Destruction junction: Rage rooms a popular trend around the U.S.
It’s like therapy, only louder, messier and possibly more cathartic.
We have the Europeans to thank for another trend popping up around the country — rage rooms. People hand over cash in exchange for smashing anything that can be reduced to smithereens. On a recent episode of ABC’s “The Bachelorette,” leading lady Becca Kufrin took one of her suitors on a rage room date to bash out unresolved fury over being dumped on TV earlier this year by the milquetoast Arie Luyendyk Jr., star of last season’s “The Bachelor.”
Anger Management, the state’s only rage room, opened in mid-January in a tucked away, unassuming storefront off East Fillmore Street. Folks pop in at all hours to take out their rage, pain, sadness, despair, glee and excess testosterone on innocent breakable objects. Some do it with friends; some come alone. Some do it on first dates, and others team bond with their coworkers.
Ted Bousquet and his wife attacked some breakables on date night and had such a stellar time that they went back two days later.
“Initially it was kind of odd,” said Bousquet, a Fort Carson infantryman. “You don’t normally take grandma’s fine china and shatter it, but then you get into it. The music is going, and it’s like all right, let’s go, let’s smash everything else.”
Anger Management co-owner Camille Kroskey said it’s less about anger and more about relaxing and releasing the day.
“It’s been so stereotypic that it’s not healthy to break stuff,” she said, “and it’s actually pretty freeing to hear glass break. I had a guy come in after a tough day. He broke 10 things and said, ‘I needed that.’”
For $25, you get a weapon of your choice — baseball bat, hockey stick, sledgehammer — and 10 breakable items from the arsenal: shelves packed with liquor bottles, china cups, plates and bowls, ceramic knickknacks and picture frames. Four local bars donate leftover liquor bottles, and Kroskey and her partner pick up the other items from the flea market, garage sales and vendors going out of business, or they get them through donations. A typical smasher can take care of the smaller breakables in about 10 minutes.
“You get creative like, can I do this? And they give you ideas, too,” said Samantha Sargent, who took her husband, two teenagers and a toddler to Anger Management. “Going back to my youth, I think how fun this would have been, instead of going roller skating, to have something more diverse.”
Rage packages go up in cost, in terms of number and size of breakable items. “Party of Two” features 14 breakables plus two medium-sized breakables: stereos, printers, speakers, windows, keyboards, clocks and lamps.
“Perfect for date nights, anniversaries, birthday presents and more,” claims the website.
For 20 bucks, you can even bring your own breakables, as long as they meet the rage room’s safety guidelines.
After signing a waiver agreeing you could be injured by flying debris, smashers put on coveralls and protective eye gear, select music to accompany their destruction and prepare to get a workout. “People compare it to Crossfit,” Kroskey said.
In addition to breakables, there are options to go bigger. A scooter could be demolished for $150. Copiers were going for $125. And the big ticket item — a car — was $25 a hit.
“It wears you out pretty fast,” said Kroskey. “You have to take a breather.”
After the dust settles, everybody autographs the wall of fame. “We done broke some (expletive).” “That felt so good.” “I got to embrace my hobby.” “This is the best fun you can have without going to jail.”
“I have yet to have someone tell me it was the worst experience of their whole entire life,” said Kroskey.
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