Break Stuff NJ Opens In North Brunswick: Pay To Break Stuff

NORTH BRUNSWICK, NJ — Got an appetite for destruction? Or ever wanted to feel like Thor and his mighty hammer?

In late September, what's known as a "rage room" opened up in a nondescript warehouse area off Rt. 1 in North Brunswick. Break Stuff NJ is a 550-square-foot room people pay to enter and then spend half an hour inside breaking or destroying things — all in the name of releasing tension and pent-up anger.

"They're also called 'destruction therapy centers' or 'anger rooms,'" Andrew Powers, the owner of Break Stuff NJ, said in an interview with Patch. "But it's basically just a place where you go to get your anger, stress, anxiety and all those other negative emotions out in a safe environment, without having to clean up the mess after."

For $25 a person, clients are given 25 minutes in the rage room. They are put in white safety suits, hard hats and safety googles and given access to baseball bats, sledgehammers and mallets, all provided by Powers. From there, they can smash a seemingly unlimited number of glass bottles, liquor bottles, debris and old furniture. Last week, someone even donated an old toilet to be demolished (it was disinfected first).

"We'll basically give you anything that's fun to smash," said Powers, 33, who lives in North Brunswick. "We take all the stuff junk removers and Goodwill doesn't want."

Break Stuff NJ is only room of its kind in Central New Jersey; a similar business, called Rage Room, exists in Hackensack in North Jersey.

"When we first opened, people were very skeptical, like, 'What is this place; is this even real?' said Powers. "Before we opened we did some testing with fruit-smashing and pumpkin-smashing events. People seemed to really enjoy it."

Powers said he was particularly inspired to open by the results of the 2016 presidential election.

"It just feels like the overall mood just changed after the 2016 election, whether you are liberal, conservative, Republican or Democrat," he said, who cautioned that he is not trying to single out President Donald Trump. "You see a lot more hate; you see less smiling people on all sides. There's a lot of repressed emotions. We just have to chill out as a people and that's what we're here for."

Break Stuff NJ also offers discounts for first responders, teachers and mental health professionals — "people who are already in the line of fire," said Powers.

So far, their main clientele seems to be couples on a date night or groups of friends.

"They've done the ax throwing, they've gone bowling. They are looking for something fun to do."

After walking out of a 25-minute session at Break Stuff NJ, "People are usually exhausted because smashing things is hard work," Powers said. "They've been swinging a sledgehammer for 25 minutes and it's tiring. People say, 'Oh, I feel so much better, it's a load off my chest.' You can feel the energy when they come in and when they leave."

But is it OK to promote violence in the name of having a good time?

The idea of rage rooms remain controversial in the mental health field. One psychotherapist recently warned in Psychology Today: "While using an anger room may provide a temporary decrease in physical tension associated with anger and other feelings, it may increase the likelihood of future acting out."

Healthier alternatives include addressing old wounds, or trying to find what's angering one in the first place, he says.

But to Powers it's an idea as old as being told to punch a pillow or take a few rounds out on a boxing bag.

"Except there are people out there you just can't reach by saying 'Redirect your anger to the gym or yoga," said Powers. "There's a population you can't reach with traditional ideas. We have something new for them."

Powers is even looking to work with mental health professionals or group therapy providers to see if they can facilitate their clients to use his rage room, or refer people to him.

"This is purely recreational now; we are not the place if you need professional help," he said. "But I am interested in working with a professional mental health counselor anger management groups."

Break Stuff NJ is located at 1150 Newton Street, Suite C in North Brunswick. Powers has a 9-5 job (with state Division of Taxation), so this is his side business. Break Stuff NJ is usually open after 6 p.m., seven days a week. Right now, you must be 16 to enter, but he is currently exploring having special nights for younger teens and children. "We would have to change the materials so they don't get hurt," he said. "Maybe a 12- or 13-year-old has pent-up anger, and they need it."

They can accommodate parties of up to six people.