--- title: "Strip Club Gets Huge Exoskeleton Suit to Turn Bouncers Into Hulking Behemoths" description: "Introducing: Mech \"The Bot\" Johnson, a human-driven, 9,000-pound, 13-foot-tall, 18-foot-wide robot \"bouncer,\" deployed by a Las Vegas strip club during CES." date: "2023-01-11" modified: "2023-01-11" authors: - name: "Maggie Harrison Dupré" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/mharrison" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/strip-club-huge-robot-suit-bouncers" categories: - "Robots and Machines" tags: - "robot" - "robotic exoskeleton" - "robotics" - "the digest" --- # Strip Club Gets Huge Exoskeleton Suit to Turn Bouncers Into Hulking Behemoths ![Introducing: Mech "The Bot" Johnson, a human-driven, 9,000-pound, 13-foot-tall, 18-foot-wide robot "bouncer," deployed by a Las Vegas strip club during CES.]() *\Image: @sapphirelv702 via Instagram / Futurism\* ## Bounce This Think you've met the world's biggest bouncer? Think again. Introducing: [Mech "The Bot" Johnson](), a human-driven, 9,000-pound, 13-foot-tall, 18-foot-wide robot "bouncer," deployed by Las Vegas' Sapphire Gentleman's club — [self-described]() as "the world's largest gentlemen's club" — last weekend at Las Vegas' annual CES conference. And boy, is it... something. https://twitter.com/SapphireLV702/status/1610798629807353857?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1610798629807353857%7Ctwgr%5E81370f579742110b9e3341bb4295c707fe627a63%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fembedly.forbes.com%2Fwidgets%2Fmedia.html%3Ftype%3Dtext2Fhtmlkey%3D3ce26dc7e3454db5820ba084d28b4935schema%3Dtwitterurl%3Dhttps3A%2F%2Ftwitter.com%2Fsapphirelv702%2Fstatus%2F1610798629807353857image%3Dhttps3A%2F%2Fi.embed.ly%2F1%2Fimage3Furl3Dhttps253A252F252Fabs.twimg.com252Ferrors252Flogo46x38.png26key3D3ce26dc7e3454db5820ba084d28b4935 ## Big Boy According [to *Forbes*](), the four-legged robot was designed and constructed by Canada-based engineer Jonathan Tippett, who helms a robotic exoskeleton startup called ExoSapien Technologies. Sapphire Managing Partner Peter Feinstein met Tippett at a separate Las Vegas Conference, [Big Boy Toys](); shortly thereafter, a plan was hatched to bring Prosthesis, one of Tippett's exoskeletons, to Sapphire for CES. The machine, which we've covered a [few times ]()[before](), is intimating. But as Tippet told *Forbes*, that's one of the reasons why it was good for the one-night bouncing gig. "It's the bouncer so it has to do its job," said Tippet, "basically just by looking menacing," Like the exoskeletons in James Cameron's "Avatar" and "Aliens" movies, or [Scrappy Doo's Mr. Bean suit](), the robot requires that an operating human sits inside. Thus, the suit is more so an extension of a human's capabilities, rather than a replacement. That said, Feinstein doesn't think that Mech "The Bot" Johnson would actually be that good of a bouncer, should they ever want to employ it full time — bouncing, he says, requires "more of a hands-on approach than a robot, and it may not be able to react to all the situations we encounter." Sorry, Mech. ## Live in Hope The Sapphire club has experimented with robots before. Back in 2018, the celebrated CES by showing off some [decidedly spooky]() robotic dancers. But despite his penchant for having a lil' technological fun during the city's massive tech conference, Feinstein doesn't think that full-time humanoid bots would resonate very well with his audience. "I think men, I always say, live in hope," Feinstein reportedly pondered. "I don't see them hoping to be with a robot entertainer. I think they're looking for the real deal." In any case, here's to both Mech "The Bot" Johnson — as well as the absolutely top-notch Sapphire marketing team. May CES continue to inspire unhinged tech gags for the many tech conferences to come. **READ MORE:** *[I, For One, Welcome Our Strip Club Bouncer Robot Overlords]()* \[*Forbes*\] **More on robots:** [*Expensive Robodog Walks down Street, Get Viciously Stomped by Belligerent Australian*]() ## Author At Futurism, I've reported extensively on the rise of AI as a cultural and business force shaping the media industry, and more broadly how those dynamics are changing how we all consume and share information and relate to one another. I'm also fascinated by public health policy and ethics, the role of emerging tech in politics and governance — and the powerful people and forces at those intersections — climate change, and the environment. My investigation on Sports Illustrated's use of AI-generated authors with fictional biographies won a 2024 Mirror Award for "Best Story on Media Coverage of Artificial Intelligence in Journalism and the Media" from Syracuse University's SI Newhouse School, I contributed to Niemen Lab's 2025 Predictions for Journalism series, and I've discussed my work for Futurism during appearances on NPR, CNN, the BBC, the CBC, and more. I grew up in rural Pennsylvania and attended the University of Massachusetts Amherst, where I played Division I field hockey for the Minutewomen as a midfielder. Since then, I've lived in New Orleans, Louisiana and Manhattan, New York. I spend my free time running, reading, perusing archival fashion, and searching for the world’s best negroni. I also have a debonair tuxedo cat, Westley, who's named after "The Princess Bride." ### Author social links [Bluesky]()