MILWAUKEE — May is Mental Health Awareness Month, and this hidden gem could be a great stress reliever.
Owner Eugene Trotter refers to Bust-N-Stuff as a “Bustaporeum”, saying, “It’s a place where you can have fun, let loose, and bust stuff.”
After retiring from teaching, Trotter says, “I was a little bit lost on what to do, not feeling necessarily confident in who I was, what I wanted to do with my life. And so, this was an outlet for me to feel better about myself. I was thinking if I can help myself, maybe I can help other people.”
In the five years Bust-N-Stuff has been open, more than 17,000 people have experienced the benefits of busting stuff.
Unlike some rage rooms, there are no images of humans, animals, or living things.
Instead, you take your aggression out on file cabinets, furniture, and dishes. You choose your weapon of destruction such as baseball bats, sledgehammers, and golf clubs, and then, you can let loose.
To be fair, research on rage rooms and mental health suggests both ups and downsides. The benefits range from stress management to enhancing overall well-being. The downside suggests it typically reinforces and even worsens anger. But my experience at Bust-N-Stuff was not only therapeutic but also a great workout.
“Bust-N-Stuff is a place where you can go and be yourself and get whatever you need out. I've had a lot of people come in with scrunchy faces and these people are walking out smiling, and that's the beauty of this place," said Trotter.
It’s a private and safe space used for birthday celebrations, team building, and stress relief. Trotter pumps your music of choice, arms you with protective gear, goes through the rules and the rest is up to you.
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