Wanna Break Something?

At Sarah’s Smash Shack, making a mess is the main course on the menu

RONDON’S DOWNTOWN SANDIEGO

August 22: Sarah Lavely has a long, naughty history of breaking things. On purpose. When life went astray she was always ready to wreak physical havoc. “My life had a lot of ‘Waah,’ smash,” says the former veterinarian.
Lavely’s new downtown San Diego endeavor is Sarah’s Smash Shack (1355 Sixth Avenue; 619-702-8488). The premise is offbeat but simple. You pay to obliterate plates and glasses in special “break” rooms. Before destroying tableware, patrons don a jumpsuit, gloves and a BMX-style helmet. You can hook your own iPod up to a sound system while you deconstruct. (Watch the video, below!)
 If pre-approved, you can bring your own stuff—particularly old cell phones. But no, you can’t bring a fading TV. The menu of in-house breakables includes plates (three tosses for $20), sashimi presenters (three plates for $10) and you can bring a picture of a recent ex-flame to put in a breakable frame ($10).
 Lavely says catharsis is the key. “It feels good to break pretty things that you’re not supposed to break,” she says. “You transfer your energy in the process.”
 You could have counted me as a skeptic before my own test throw. People I’ve related this tale to can’t imagine paying $10 to wreck a pair of Gothic candlesticks or six wine glasses. I agree that the price is prohibitive. But damn, I had fun pulverizing glass and ceramic.
 I hurled a plate, a candlestick and two sashimi presenters at the steel wall. The plate was the most rewarding. It was the heaviest, and made the loudest noise. I threw it Frisbee-style, and with it, liberated mental baggage, I believe.
Unlike Lavely, I’d never before heaved a household object in rage. Anger therapy? Aggression release? Whatever you call it, Lavely’s dented into a niche market. In a down economy, this nonessential service could miss more than hit. But with the real estate market leading the downturn, who’s to say real estate agents won’t line up at the Smash Shack to un-suppress their missed-commission blues.
 Would you shell out take-home pay to break ceramic plates in a commercial place of business? Let me know…

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