Smash Therapy rage room will open in Syracuse this spring (video)

Pandemics are hard. Sometimes you just need to break a toaster.

Soon, Syracuse residents will be able to smash away their stress at Smash Therapy, a “rage room” entertainment center where you can break things to your heart’s content.

Smash Therapy provides weapons (bats, crowbars or sledgehammers), safety gear (goggles, helmets and body suits) and items to smash. Available items to destroy include glass and liquor bottles, game consoles, printers, vacuums, kitchen appliances and copiers.

Owner Steven Shortino opened Smash Therapy in Rochester in 2018. In the past year, he said many people used his rage rooms to deal with frustration caused by Covid-19.

“People are so stressed out and cooped up at home,” said Shortino. “There’s not much else out there to do, so we did see more business.”

Smash Therapy provides weapons (bats, crowbars or sledgehammers), safety gear (goggles, helmets and body suits) and items to smash.Provided photo

It was also a popular date idea for Valentine’s Day, with rage rooms sold out over the holiday weekend. (Smash Therapy added a mask policy and hand sanitizer stations.)

“It’s on the safer side of activities because you’re in your own room, with whoever you came with,” he said.

Shortino saw a lot of young customers traveling from Syracuse University to smash things in his shop, so he thought Syracuse would be an ideal place to expand.

Smash Therapy Syracuse doesn’t yet have a location set in stone, but Shortino is actively looking at a few spaces on Erie Boulevard and near Destiny USA.

He plans to open this spring.

“We’re looking for a family-friendly retail space, maybe in a plaza,” he said. “It would be great to be close to Syracuse University, or near the highway.”

When Smash Therapy Syracuse launches, the rooms will be open Thursday through Sunday (or by appointment) and sessions start at $20 per person.

“I know people have been wanting this for a long time,” Shortino said. “We’re definitely coming this spring.”

Katrina Tulloch shoots videos and writes culture stories for Syracuse.com and The Post-Standard. Contact her: Email | Twitter | Facebook | 518-810-5022

Owner Steven Shortino opened Smash Therapy in Rochester in 2018. Many groups have visited to release stress and frustration.Provided photo

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