Prognosis: Profits

L.A.'s The Good Hurt Club Has the Prescription for Revenue


By Taylor Rau




When a patient is in discomfort and needs treatment, he or she typically will go to a doctor and get a prescription. When a patron is restless and needs a cure for what ails them, he or she typically will go to a nightclub to get their fix?


Exactly, especially if the venue in question is the red and white hued, blues-killing Good Hurt club on the west side of Los Angeles, where the medical world of pain gives way to a music-oriented world of pleasure — a place where I.V. stands for Incredible Venue, shots come in a glass and attractive nurses administer remedies — just like you always wished they would.


X-ray this: A sexy nurse in a low-cut dress seductively smiles at you as she bustles about the room preparing your specialty drink. The line to wait was much shorter than at the local practitioner's office, and in the place of muzak are the sounds of one of L.A.'s top Rock bands. Everyone around you is a Rock star in their own right. As you grab your drink and head toward the stage, you know you're in for a hurt — and you know it's about to be good.


Drafting the Dream

"Dreams are more lucid than reality sometimes," says Corey Trevor, the 26-year-old co-owner of Good Hurt. "I remember going to sleep one night and the whole concept came to me, and luckily I was able to get to my notepad before it was gone."


Flash forward 2.5 years. Now not only is the concept not gone, the club itself continues to grow — in image, clientele, revenue — and even as a sequel to the first dream, a new and hopeful Good Hurt-inspired club is on course for opening in Las Vegas. In the meantime, Trevor says he's both grateful for his good fortune in L.A. and the opportunity to be part of the industry. When Trevor's brother purchased an old building, a former pool hall, for renovation in West L.A., what to do with the space was unclear at the time. The neighborhood was by no means burgeoning, and whatever the end goal of the project would be, Trevor says at his brother's urging, he made the decision to run with it. As it turns out, he never looked back. The idea — the dream — to transform the old shell into a bastion of L.A. nightlife grew wings and as Trevor immersed himself in it, a first-time proprietor looking to make his mark in one of the most trendy and competitive nightlife scenes on the planet, it hit the runway. Trevor says literally one week after he mapped out the venue's direction as an eclectic live music Mecca for the city's thriving band scene, stage one was complete. Contractors and renovators worked day and night to refurbish the space on a tight budget, and after an amazing five days of intense effort, Trevor says the concept was ready to launch. To say that the design turnaround was quick (some details of the interior were finished down to the minute guests began coming in) and that he was excited about the club's prospects and profits is a definite understatement.


"I slept about one hour a day then, and I didn't drink much coffee, either," Trevor says matter-of-factly. "It was the pure energy of having so much to do with such a short deadline ... and of creating something so new."


Breaking Ground

Other adjectives work equally well with the Good Hurt concept: edgy, fresh, bold and unique, to name just a few. Beyond the themed club's novel medical atmosphere there is a seamless fusion of live music and interactive bar experiences quite unlike anything — or anyone — in L.A. had seen before, and when Good Hurt opened on Sept. 10, 2002, the crowds were there.


There was no big media splash, though. There were no massive spotlights, no red carpet. There was no grandiose opening party, either, Trevor says. Instead, local pavement was pounded prior to the 3,200-square-foot Good Hurt's opening and by the time the club's official date arrived, swarms of good-time-seeking guests — musicians, models, entrepreneurs, recent college graduates, young professionals, et cetera — had become patrons, embracing not only the club's cool concept but its grassroots and welcoming environment as well. As the club grew, its loyal crowds grew with it.


For every potential problem, Trevor set out to diagnose it. No indoor smoking law? Offer a covered patio. Huge demand for live music? Assemble the best rotation of performers possible. Fill the void in themed nightclubs in the Los Angeles scene? Create the Good Hurt concept and staff it with the friendliest, sexiest nurses around.


"For basically the whole life of the club, we've never done traditional forms of advertising," Trevor says. "We've never done, you know, extensive newspaper runs and radio ads. We've always been that 'underground club' that based on what we have to offer once people get there, the word-of-mouth advertising has just completely created everything that we have."


For all of L.A.'s entertainment and edge, glitz and glamour, Good Hurt was a relative anomaly in the nightlife scene. It didn't set sail with an armada of advertising, and it had a solid theme. Where others have business plans, Good Hurt had an authentic prescription for profit.


