Rage Against the Machine

If you’re fed up with technology or have pent-up stress from life and work, smash rooms let you release the passions.

Smash rooms offer a variety of objects for patrons to destroy, including office equipment, electronics and auto parts.

Photo by Josh New

If you have you ever witnessed a toddler throwing a real temper tantrum – smashing plates on the floor, throwing forks, basically flipping tables like a tiny Hulk – you may have thought to yourself, “I really, really wish I could get away with that as an adult.”

Now you can.

Across the nation, so-called smash rooms allow both the stressed and the curious to take out their frustrations in a safe – and legal – manner.

Cory Dohm and Liz Forssell, founders of the Smash Dohm in Oklahoma City, wanted to try sanctioned smashing after watching videos on the internet, but they couldn’t find any available smash rooms in OKC. Undaunted, they opened their own.

“We bought a couple of supplies, refitted our garage and officially opened our doors on Feb. 17, 2018,” Dohm says. “We’ve really enjoyed the experience and learned a lot this past year.”

For Rachel Anderson, co-owner of Smash Something in Tulsa, opening the business was all about stress relief.

“Our inspiration was fueled by our own stress and just everyday stresses that we have seen our friends and family endure,” Anderson says. “We heard about these rage rooms in

Texas and surrounding areas and thought that would be a fun and enjoyable way to let it all go. We thought it would not only be therapeutic for our own friends and family, but we wanted to bring it to our fellow Oklahomans to enjoy as well.”

Photo by Josh New

Both the Smash Dohm and Smash Something offer a variety of packages, time frames and materials. Dohm says those wanting to re-create an office space can choose computers and other technology equipment. Customers can also go bigger … way bigger … like car bigger. Anderson even offers therapeutic sessions in which customers can write on objects with markers, then “smash their stress away.”

“We’ve had a variety of people and motivations over the last year,” Dohm says. “For some, it’s beneficial and therapeutic – letting their anger out destructively over various frustrations from grief, finances or work environment. For others, it’s for fun and celebration. Some come in groups to watch each other breaking things and laugh for team building. We have a few doing the tourist thing, celebrating anniversaries or birthdays, and some come out of sheer curiosity.”

Anderson adds: “People are under so much pressure in this day and age, and we all need a safe outlet to relieve the stress. Smash Something is a place to come and be destructive with ‘safety first’ being the No. 1 rule. It is almost therapeutic to go in and take a sledgehammer to a printer, especially when the printer at your office has been acting up all week.

“When we have a full house, all you can hear are the sounds of smashing and laughter. All of our smashers leave their stress at the door and walk away with nothing but smiles and fun memories.”

TARA MALONE