December 2015 American Way Magazine - page 99

DONNAALEXANDER
grewuponChicago’s
SouthSide, andher
neighborhoodwasa
toughone.Peopleshe
knewwent toprison,
sometimes forseriousoffensesandsome-
times forminoractsofvandalism.
Atage16,Alexanderhadan idea: “I
thought, ‘What if therewasaplacewhere
peoplecouldgoandrelease theiranger
inasafeway; aplacewhere theycouldgo
punchholes inawallandnothave togo to
jail fordoing that?’”
The teenager’s follow-upnotionwas
evenmoreaudacious:What ifyoucould
makeabusinessoutofsuchaplace—a
denofdestructionwherepeoplewould
paymoney toblowoffsteam?“Ididn’t
acton that ideabecauseI thought itwas
toogood,”saysAlexander,who isnow33.
“I thoughtsomeoneelsewouldcomeout
with thesameconceptbeforeIcould.”
Adecadeafter the thoughtfirstoc-
curred toher, thepay-as-you-breakbusi-
nessmodelhadyet toberealized.Soshe
askeda few friends if they’dpay tosmash
stuff, likeoldprintersand faxmachines,
inhergarage.Manysaidyes.Soon,her
friendswerebringing their friends to the
garage.Thenstrangersshowedupasking,
“Is this theplacewhereyoucanbreak
stuff?”
“That’swhenIknew,”Alexandersays,
“thatIreallyhada legitbusiness.”
In2011,Alexanderexpandedher
enterprise,openingwhatshecalledAnger
Room, anunfurnished,nondescriptspace
insideanequallynondescriptofficepark
insuburbanDallas. In theyearssince,
hundredsofpeoplehavecomehere to
dress in layersofprotectivegearand,
SmiteClub
ADallas-basedentrepreneurhascreatedavenuewhereclientscankick,
punchandbludgeon their frustrationsaway
AMERICANWAY
DECEMBER2015
99
BUSINESS
ByJosephGuinto
ILLUSTRATION
RYAN SNOOK
“What if therewasaplacewherepeoplecouldgoand
release theiranger inasafeway?”
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