"Coming to the club for the first time definitely was very exciting," says Yana Galadjev, a Good Hurt bartender and resident nurse. "It was distinctly different from everything else in L.A."


In fact, after being open for more than year, a conversation Trevor had with a landlord knowledgeable about the club's building clued him in to its distinctive history. Again, in a serendipitous twist, the club's space formerly was a pharmacy. Beyond that, the building next door was once a chiropractic clinic.


"From the beginning, it was always a sexy, medical theme," Trevor says of the club, "but I was amazed to find out that this place had such pre-existing vibes."


Setting the Stage for Promotions

Guests at Good Hurt continue to be amazed by the music-oriented club and its practically palpable vibes, too. Its all-star roster of rockers keeps the atmosphere at a feverish pitch, packing the nightclub especially Wednesday through Saturday when the lineup is lengthened. On a promotional night such as Revolution Rock Thursdays — when Indie Rock, plain 'ol Rock and L.A.'s latest genre Scremo (a more boisterous takeoff of Emo, which is more melancholy Alternative) are under the spotlight from 8:30 p.m. until nearly 2 a.m. — as many as five bands will rotate sets in a night. There also are Punk, Post Punk, Ska and Reggae, which are still very much on the scene. Hip-Hop, while not prevalent, contends for guest attention as well, though. Trevor says the production of many of these bands is incredible, such as with local favorite Nova Blue or a recent show with Trulio Disgracias, a conglomerate of 14 musicians from bands including Fishbone, Parliament, Circle Jerk and the Skeletones. Often, the band members themselves will surprise Trevor and Ziegler by showing up in medical-themed attire, which Trevor says really hypes up the crowd before performances.


And as much as the bands rotate, Good Hurt's featured genres of music mix it up and are a major factor in the club's continued success, say Trevor and Co-owner/Operating Partner Alec Ziegler, who came in fifty-fifty to Good Hurt more than a year ago and who handles band bookings and promotions.


Ziegler says aside from the club standing out from the competition in terms of concept and location, the endless parade of quality bands featured at Good Hurt is itself the large attraction for knowledgeable scenesters of all ages.


"Most L.A. bands live in the West Side," he says. "They don't live in Hollywood, and they love the fact that we're here."


They also put their money where there mouths are, beyond the club's stage. As of early January, Ziegler says his bookings were full through next month. To streamline Good Hurt's music operations, he often filters through band demos — not to deem who is great and who is not — but to categorize them by genre so that each band/promotion night will smoothly flow. DJs also assist the night's rhythm between sets or often as a night's featured showcase when they mix sets of House and Trance music. Soon, Ziegler says he and Trevor plan to elevate the DJ booth and sound stage with a spiral staircase, but for now, the booth is accessible to guests with special requests when the time is right.


"One thing that's very important to us is that the music is consistent from beginning to end," Ziegler says. He adds that most clubs are "pay to play" with their bands, but at Good Hurt, there is a set cover charge (usually $5-$7, $5 Sunday through Tuesday) at the door and the marketing of the events typically is up to the bands themselves. Once they're booked, they're not cancelled for another, potentially higher-grossing band as is the case at many other venues, and so the band loyalty that has developed is enormous. The club now has a great database of proven performers.

Ziegler says they are enthused to promote themselves in conjunction with the club and with the medium of their choice. Additionally, Good Hurt's extremely recognizable logo — a white first aid cross on either a black or red background — is available for download on the club's Web site in a hi-resolution format, which facilitates flyers and other forms of alternative advertising. As a side note, Good Hurt T-shirts and baby Ts for ladies are sold online and in a case display at the bar — a very viable source of additional revenue and exposure, Trevor says.


"Advertising is always an excellent way of getting the word out," Ziegler says. "But with our having the bands, we haven't really needed to." He adds, "We were really lucky to have a logo that's that recognizable ... it's brand recognition."


