The day the Rage Room/Wreck Room came to St. Clair College

St. Clair College students Jason Bailey and Aiden Oakley are standing next to the Boston Pizza sponsored “Rage Room.” It is also known as the “Wreck Room” and it was parked outside the eSports Nexus on Thurs., Oct. 1, 2024. Photo by Ken Pastushyn.

Posters were hanging all over St. Clair College inviting students to blow off some steam inside the Vengeance Van, which was to be parked outside the eSports Nexus

parking lot on Thurs, Oct. 3. The Vengeance Van didn’t come to Windsor. In its place was the 20-foot trailer known as the Wreck Room. 

The Wreck Room is a company from Ottawa, which also owns the Vengeance Van and provides wrecking sessions, where you can break dishes and smash household

objects for fun.  

 It’s a safe and supervised environment where safety glasses and poly-urethane gloves are mandatory while protective helmets are optional. (A waiver must also be

signed.) The Wreck Room staff provided all sorts of objects to smash while cleaning up the mess afterwards. 

 St. Clair College’s Student Representative Council decided to book the Wreck Room for an entire afternoon. 

 “I saw my alma mater doing it last year and they were having so much fun,” said Natalie Wilson, 23. The SRC events coordinator went to Wilfred Laurier University. 

  “It was a way to get out all your aggression and stress during mid-terms.”  

 The first person to christen the Wreck Room at St. Clair College was 23-year-old Amy Collins, who is a student in the Animation program. She donned a baseball helmet, picked up an aluminum bat and started whacking away at an old VHS cassette tape dangling on a chain hanging from the ceiling as if it was a pinata. That activity was followed by trying to hit vinyl records being thrown up in the air.           

 Moments later, Collins began throwing coffee cups against the wall. Next was the hammering of fine china plates resting atop a steel girder with a frying pan. Finally, the smashing of a toy tricycle and an old chrome coffee-table with a three-foot crowbar. 

“I enjoy blasting things,” said Collins. “I wish I could do some more.” 

The Boston Pizza Restaurant & Sports Bar chain sponsored the Wreck Room as part of their Eliminate Your Playoffs Rage ad-campaign. By renting the Wreck Room and rebranding the 20-foot trailer by changing the name to the Rage Room. 

“Once the Toronto Maple Leafs were eliminated from the 2024 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs, Boston Pizza contacted us,” said Alex Campbell, 36, one of the operators of the Wreck Room. A day later, the rebranded Rage Room trailer was brought to the parking outside one of their restaurants in Markham, Ontario. That was the same Rage Room trailer at St. Clair College. 

Waiting in line outside the eSports Nexus parking lot was Jason Bailey, 19 and a Detroit Red Wings fan.  Next to him was Aiden Oakley, 19 and a Toronto Maple Leafs fan. Both are electrical engineering  

students and have seen their share of playoff disappointments. Once again, the Leafs were eliminated in game seven of the first round by the Boston Bruins while the Wings just missed the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. 

Both Bailey and Oakley were in a friendly debate about which team would win the Stanley Cup first.  Both Jason and Aiden decided to shake hands with each other before entering the Rage Room.   

Bailey was wearing his blue construction helmet with the Windsor Spitfires logo on the side. He wears it to all his electrical engineering classes.  

Game seven against the Hamilton Bulldogs in the 2022 OHL Finals where the Spits were eliminated was brought up. 

“Don’t remind me, that game was bad enough,” said Bailey, who looked as though he spent a lot of time in batting cages. 

Oakley was also swinging for the fences but was having too much fun to be angry. 

“Honestly I think it’s great for everybody,” said Oakley. 

 It’s great for a lot of people if treated as a fun activity. However, many experts say If you have serious anger issues, it is best to find a therapist.