Owner Billy Richmond smiles while Linda Fusco, Derby Mayor Joseph DiMartino's chief of staff, gets ready to break stuff.
DERBY — If you’ve been passed over for that promotion at work, going through a bad breakup, tripped over the kids’ toys or are just plain stressed out from life in general, a new business in downtown Derby might just be the outlet you need to let off some steam.
Explicitly Broken Rage Rooms recently opened at 61 Elizabeth St. Customers pay to hurl plates across a room, whack a computer monitor with a crowbar, bash beer bottles with a baseball bat and smash a TV with a sledgehammer.
Owner Billy Richmond, of Ansonia, says it’s the most fun you can have without getting in trouble. Richmond, a U.S. Army veteran, worked as a combat medic in Afghanistan.
“I have combat-related PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder), and for me, this is soothing, it’s totally cathartic,” Richmond told The Valley Indy during a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Thursday (April 25). “In my past, I wasn’t always the best person, but now I have an outlet in a safer, controlled atmosphere.”
Richmond said he spoke to a few therapists about the pros and cons of running a business that specializes in breaking stuff.
“I’m not a licensed therapist and I don’t claim this cures, fixes or prevents anything, but it’s a damn good time,” Richmond said. “I don’t like all the things that bring rage, I’m a peaceful person, but you need an outlet to let it go. It’s entertainment, it’s just for fun.”
Rage rooms have been growing in popularity and cropping up in cities across the U.S. and worldwide over the past several years. According to U.S.A. Today, the first rage room opened in Japan in 2008. Since then, hundreds of rage rooms have opened in the U.S., from Charlotte, North Carolina to Tuscon, Arizona. In Connecticut, there is a rage room in Watertown and another one at Foxwoods Casino.
Richmond said there’s none in New Haven and Fairfield counties, which is why he was glad to find the vacant storefront in Derby about a year and a half ago. The Derby location is perfect, Richmond said, as the downtown is undergoing a revitalization with new apartment complexes coming, bringing more residents to town.
“My wife and I decided to open our own after a Valentine’s Day gift to each other two years ago to another smash room,” Richmond said. “Not only was it fun, but it was therapeutic. We both agreed right then that we could do it better. Derby is trying to bring some life and nightlife back and we want to be part of that. Plus, the convenient location right off of Route 8 and Route 34 seems like the best location for us.”
Richmond said the experience at Explicitly Broken can be personalized to each group who comes by for a stress-busting session.
“We wanted a place where people walk in the door and say ‘wow,’” Richmond said. “We stream the sessions as they happen live to the TV in the lounge, and everyone cheers. It’s all about positivity and good vibes.”
Mayor’s Chief of Staff Gives Rage Room A Whack
During Thursday’s (April 25) ribbon cutting, Derby Mayor Joe DiMartino’s Chief of Staff Linda Fusco gave the rage room a try. Admitting to “not having a rage‑y bone in my body,” Fusco wanted to take a whack at this latest craze.
“I just think it’s fun and I want to support a new business,” Fusco said. “If I can do it, anybody can do it.”
Before heading into the rage room, Fusco suited up in a white, hooded head-to-toe protective suit, complete with gloves and a plastic mask to shield her face from flying debris (all customers must wear PPE and sign a waiver).
Fusco, armed with a baseball bat, began her 15-minute rage session to the tune of Billy Idol’s ‘Rebel Yell’ blaring from the speakers. She shattered some booze bottles, chucked a few ceramic plates against the wall and then set her sights on a computer monitor. When the baseball bat wasn’t making a dent, Fusco took a crowbar from her arsenal and proceeded to whack the crap out of the screen.
“At first you feel a little silly, but then you hear the music and you get into it,” Fusco said.
Richmond said he gets all the stuff to break from electronic recycling centers, local bars for the bottles and other places looking to get rid of old furniture, computers, printers, TVs and more.
What Others Are Saying
Bridgeport resident Patrice Kerr was downtown Thursday and popped her head inside the store to see what the fuss was all about.
“I love it, I’m ready to break stuff and why not, you can break stuff without getting in trouble for it,” Kerr said. “I have four kids, I have a teenager, so I want to break stuff.”
Not everyone is sold on the idea of rage rooms, however.
Some mental health professionals say rage rooms aren’t the best way to get rid of anger. According to Scott Bea, a psychologist at the Cleveland Clinic, rage rooms can be a fun form of entertainment, but should not be used as a substitute for seeking professional help.
“It’s not particularly therapeutic for people who have anger problems,” Scott said in an article from the Cleveland Clinic.
In the article, Bea said while rage rooms offer one way to release anger, they don’t help people with serious issues in the long-run.
Richmond said people should give it a try.
“We never had anyone walk out yet with less than a smile,” he said.
Explicitly Broken Rage Rooms can be reached at (203) 751‑6024 or by email: [email protected]
They’re open from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. Thursday-Saturday and from 3 p.m. to 8 p.m. Sunday.
