A new indoor axe-throwing and "rage room" venue is set to open in Swansea city centre this spring.
The brainchild of Matthew Griffin, a 24-year-old carpenter from Llantrisant, Lumberjack Axe Throwing first launched in Cardiff in November 2019, and has been so successful that the young businessman is now getting ready to launch his second venue just over two years later.
The premises, which will fill the empty former Peter Alan estate agent unit beneath Sin City nightclub on Dillwyn Street, is having a complete makeover as Matthew and his team build six axe-throwing lanes and two rage rooms from scratch.
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Matthew said: "Back in 2017 I visited London with my brother and we came across an axe-throwing venue and really enjoyed it. I was a carpenter and I started thinking about using my tools and experience to set up my own site in Wales.
"Two years later, in November 2019, I launched Lumberjack Axe Throwing in Cardiff. Lumberjack has taken off well and it's been really successful, despite the pandemic, and we now get booked up three weekends in advance.
"After the success of the Cardiff branch, I am currently in the middle of building the second premises in Swansea," he added. "The premises is the old Peter Alan unit underneath Sin City on Dillwyn Street, I know these premises have been abandoned for close to eight years, and I feel Swansea residents will be relieved to see the premises used!"
When Matthew first launched his axe-throwing business in Cardiff he was just 21 and was in his final year of university, so found it difficult to find the funds to take on a good-sized unit.
So he's pleased that Lumberjack's second premises, in Swansea, will be bigger than the one in Cardiff.
He said: "I was a 21-year-old student when I founded the business, so I could only afford a small unit a little outside Cardiff city centre with three ranges.
"The Swansea site will be far bigger, offering six ranges and two rage rooms. It will be fully-inclusive, open to everyone."
A statement on the Lumberjack Axe Throwing website outlines what the business hopes to achieve: "We’re proud to say that we are the first urban axe throwing experience to descend on Wales," it says.
"The idea might sound slightly wild but taking an axe and throwing it at a target was pretty big in America so we decided we wanted a slice of the action.
"It’s a fast-growing sport in America and we thought it wasn’t fair that we were missing out. So, whatever your ability or age, with a little practice and assistance from our instructors, we’ll have you hitting the target every time"
Matthew and his team are currently midway through constructing the axe-throwing lanes and rage-rooms at the Dillwyn Street site and are aiming to open the axe-throwing lanes towards the end of April or early May, 2022. The rage rooms will follow later in the year.
The venue will be open to all, but eventually Matthew hopes to offer axe-throwing tournaments at the venue.
He said: "In the US, you can win up to $50,000 in competitions in the sport! We hope to be opening tournaments with grand prizes that will bring axe-throwers from all over the UK to Swansea."
Opening times will be confirmed nearer the time, but the team are expecting the venue to be open from 4pm to 9.30pm on weekdays, and from 10am to 9.30pm on weekends.
What is axe-throwing and what is a rage room?
Axe-throwing is just as the name suggests: throwing axes!
It began as a leisure activity in Canada some years ago, but is now becoming a popular hobby in the UK for families with older children and teenagers, students, couples and people looking for a quirky and unusual activity with friends or colleagues.
Typically, throwers stand 12-foot away from a target, which looks like a large wooden dartboard, and throw one axe at a time towards it, aiming for the bulls-eye.
It's a fun competition: the closer you are to the bulls-eye, the more points you score. And there are always trained coaches on-hand to ensure every competitor follows safety rules.
A rage-room, meanwhile, is a safe space where people can destroy or smash up a range of items - a quirky way for someone to get all their anger out!
Going to a rage-room with friends is particularly popular leisure activity in the US, but there are a few rage room sites in the UK.
People are usually fully kitted-up in protective clothing and get a set amount of time to smash and destroy a range of materials or objects, such as crockery, TVs and monitors and walls.
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