We knew the people who owned the space. Crazy good night, line down the street charging cover with bouncers we knew. Epic. Cops shut us down around 1:30am, lol.
Fun night. Still amazed we pulled that off so successfully looking back.
Everybody wanted a piece of the cool people. It was pseudo celebrity kinda social circle at the local level like BITG notes.
And that's how I ended up married to and in the nightclub business. Being a well connected "cool kid".
I was pretty but studious and overlooked in high school. In my early 20s I decided to be a cool kid myself so set about doing that. So I did the sorority thing (and chapter leadership) in college as well as student government and a pre-med major. So I had fun but had to keep my head on straight because grades were important, and work was important, reputation was important. But I loved the music; loved to dance. Quite a balance, all that. So I got a reputation as cool but chill, always OK to drive and non-judgemental. I also didn't gossip. So I knew a LOT about people in the club scene. And I kept my mouth shut, so people trusted that I was cool and people confided in me.
THAT part of insider nightlife is not that different today, honestly. Just add technology. That kind of social circle does open doors but there is a hierarchy for certain. And its best to keep most people at arm's length lest they feel like you owe them something or that they can take advantage of you. Street smarts are premium, especially as a chick.