SINGAPORE — When Royce Tan came up with the idea to have a “rage room” here, he wanted it to be a safe place where people could go to relieve themselves of their pent-up anger.

“Singaporeans are often afraid to show their emotions or talk to anyone about them,” the 24-year-old told TODAY. “I wanted to create a space for people to have a place to safely release their aggression, to let it all out.”

Thus, the Fragment Room was born.

Tan described how he experienced prolonged rage in his previous role as a sales executive in a company that sold office furniture. New bosses joining the company and the changes that came with new management led to frustration.

“We had one boss initially, and then it became three bosses. All the bosses told us different things, and we had to report to them at different times,” Tan said. Employees were shouted at when they were unable to meet company targets. Customers could be nasty, too, he said.

It all led to him leaving the company in Dec (2016). Then, he came across a Facebook post depicting “a group of guys decked out in paintball gear and breaking objects with baseballs bats”, he said.

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He had a lightbulb moment — no one here had opened a “rage room”, and he himself was between jobs. He saw it as an opportunity.

He got to work, and found a Canadian company called Battle Sports that helps to set up rage rooms. He obtained the licensing rights and secured a location at Balestier Road. The Fragment Room was opened on May 2.

Visitors to the Fragment Room receive protective safety gear — a set of white overalls, a helmet, and heavy-duty gloves. They also get a baseball bat.

That package costs S$38, and a top-up S$19 gets you access to renting a pair of Yeezy 950 boots. Another S$28 gets you a Supreme Crowbar for use.

Once you’re suited and booted, you’re let loose into a concrete-walled room. There, you can take a swing at a crate of breakables that range from TVs, to keyboards and bottles while high-octane music, such as heavy metal, blasts on a sound system.

Tan sources the breakables from charities such as The Salvation Army.

“I buy over the things that they cannot refurbish and let people smash them up here,” he said. You do have to be lucky to get objects such as TVs, as those are more difficult to come by. But the S$38 package gives you access to one crate of breakables, and 30 minutes in the room. The S$220 Annihilation package gives visitors unlimited crates to destroy, and 60 minutes in the room.

“I wanted something like a buffet,” Tan said.

Tan receives up to 40 bookings a day, and sees people leaving with smiles on their faces. Those coming to the Fragment room may have experienced a recent heartbreak, he said. One man who was retrenched several years ago and has been job-hunting since then came out of the room and told Tan “Wow, bro, I needed that”.

Tan is feeling awe-struck by the reception of The Fragment Room. He has been featured on online portals, and his booking website crashed, thanks to overwhelming response. He is working on a solution for that, he said.

“I haven’t gotten any sleep,” he said. “It went from something nobody knew about, to what everyone seems to be talking about in a couple of days.”

Now, that must put a smile on his face.

 

The Fragment Room is located at 3 Balestier Rd. Packages start at S$38. It is open from 1pm to 10pm daily.