Gold Coast dentist claims bar’s mechanical bull ‘dangerous’
A dentist fuming after flying off a Surfers Paradise bar’s mechanical bull and slamming into a wall claims it’s a danger - but the venue says the “majority” come away “unscathed”.
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A Gold Coast dentist is fuming after flying off a Surfers Paradise nightclub’s mechanical bull into a wall but a venue manager says it’s ride at own risk and the “majority” are “unscathed”.
Alisa Enomoto ended up with a black eye and said she was in shock after a go at the $5-a-ride bucking bull while celebrating a friend’s birthday at BMG Cowboys on Saturday night.
Dr Enomoto claims her ride was “dangerous and highly inappropriate” but the venue manager says patrons choose to ride their bull at their own risk and of 4000 so far at the new venue “the vast majority come off unscathed”.
Dr Enomoto recalled: “I tried to convince the birthday girl to go on the bull and she said she would if I do it too. We lined up and we signed an electronic waiver.
She claimed: “As soon as I started [the operator] turned it up to the point where I was hanging on horizontally. The speed in which the bull was going caused my whole body to fly across to the outside wall where I hit my head.
“Everyone heard a loud thud and my friends gasped loudly ‘are you OK?’ It happened so quickly I was in a bit of a shock.”
In a video posted to her Instagram, Dr Enomoto is seen being thrown from the bull and into the wall within six seconds from starting. She also posted photos of the large bump on her head, captioned “never riding a mechanical bull again”.
A female bartender later approached to check her teeth were OK but “as soon as she saw I had no damage to my teeth she left”, Dr Enomoto claimed.
Dr Enomoto said she had been on a mechanical bull before and claimed that experience had been “much safer”.
Dr Enomoto said she and her friends would never trust riding one again, claiming: “People just want a fun night out and do not expect to be put in danger.
“This incident put a dampener on the night and we left shortly after. I was very upset. On Monday I had to go to work with a black eye that I had to try to cover up with makeup.”
Cowboys venue manager on the night Georgiana Molloy said it was unfortunate a patron was bruised but wanted to “make it very clear going on the mechanical bull is a choice and no one is ever pressured or forced to ride it”.
“We make it very clear the mechanical bull is designed to dislodge the rider. All patrons are explained the risks via signage and our waiver,” she said.
“4000 people have rode our mechanical bull and the vast majority of them come off unscathed.
“Obviously a patron getting hurt is not our intention however that is the risk they take when riding a mechanical bull.”
In response to Dr Enomoto claiming the situation was dangerous and handled inappropriately, Ms Molloy said via statement: “All our operators are trained to use the mechanical bull. I was the manager on the night and it was never reported by the customer to me or any other members of management. Had the customer requested any medical assistance we would not have hesitated in providing any reasonable support.”
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Originally published as Gold Coast dentist claims bar’s mechanical bull ‘dangerous’
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