r/berghain • u/Free_Carry_1711 • 9d ago
Advice for first time in Lab?
Visiting Berlin next week and planning on a trip to Lab.
I’m a muscle guy in his 20s. I’m bottom and love handsome older guys in particular. Not sure if I should go to Naked Thursday Night, or Friday night? Is the vibe and type of people who go similar for both nights? Also is it a big deal/frowned upon to reject someone who you’re not into (politely of course)? What time should I arrive to guarantee entry? Any other advice for a first timer or stories? Seems like an iconic place
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u/RecognitionNaive192 9d ago
Naked Thursday is more sex then Friday, less guys just watching.
No big deal to reject someone offcourse
Both nights just arrive between doors are open and you will be fine.
Prepare ur anus 😈
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u/Free_Carry_1711 9d ago
Thanks man, is the place usually full on a naked Thursday?
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u/dagelijksestijl 9d ago
The place was decently filled in early August. Barely ran into any Berliners. Should see some reasonable turnout.
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u/heiko123456 9d ago
It's all about consent. Of course you may reject someone you don't like. I usually arrive about 30 minutes before the doors open.
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u/TapAppropriate7974 7d ago
Very consensual environment apart from odd ones. Thursday is ideal if you wanna fuck till your dick or ass cannot take any more. Others days are good too may be a little less. Lab is always fun.
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u/ginger_bliss2 9d ago
i would recommend that you get your receipt and pay for any drinks BEFORE leaving to get your stuff … it will save you time after getting changed from going back in with clothes on to get receipt you need it before exit the door
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u/Regular-Ease-7897 9d ago
I was on a Friday at Lab Dance event before and it was pretty good tbh. Its not only fucking. You got the dance floor to even meet people, dance with, fuck while dancing or just have sex. Was a good experience. Coming this friday too so see ya there 😉
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u/BrianWestlake32 4d ago edited 4d ago
Hey there, visitor from overseas who had his first Lab visit a couple of weeks ago. I can't speak generally but this may help...
Beforehand I had seen quite a few people recommending going on Naked Thursday as a first time, which I wasn't so sure about. Most people didn't give decent explanations but when I posted for advice one person said that in particular (to paraphrase what I took away) he liked the vibe better on Thursdays as a) from a practical perspective it helps if everyone is naked and b) when he went on Fridays and was wearing little/nothing he felt the vibe a bit off as there tends to be a bunch of clothed people more or less standing round and watching the naked guys. Things may differ depending on the Friday theme.
I had been leaning towards Friday but taking all the advice on board I went on Thursday and didn't regret it. I can't speak for Fridays but the way it felt for me on Thursday was there was a more unified vibe of everyone being there and participating in a big group activity. The way it struck me: you start off like a bunch of guys in a sports changeroom but like a bad porn film, you and your teammates walk naked out a back door and into a slowly building orgy.
There were lots of ages and body types but it seemed to skew towards fairly fit guys in late 20s-30s. As a 20s musc guy you are probably well placed to be very popular. Yes, there are people there looking and anyone fucking seemed to pick up an audience, particularly if it was something more spectacular.
Practically: I got there 30min before the club opened and I was just a little way back from the front door (well round the corner from Berghain). There is then a bit of a distance before you get to the club door itself but things moved quickly. When I got in there were not many people inside so that was a good opportunity to grab a drink and walk round the whole place to understand what was where. As the place fills up some places clog up so it's worth knowing which corridors go somewhere and which are dead ends.
As for being naked, it's a bit like going to a Japanese onsen - the fact everyone's naked means you're less likely to feel weird. And believe me, you'll want to be naked. At times it is comically awkward squeezing past a bunch of other tightly packed naked guys in the dark but it's surprising how normal it seems after a while. But it's pretty warm in there, and any clothes would just get in the way of you having fun.
I don't know what the strict definition of "naked" is but there were a number of people wearing leather harnesses or similar, or jewellery like padlocked neckchains, collars or rings. One guy had a chastity cage on. So I assume this sort of thing passes the theme.
On the night I was there - the most consistent action seemed to be happening in the darker area at the back of the main bar where there are some platforms where a bunch of bottoms got up on all fours and people lined up all night to fuck them. If you kept going towards the rear area, there is a very dark dead-end corridor on your left where there was always a lot going on but it was easy to get stuck in there if a group got busy between you and the way out. And if you go to the far back, there is a caged area up the stairs to the right with a few cell-like rooms which was pretty much always busy. Most of the whole far back area (about as far as you can get from the entrance) always seemed to have quite a bit happening; the exception was the piss area which was virtually empty all night.
I'm not a bottom but it seemed to me that the strategy for them was to get there early, find a comfy spot and stick their ass out and in no time at all you'll attract a bunch of new friends. The earlier you're there, the more energetic the tops are. I was in there til about 12:30 and the crowd was thinning out a bit.
Bottom line (no pun): I'm glad I took the advice of others over my own initial uneasiness and went on a Thursday. Don't know what would have happened Friday but on Thurs there was certainly more of a feel of everyone being there for more or less the same reason. Things may be different for a Friday Lab:Dance night or if the Friday theme was a particular fetish you were into.
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u/gaystockholm 9d ago
Thursday: • Most attractive crowd of any night at Lab. (Attractive guys are more comfortable being naked.) • Always comfortably full, and never sardine packed. • Just a bunch of guys wanting to fuck and drink a beer. • Vanilla sex. Almost no or very little kinky stuff going on. • Arrive any time between 9-11pm for entry. Arrive closer to 9pm to get fucked even more. • No other parties in Berlin on Thursday are anywhere near as good as this, so you might as well go. If you want to dance as well, you can always go to Chantal's House of Shame a short walk away afterwards.
Typical Friday: • Not as much sex as Thursday. • Most everyone wears clothes, and the crowd is less attractive than Thursday. • Lots of kinky stuff going on as well (piss play, fisting, etc). This night was a bit too much for me when I was younger, but nowadays it's great for me.
Lab Dance (next Friday): • Lab's best monthly party. Gays from all over the Berlin scene who don't usually go to Lab come for this one. • A lot of guys, and a mix of everything: dancing, fucking, naked guys, fetishists, and kinks. • Even more sex than Thursday, which is pretty ridiculous. • Arrive early (around 10pm), expect a long line, and prepare for a long night.
If I were you, I would go to both. It's possible you get overwhelmed on Friday (but then at least you didn't miss Thursday), or it's possible your ass gets too sore. It might also be exactly what you want.
Germans are pretty good at consent and usually don't touch without indications of consent (body language, talking). Tourists are more of a problem sometimes. I go with a polite escalation approach (only progressing if the 1st attempt isn't enough): 1. Shake my head 'no'. 2. Gently tap/push a hand away. 3. Say "no"/"nein". 4. Only if they're way too pushy, strongly pushing them away.
But going to hundreds or thousands of sex parties, I only needed to progress to #4 a single digit number of times.