Smash Room owner Lloyd Bombell talks about his operation at Brewtown in Upper Hutt.
Video / Mark Mitchell
You’ve had a hard week at work. You fling a plate at the wall, it shatters everywhere. Next goes a bottle. The TV screen soon follows - you whack it repeatedly with a crowbar.
It would be a concerning scene if it played out at home, but within the wallsof a dedicated smash room, it’s simply business as usual.
The experience is so cathartic that in the few short months that the Smash Room in Upper Hutt has been running, the business has already gained a few regulars with standing weekly visits.
The room, set up at the Sweet Axe Throwing building at Brewtown, is set up for people to come in and smash items to their heart’s content, then leave the cleanup for someone else. While this one is referred to as a smash room, others around the world are also known as rage rooms - though owner Lloyd Bombell said he steers away from wording and imagery related to violence or aggression.
Bombell said people from “all walks of life” had been coming to the smash room, ranging in age from 12 to 70 years old.
Reasons were also varied. Some people were using the service simply for fun, others to vent frustration or celebrate after a break-up, loss of a loved one, or even a bad medical diagnosis.
One group told the business they booked the smash room after their mother was diagnosed with cancer and they were waiting to hear more about her illness.
“I booked this activity for us to let out some frustration and have some fun and we definitely achieved that . . . thank you very much for providing a safe space like this,” the email read.
Bombell said others used the smash room because it felt “fun and naughty”.
“You’ve been taught to behave yourself. You are not supposed to break things and being provided that space and the means to get smashing can release some pretty powerful feelings - plus we take care of the clean up.”
People could smash items however they wanted to, including “yeeting” a plate against a wall, swinging a golf club through a bottle, or “making eye contact with people through the viewing window while slowly sliding the glass off the table like a cheeky cat”, Bombell said.
Owner Lloyd Bombell using a cricket bat to smash a plate in the Smash Room at Brewtown. Photo / Mark Mitchell
Customers don industrial coveralls, gloves, boots, and riot squad helmets with face shields and are shut into the room with crates of items to break. There is a selection of tools on the wall to break things with, including metal poles, golf clubs, a crowbar, a sledgehammer, a cricket bat, and a walking stick. People can also choose to throw or roll a heavy bowling ball at the items.
There is also a Bluetooth speaker in the room so people can queue up a playlist to smash things to. A common song people smash to is Killing in the Name by Rage Against the Machine, Bombell said.
The crate consists mainly of glasses and plates but also includes a few other items such as vinyl records or ornamental dishes. Customers can pay extra for specialty items including TVs, appliances, and children’s toys.
All the items were already on their way to the tip, Bombell said. The business partners with op shops around the Wellington region and helps them by picking up unsaleable items that the op shops would otherwise have to pay to dispose of.
Customers can choose to pay extra for specialty items to smash, all of which were saved from the tip. Photo / Mark Mitchell
“We collect bottles from our own bar at Whisky and Wood in Wellington and the Brewtown bars, allowing them to reduce their waste. We sanitize all the bottles as they come through.”
Electronic waste such as TVs, laptops, and monitors is donated by repair shops that have been left with irreparable items. Some Upper Hutt locals also drop off TVs and the like to avoid paying to dispose of them at waste stations.
Bombell and his team remove all batteries and dispose of them at an e-waste station. After the rest of the electronics have been smashed, the team salvage the recyclable elements before taking them to a recycling plant.
Lloyd Bombell holds is smashing instruments of choice outside the smash room. Photo / Mark Mitchell
“While sorting through the debris our team will also sort broken glass and ceramic into colours for local artists to use for mosaic works, as well as interesting pieces for sculpture work.”
While the service is still in its infancy, Bombell said interest has been strong for anybody looking to have a bit of fun or let off steam.
It was about getting “a bit messy in a secure environment”.
Melissa Nightingale is a Wellington-based reporter who covers crime, justice and news in the capital. She joined the Herald in 2016 and has worked as a journalist for 10 years.
