Raging, breaking and yelling: Sheboygan Press reporters experience RUFF Rage Room

SHEBOYGAN — Tucked in an alcove on Erie Avenue sits a building once home to a quaint, custom-built furniture store.

Now, rather than shop for additions to their home, Sheboygan residents visit the building to “ruff up” household items and shatter ornate tableware against walls decorated with spray-painted targets.

The RUFF Rage Room , 1225 Erie Ave., allows visitors to release anger in smash rooms, throw paint at walls in splatter rooms and more.

We — Sheboygan Press reporters Sam Bailey and Alex Garner — recently visited RUFF Rage Room and experienced the business’s Smash Frenzy package: a 20-minute session to break 15 glass objects, one small electronic and one large electronic.

Below is a recount of our experience and more information about the local business.

Alex's perspective: Smashing computers and breaking teacups — that’s how you ‘rage.’

It was sweaty, loud and I believe I mildly hurt the tip of my right pointer finger from wielding a hefty sledgehammer. It was definitely my fault. I definitely “raged.”

It was my first time in a rage room, and although I didn’t go with any specific issues to work through, adrenaline was running high by the end of the session.

I wacked and hit an outdated, clunky hard drive with a hammer, bat and crowbar, all of little avail. It was so hard! I made a weak dent and picked away small parts inside. It left my protective googles fogged and my heart pounding. Maybe it was my improper hunched-over stance or the strength of old electronics.

Moving to the bin of glassware — amber brown beer bottles and ceramic plates and cups — I found my groove. With the hammering rock and metal music coming through the speakers, I aimed the delicate objects at metal targets and let the resounding shatter prickle my ears. It was very satisfying.

On several occasions, keeping with the vibes in the room, I shouted a cathartic, “Rage!” after a plate or cup would break into dozens of pieces.

It was a really fun and freeing experience and awesome to be in a space that allowed, and encouraged, us to break stuff. Looking for fun or an emotional release can be as easy as that.

Sam’s perspective: Video killed the radio star, so we raged against the machine

As a former softball player and current coach, hitting breakable items with a bat and chucking ornate, shatterable objects at targets is oddly satisfying.

While I wasn’t expecting to enjoy breaking things, I found it cathartic to walk into a controlled environment and act on those moments I think a lot of us have felt, where we wonder what it would be like to smash fine china.

The rage room gave me the opportunity to relieve stress while also answering the question of just how many hits it would take to get to the center of a hard drive.

When we first began our experience, Alex and I were fitted into full-coverage safety gear that set the tone for what we were about to walk into. Then, once we selected the perfect music for us to destroy household items to, we entered a room filled with targets, glass, a wall of smashing tools and more.

For me, throwing items at targets and watching the fully intact object that was just in my hand shatter into tiny pieces was my favorite part.

Even if you are not someone who likes smashing their frustrations out, I can say the rage room also provides a lot of fun by allowing you to watch the people you came with let loose and start hitting things with sledgehammers.

Next time, I would like to experience the splat rooms, where neon paint can be thrown on canvases, people and walls. It sounds like a freeing experience to be able to let loose and get paint everywhere except inside the lines.

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'Just screaming and letting it all out’

When RUFF Rage Room owner Rebekah Hintzman went to her first rage room in Milwaukee, she said it was “quite addictive.”

“I ended up buying a couple more bins and just smashing and having a good time,” she said. “I didn't know what to expect, but at the same time, that's part of the fun. Going in and saying, ‘OK. What is this going to be like?’”

In that first experience, she said she was allowed to break things, something she couldn’t do when she was a kid.

RUFF Rage Room, which opened about two years ago, has a variety of rage and paint splatter room options. The splat rooms are popular for kids’ birthday parties and prenuptial celebrations.

Guests can break beer bottles, electronics, phones, microwaves, glass items and more in the smash rooms. In some packages, guests can also use golf clubs for destruction or break items with photos of their exes.

“Everybody brings their own purpose when they come in,” Hintzman said. “Some people and groups come to RUFF Rage Room for celebration, others for team building, family therapy, breakups or mental health."

When the business first opened, Hintzman said she sent letters to counselors and therapists letting them know RUFF Rage Room could be a therapeutic option for their clients. One person comes every week to RUFF Rage Room to smash and break things, she said.

She wants everyone who comes in to have fun and not feel judged.

Hintzman’s favorite type of people who come are those who let loose and scream when they’re raging.

"I love the people who come in and just start hitting things a lot and start screaming because, in my mind, that's really the true release and outlet — is just screaming and letting it all out,” she said.

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Done with computers, small household appliances or glassware? You can donate them to RUFF Rage Room.

RUFF Rage Room accepts donated items that can be used in the smash rooms. Walk-in donations can be dropped off 5-7 p.m. Fridays, 2-5 p.m. Saturdays and noon-2 p.m. Sundays . Items that fit in the collection box count for Rage Card stamps, redeemable toward additional gift certificates.

• Some acceptable items: Flat-screen televisions, computer monitors, glassware, dishes, ceramics, clean toilets, printers without ink, small wood furniture, cubicles and desks, mirrors and clocks.
• Some unacceptable items: Any item with lithium batteries, air conditioners, dehumidifiers, refrigerators, solid plastic items, mattresses, couches, liquids, food waste and trash.

Here’s how you can book your own rage session

Small and large group packages range from 20 minutes to 50 minutes. Packages can range from $25 to $75 per person.

The RUFF Rage Room is typically open 5:30-7 p.m. Thursdays, 5-7 p.m. Fridays, 2-6 p.m. Saturdays and noon-4 p.m. Sundays. Call the rage room at 920-277-7473, email ruffrageroomwi@gmail.com or go to https://theruffrageroom.com/ to learn more.

This story is part of a new Sheboygan Press series titled “Explorin’ Sheboygan,” where reporters Sam Bailey and Alex Garner check out local happenings and spaces in Sheboygan. The series aims to give the community a closer look at the fun, sometimes out-of-the-box, and possible hidden gems in our area. Have an idea of what the Press should check out? Contact Sam Bailey and/or Alex Garner and we will do some exploring. Reach them at sgbailey@gannett.com and agarner@gannett.com .

This article originally appeared on Sheboygan Press: Raging, breaking and yelling: Sheboygan Press reporters experience RUFF Rage Room