Maybe the office printer had jammed up for the third time that day.
Maybe he’d just been replaced by a robot.
Or maybe he had just watched this classic scene from Office Space:
Whatever it was, something inspired Jeffrey Yip to start a business that allowed people to vent their anger in an eco-friendly way.
Yip is the founder of New York City’s Rage Cage, where people can pay to beat the crap out of computer equipment, video game consoles, office telephones, VHS tapes, typewriters, dishes, and more.
There are a variety of packages that customers can purchase, such as:
Solo Smasher – $44.99 (One Person)
Comes with:
– Two Smaller Electronics (Office Phones, Keyboards, Speakers, etc)
– TEN Smashables (Plates, Cups, Phones, Cameras, and more!)
Along with all the safety equipment required and a variety of weapons to unleash your RAGE!
Comes with:
– THREE Premium Electronics (Gaming Consoles, VCR Players, Printers, etc)
– EIGHT Smaller Electronics (Office Phones, Keyboards, Speakers, etc)
– THIRTY Smashables (Plates, Cups, Phones, Cameras, and more!)
Along with all the safety equipment required and a variety of weapons to unleash your RAGE!
To provide its readers a sense of what it is like, Gothamist reporters Jake Dobkin and Jen Chung went out to do a story. After signing a waiver, the duo put on a protective suit, hard hat with visor, and two layers of gloves.
Here’s a video of Dobkin and Chung taking out their frustration on some innocent tech products:
Yip, the founder, notes that printers and fax machines are the most popular items. Keyboards are surprisingly fun to attack because all the keys come flying up, but DVD players and laptops are surprisingly durable so they last a long time.
Yip spends a lot of time sourcing materials to destroy and notes that all the shards of electronics are recycled as e-waste.
You might wonder how big the market for something like this might be. Well, there are currently two such businesses in New York City (the other is The Wrecking Club), and there are several similar type operations around the country.
Apparently, there’s a lot of pent-up anger in our country.
It would be interesting to track if there are certain days that are more popular than others. My guess would be Mondays, the start of the work week, Sundays during the Jets football season, and Wednesdays after a national election.
I could also see this being a great place to have a “retirement” party. Let the guy or gal who just retired/got fired/was displaced get his or her years of frustration out of their system so that they can move on.
I could also see this turning into a competition, for example, see who can destroy a laptop the fastest.
There are so many ways this could be marketed; the possibilities are endless.
And once the Rage Cage starts to lose popularity perhaps Office Space could once again inspire another, similar type of business, this one for people who like to burn things. The Torch Porch has a nice ring to it.
image from 6sqft
Borden's Blather 