Ever wondered what it was like to smash a computer screen to smithereens? Or to unleash your inner fury against a tumble dryer?

Two best friends from Coleraine have opened The Smash Factory, a new entertainment hotspot where destroying and causing destruction is allowed.

Gary Anderson, the frontman of local rock-n-roll band Cellar Door and Marc Logan, a product developer, have transformed a disused building in Coleraine into a rage room experience – only the second of its kind in Northern Ireland.

Gary explained: “We’ve been wanting to do something like this for years after Marc went to one in the States nearly six years ago and loved it. They’ve been big in America, Asia and Australia for a while now but we never really pursued it due to getting insurance.

"Then a rage room opened in Northern Ireland in June last year and that gave us the push to get ours open in Coleraine. They’re becoming big at the minute with over 50 throughout the UK. In May 2023 there were none here and now there’s three as one opened in Dublin in December, it really is a growing industry.

"People have discovered it’s great to release the pressures of life in a fun and law-abiding way.”

However the Smash Factory is less about aggression and more about entertainment and relief with the moto ‘unleash your rage and find your inner peace’.

Gary continued: “If you’ve been sitting at a desk for 20 years in front of a computer, what better way to release any stress than to get a laptop and smashing it to bits?

“We’re not about traditional anger management or mental issues, it’s all about fun and enjoyment. People finding a stress-buster, doing something different and having a laugh with mates. 

"Visitors don’t just go into a room and completely annihilate it, we play interactive silly games and have a giggle. They get kitted out in the PPE, choose a ‘weapon of their choice’ like a sledge hammer, baseball bat, golf club and then have a smashing time!

“It really is the ultimate stress-relief workout – it’s harder than the gym but cheaper than a physiatrist. We also have a viewing point for those to watch which is made of armed glass which we got from an old bank in Northern Ireland."