Solid Gold, Palm Beach, Florida

Opened in January 2007, Solid Gold has already established itself as Palm Beach, Florida’s premier gentlemen’s club. Owned and operated by former Miami Dolphins football player John Bosa, Solid Gold features a Martin Total Supplier package that dazzles the club’s broad clientele from the working man’s lunch crowd to the upper echelon evening jet set.

From grid iron to main stage
After visiting Gentlemen’s Expo in Las Vegas a few years ago, John developed a comfort level with Martin based on both product and presentation. “I was impressed with the staging and trussing Martin had set up at the show,” John comments. “It was very close to the vision of what I wanted to do. That hooked me in because I was looking at what I had envisioned sitting right there at the show. I was impressed with the company and with the quality of everything so instead of trying to piecemeal it, it was much more advantageous for me to do a one stop, one shop and make sure I had the best of everything.”

John had the foresight to envision the club’s lighting scheme early in the building’s design phase which resulted in a room built around the stage and lights rather than the other way around. “I thought about lighting and sound early in the process and modified a lot of the architecture to fit into the sound and lighting system,” he says. “The thrust of the main room is about the lighting design. I had a vision and with help from Martin it became reality.” Sound Stage Systems served as supplier and installer and also completed the lighting programming.

I-95 visibility
As Solid Gold sits adjacent to Florida’s busy I-95 highway it was important that the building emerge from its nighttime cover. “Visibility-wise it’s a 10 on a scale of 1-10,” John states. “There are some accessibility issues so it was important to make the building a billboard from I-95 by lighting the façade and canopy entrance.” Uplighting the building’s façade, perforated metal panels, palm trees and Solid Gold sign are three Martin Architectural Inground 200 color changers while four pole-mounted Exterior 200 color changers uplight the club’s glass canopy entrance.

Main space
Once inside, the club is a large open space with a high ceiling that makes for a relaxing, spacious feel. First impressions are of the main bar, an accent piece highlighted with six Cyclo 03 DMX fluorescent color changing fixtures – 3 each above and below - backlighting a metal bead curtain and liquor display.

On each side of the club stands a ground supported truss outlining a series of unique VIP areas, flexible open booths cordoned off with white shears that are often dressed in colored light. As Solid Gold has a full kitchen but no dining room, the areas and tables are conveniently adjustable depending on party size. On the overhead truss are 6 MX-10 scanners, 6 CX-10 color and pattern changers and 2 MAC 250 Washes used for stage lighting as well as pattern illumination on the side walls above the VIP booths, scrolling through a variety of looks including glass gobos with custom logos. Above the main stage are 6 MAC 250 Kryptons – 3 each side of the stage – with a Wizard Extreme (4) cluster with Atomic strobe. A Martin Magnum Club Smoke system working with Jem AF-1 fans provides the atmospheric haze.

Unique stage
At Solid Gold there is little room for multiple satellite stages so rather than the basic stage with characteristic stripper pole the club features a grand stage with a unique twist. “By code the stage had to be handicap accessible so we had to put a lift in,” John explains. “But they were expensive and ugly and something I would cover up and never use again. I was introduced to this ribbon lift that we dressed up and use as a performance piece - a custom lift for dancers. It has a bead curtain surrounding it and is an excellent way for the girls to access the stage and use as a part of their performance. It also rises up to the second level VIP area. We use it extensively.”

The architecturally designed main stage, built by Staging Concepts, is the centrepiece of the room and is complemented with the MAC 250 range including Kryptons, 250 Washes, MX-10s, CX-10s, Wizard effect lights and Atomic strobes with Atomic Colors scrollers. A good part of the light show is built into the stage beneath, shining up through a clear Plexiglas floor - MAC 250 Washes, MX-10s and centrepiece of 4 MX-10s with Atomic strobes with Atomic Colors scrollers. A Club Smoke system and pair of ZR 24/7 Hazers provide the haze ambiance. The stage sits before a metal beaded curtain backdrop, another unique design feature that reflects light well. Future plans call for the installation of 3 Alien 05 Stem Mounts over the service bar to front light a metal beaded curtain with an additional 10 Alien 05s to be installed in front of the second floor VIP skyboxes.

“I wanted a feel that is more of a hip nightclub – a South Beach décor - as opposed to just being an adult entertainment club,” John says. “We brought in a bit of Vegas flair with the color and lighting and the ribbon lift. The shears bring in the South Beach flair and the truss brings in that nightclub feel.

“The lighting is spectacular and the nightclub is spectacular but I can’t lose sight of why guys come here – this is about beautiful women and we need to highlight them with the right lighting. We’re marketing and catering to the crème de la crème of Palm Beach and the lighting helps do that.”

“The least of my worries”
Lighting control is from a PC-based LightJockey operated by DJ/LJ Michael O’Keefe with a Martin LightCorder used for exterior lighting control. John says that the DJ’s have been very impressed with the setup. “Everything – installation and programming - has been fantastic. There are enough obstacles to opening a gentlemen’s club and the lighting gear has been the least of my worries. People have been blown away. As far as the lightshow they have never seen anything like it.”

The Solid Gold sound system is equally impressive and consists of 6 Mach 151 subs under the stage along with 8 CM12 medium throw speakers and recessed CS8 speakers in the bathroom, dressing room and DJ booth.