With that recognition by the L.A. populous, Trevor and Ziegler see consistent traffic from their Naughty Nurse Wednesdays (when burlesque shows, often with the medical theme, entertain guests between band sets or as showcase spots themselves) to their Funk Fridays to their Saturday nights, an all-out live music night when the bulk of walk-in guests drop by the club. Trevor says 400 people will usually come through the venue in a busy night — many regulars and many newcomers — and most average 3-4 drinks each in the $7 range. Ziegler also that with Good Hurt's corner positioning in the reviving neighborhood, something directly attributed to the club, it's more of a destination spot. Guests usually pay to stay, not club hop as they might on Sunset Boulevard.


Prescriptions for Patrons

One of Good Hurt's strongest assets, beyond its bands, is its first-aid-kit covered bar. If friendly nurses in an interactive bar environment somehow aren't enough to capture all the attention, all a patron has to do is saunter over to the Pharmacy and scan the club's menu for the Prescription that will ease their particular pain or the tasty medicine that will heighten their particular pleasure — no tab minimum.


Specialty options abound, including the house favorite and top seller, the Transfusion. A Cosmo-styled concoction, the Transfusion is vodka based, but has grenadine instead of triple sec for a distinct sweetness and a dash of Sprite gives it extra life. There is the Black and Blue, too, also a vodka-based drink but made with blue curacao, cranberry juice and topped with Red Bull. Galadjev says it actually has the coloration and appearance of being black and blue when struck by light.


Another big seller is the Takillya, a palate-pleasing prescription of tequila and lime juice topped with tonic. All specialty drinks are served in tall, skinny glasses, which Galadjev says have great eye appeal and are easily carried around the clinic.


Guests who prefer a smaller glass can always ask for a shot.


"We do tons of shots," Galadjev says. "I recommend them and we'll do anything on the menu in shot form."


For those wanting a larger vessel, guests have the option of buying one of Good Hurt's 34-ounce beer steins for $8 domestic or $10 for imports such as Newcastle or Bass. Popular on draft are Bud Light, Miller Lite and a local craft beer favorite, Angel City Brewing Co.


"Guests love it, and the girls will go after it, too," Galadjev says. Varieties of the beer, such as an 8 percent alcohol, Belgium-styled ale, are rotated on tap.


While the house beverages themselves are hits, it's Good Hurt's catchy concept that truly captures the attention — and resulting revenue — of the crowds. The rest is up to the nurses, and like the bands, they, too, have groupies.


"We definitely have customers who come back for us (the nurses)," Galadjev says. "Guys and girls always ask when we'll be working ... you really don't get that kind of treatment at a club in L.A."


And the treatment is good. Guests are made to feel welcome and service always is with a smile. The result is core clientele and the propagation of the club's concept.


"Here, you go in and everyone's festive, talking and smiling, joking around," Galadjev says. "Customers really start to play with the theme right away."


CPR (Concept Progressing Rapidly)

Ultimately, that is Good Hurt's overwhelming success. Trevor says the structure of the theme was the first push and when the upbeat mood was set and the suitable servers were chosen, everything else about the edgy L.A. venue began to clink into place.


"We care that everyone's happy, and we're very hands-on, and that transcends to all of our employees," Ziegler says, but that also transcends to all those potential guests in a market where hospitality is often lacking in the hospitality industry.


As the club inches toward its third anniversary, Trevor and Ziegler are miles ahead of the game. They're even looking farther down the road at the second club in Las Vegas, a takeoff of the original which the duo plans to open within a year in America's Playground pending developments in locations and investments.


"We want to be the biggest and the baddest," Trevor says of the new venture. "Not in terms of crowd size, but in what we have going on."


And if the Vegas venue is anything like his L.A. hotspot, there's going to be so much going on that the club itself will create a new standard of fun for guests going out on the town.


"It's also a club that musicians can call home, and musicians are musicians for life," Trevor says, adding that beyond Good Hurt's theme, the main ingredient in his and Ziegler's recipe for success — eclectic music — is limitless for guests and more in demand in 2005 than ever before in the nightclub world.


"Good Hurt is a fully themed concept that pulses throughout the club without overstating or cheapening the effect," Trevor says. "We get the same reaction from our guests as if it was day one, and those who have been here with us for two years clearly are still enjoying it. It's proven its durability."


As Trevor says, it's not about reinventing the wheel, but it is about reinventing experience.


"Our favorite tagline," he says, "is 'Let one of our sexy nurse bartenders fill your prescription for a good time and show you the true meaning of Good Hurt.'" NCB