Smashing a broken printer with a baseball bat can be better than therapy.
That’s what Samantha Rodriguez hears all the time from her customers, as they leave her rage room feeling lighter.
“You can feel the relief in people when they come out,” she said. “It’s a release.”
It’s one of the things she likes the most about her job as co-owner of Rhode Island’s very first rage room, Smash ‘N’ Splash in West Warwick. Rodriguez and her husband, David, opened the business in November 2022, looking for a fun, family-friendly activity to do with their three teenagers.
So far, it’s been a success, both with her family and other Rhode Islanders.
“Everyone is really excited that there’s something different to do in Rhode Island,” Rodriguez said. “It’s a fun family activity, it’s a fun date night, or a friends’ night out.”
Inside Smash ‘N’ Splash’s graffiti-decorated rage room customers can use a range of weapons – baseball bats, crowbars, hammers or golf clubs – to smash various objects in the room, from electronics to liquor bottles.
But the business also offers a “Splash Room,” where people can let their creative side out and use glowing paint to splash walls and canvases.
