Dubai’s ‘The Smash Room City’ is All About Embracing Breakdowns

There are times in life in which one stares blankly at a washing machine with an inexplicable urge to completely obliterate it and send it back to its proverbial maker. Why? Well, sometimes you just can’t explain human thoughts. But - if for whatever reason - you’ve ever felt that urge yet couldn’t quite act upon it, seeing how expensive home appliances have become, you’ll be glad to hear that your laundry-destructive fantasies can indeed become reality at Dubai’s The Smash Room City.

Having officially launched a few months back at the Sports Society Mall in Mirdif, Dubai, The Smash Room City is simply a collection of spaces, each under a different theme, with one vital common denominator: everything you see can be smashed to your heart’s desire. Founded by Dubai-based entrepreneurs Ibrahim Abudyak and Hiba Balfaqih, The Smash Room initially began as a humble warehouse in 2018, brought to life by the duo’s desire for a healthy outlet for their more explosive feelings.

Since 2018, The Smash Room has evolved into a multi-faceted experience with several branches in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and Al Quoz, yet Abudyak and Balfaqih’s crowning achievement is The Smash Room City. Their biggest venture yet, The Smash Room City launched in October, with ‘The Office’, ‘The Laundromat’, ‘The Restaurant’ and ‘The Supermarket’ amongst the city’s most popular - and thus most disaster-prone - locations.

“It’s a place where people can be their judgement-free selves. You can dance, scream and cry - things you’d be afraid to do anywhere else. It’s a safe space to let it all out,” The Smash Room Co-Founder Ibrahim Abudyak tells SceneNowUAE. “With themed smashes, we’re creating environments people are familiar with, like an office or a restaurant, and asking them to break things they’re not usually allowed to - especially offices, which can be very triggering. This is a place where you’re just allowed to break it all up.”

In each themed room, guests will find plenty of shiny goodies to smash into smithereens; whether its scores of plates, bottles, trolley carts, washing machines, printers, or what you’ll likely envision as your boss’s personal office space. Yet what is smashed does not go to waste. With each room containing recycled materials, each item - when smashed - goes through another round of recycling, ensuring that no harm is done to the environment. “We source items that are no longer useful. Electronic waste, for example,” Abudyak adds. “We buy from junkyards, and after they’re smashed, they’re recycled.”

Whether you’re letting go of years of pent-up frustration, taking your bestie out to heal after a life-shattering situationship, or simply having a wild birthday party with friends, there’s something for everyone’s intrusive thoughts at The Smash Room City. Even if smashing isn’t quite the priority on your itinerary, you can even book a Karaoke room for some judgement-free belting sessions. Want a curated experience? The Smash Room City’s ‘Party Room’ gives you just that, with the ability to customise what you want to smash, be it a washing machine, guitars AND a few computers.

“We’re just pushing the limits in terms of entertainment and alternative therapy,” Abudyak emphasises. And so they are indeed. Alongside their existing warehouses and The Smash Room City, The Smash Room introduced quite the convenient option earlier this year; The Smash Mobile. With The Smash Mobile, you can get the experience right to your doorstep, whether it's needed to avoid potentially murdering someone or turn up the heat at your house party, it’s there for those who need it, and we definitely do.

But what drives someone to dedicate so much time and effort into a space only to bring it down crashing? Well, for Abudyak, when it comes to The Smash City, “At its heart is the way I wanted to express myself.” Having had a difficult childhood, followed by a career path that did not serve his aspirations nor his creativity, Abudyak had decided to let go of the traditional idea of success, instead choosing to live unapologetically free, released from the constraints of the societal wheel. This epiphany led him to create The Smash Room along with Balfaqih, and his own Dubai-based clothing label Jokes Aside, where the Palestinian-Jordanian entrepreneur lives out his bright maximalist dreams.

“Through Jokes Aside, I'm able to express myself visually, yet through The Smash Room, I’m able to let all what lies inside of me out,” Abudyak tells SceneNowUAE. Yet while the endeavour is one that is certainly personal, Abudyak notes how he has heard from hundreds of guests how they’ve found solace within the walls of The Smash Room.

“I had strong faith in the concept in 2018, but I did not really expect it to be such a hit in such a short time, considering its humble beginnings. I’m very grateful to have gone through it,” Abudyak shares. “I’ve heard from so many people how this experience positively affected them, how we prevented them from taking their rage out in unhealthy ways.”

With the launch of The Smash Room City, Abudyak and Balfaqih continue to provide a much-needed escape to those who need it, with further expansion on the horizon, we’re sure smash-happy fingers across the UAE are itching to see what this duo will serve up next.