Man Denied Entry to Sisyphos Rams Front Gate in Rental Car

Security staff at Sisyphos reportedly jumped out of the way just before the rejected entrant rammed his rental car into them.

Nightclub security guards often see people at their worst, but the two doormen posted up at Berlin club Sisyphos couldn’t have expected that they would need to dodge a moving vehicle after denying a man entry early Saturday morning.

According to Berliner Zeitung, the 26 and 41-year-old guards turned the man away around 5:50am, seemingly without issue. After that, he reappeared visibly upset in an Audi rental car and tried to run each of them over, one at a time. He then rammed the vehicle into the wall of the club and then backed it up its the front gate.

The man reportedly fled the scene immediately afterward, heading in the direction of Berlin’s Ostkreuz subway station. No one was injured, and the extent of the damage to Sisyphos’ world-famous front gate remains unclear. Local authorities have not identified the driver, and an investigation remains underway.

Admission to Berlin clubs is famously strict and can sometimes be denied based on anything from what you’re wearing to how the bouncers feel at the time. Wildly rich entrepreneur Elon Musk was allegedly refused entry to techno superclub Berghain in 2022 — although he later claimed that he decided not to enter himself.

Sisyphos opened in 2009 in a space originally occupied by a dog biscuit factory. The venue’s front gate, which features two instantly recognizable kissing ducks, is only eclipsed in grandeur by its immersive interior, which combines gritty graffiti with various art installations and lighting displays. Sisyphos famously eschews lineup announcements when promoting its events, although attendees have been surprised by artists as prominent as Richie Hawtin on certain occasions.

Berlin police have asked any eyewitnesses to come forward with information that could help them identify the driver.