Rage Out

Words:  Karl Puschmann

Photography: Blink Ltd

Talking through your problems is all well and good, but sometimes you just want to grab a baseball bat and smash your way to the heart of the issue. However, in polite society, such acts of aggression are traditionally frowned upon. This is where Rage Out comes in.

Rage Out opened its doors last August and has been helping people vent in the most primal way possible ever since. You turn up, grab your weapon of choice - cricket bat, sledgehammer, crowbar, etc - and are then let loose in a room where you have permission to smash, crash, wallop and break everything inside.

"I always ask customers at the end, 'How do you feel now?' And they always tell me, 'I'm so stress-relieved"," Robina Bi says, before laughing and adding, "I've been told it's cheaper than therapy."

The story of Rage Out is one of turning a negative into a positive, which, coincidentally, is the same journey her customers go on during a visit. Robina was going through a rough separation from her husband and was feeling the stress. She'd heard about the new trend of smash rooms, places where you're allowed to break everything in sight. She thought that sounded exactly like what the doctor ordered. But after trying to find one, she was surprised to see that the closest was down in Hamilton.

"I was going through a rough time in my life, and I wanted to rage out. I went to the one in Hamilton, tried it out, and I felt so much relief afterwards. All my stress was out," she says. "On the way home, I thought, 'Why isn't anyone doing this in Auckland?""

She quickly researched the business case, looked into all the health and safety regulations and began looking for a suitable property. It was then that an unexpected problem popped up.

"Some of the property managers weren't okay with people smashing things up inside their property," she grins. "But I was fortunate that I found one really quickly."

Having found a property in Uptown that met the requirements, she and her business partner wasted no time. They did all the work themselves to create their ideal smash room experience in just over a month. She says there were "a lot of late nights," painting and building Rage Out's two separate smash rooms and glass room. They even got a car inside for those wanting to let out a little road rage. Barely a month after that fateful trip to Hamilton, Rage Out's doors were open for business.

Robina says the Uptown community has been incredibly welcoming and quick to embrace the unique and quirky idea.

"They were pretty excited that we opened up the smash room," she says. "People always tell me they've wanted to do something like this, so they've been very happy for me to open this up."

Interestingly, Robina says that the majority of her clientele has been women.

"Honestly, it was surprising because I thought that only guys would want to come and smash up things," she says. "But I think it's because girls have built up that anger and stress inside. When they go inside the room, they're shouting and throwing stuff."

When she asks them what made them visit, she's found the answers are incredibly similar to what took her to Hamilton.

"They tell me they've just had a breakup, or are going through a divorce, or something big in their life. Stress issues at work are another big one."

The change in people when they come out is huge, she says. They look and feel calmer, having had the opportunity to get out all those pent-up bad feelings in a safe and secure environment where going crazy and wild is encouraged.

"Honestly, I'm very proud of myself for what I've done alone," Robina says. "Juggling kids and business is not very easy."

Of course, Robina is in the perfect position to let out some steam if she ever starts to feel the weight of the world.



"Yes, sometimes I do," she admits when asked if she ever sneaks into a room to let off some steam herself. "But the frustrating thing is having to clean up after. That's the best part of being a customer. You don't have to do the clean up, you can just leave."

Rage Out

98 Newton Road

Phone: 022 155 7117

Website: rageout.co.nz

Instagram: @rageout.nz