A dinner plate soars into a steel wall and breaks four ways. A computer keyboard falls on concrete, fracturing each key. A drinking glass shatters on impact with a bat. At first glance, these descriptions may not evoke images of low-key, guileless fun. But free-wheeling entertainment is exactly what Rochester’s first-ever smash room, iSmash, aims to represent.
The sprawling facility on Jefferson Road in Rochester was founded in 2018 by Spencerport native Steven Shortino. While most area retailers lost business amid the COVID-19 pandemic, iSmash was the exception to the rule; the company’s breakout year was 2021. Five years later, the brand is now represented by 100 franchises nationwide from California to Florida.
“You’ve probably never been able to go inside a room and just break everything in it. You’re always told, ‘don’t do that,’ where- as the purpose [of the smash room] is to go in and break stuff. It’s unique because it’s so contrarian,” says Shortino.
At twenty-one years old, Shortino, who had worked odd jobs for several years, decided to start a business. That’s when a friend showed him a video of the smash room concept.
“It was just one of those things where it kind of clicked in my head,” says Shortino. “It was unique—the closest comparable place was in Toronto; it seemed like a simple business model, and the idea resonated with me personally. I had a good sense of how to build something people would want to come and do.”
The flagship iSmash facility (Rochester) features an eclectic mix of graffiti-style wall art (painted by local artists) and quirky, modern touches, including a Mini Melt (ice cream treats) vending machine and a two-story Christmas tree adorned with silver garlands.
The colorful, brightly lit space houses four smash rooms, two blacklight paint rooms, and several axe-throwing stations alongside a well-appointed meeting and event area. Each smash room contains two tree stumps, which serve as tables, in addition to a range of “smashing tools”: crowbars, sledgehammers, and baseball bats. A reinforced steel wall at the back of the room is the smashing target. Customers can even create their own playlist and hook it up to the room’s speaker system via their cell phone.
The smashable products are brought in from a combination of recycling vendors and customer donations. “It’s all household items. We have a whole menu of options for customers to choose from, as far as what they want to smash. We have different add-ons and packages,” says Shortino. There’s even an option for customers to break their own items, like an object that reminds them of an ex-partner, for instance.
“All customers are covered from head-to-toe in safety gear that is designed specifically to prevent injuries from [high-impact] activities,” Shortino says. “We also play a safety video, so people know exactly what they can and can’t do in [the smash room]. And, we have an in-room camera system, which is monitored by a staff member.” Another benefit of the camera system is that parents or friends can safely observe the activity from the lobby without ever entering the room themselves.
Now it’s time for me to try the smash room. In a small preparation area, I put on goggles, a face shield, two sets of gloves (one plastic, the other more durable), and an outer layer of protective clothing. Then, after a short safety briefing, I am left to my own devices in a large, rectangular space. The room features two computer keyboards, a collection of miscellaneous dishware, and a retired air conditioning unit.
At first, I’m uncertain. But then I pull a pale blue plate from the cardboard box on the floor and fling it at the wall. The dish ricochets off a bright red target. Immediately, it splinters. I pick up a computer keyboard next. I throw it on the ground and then take a heavy crowbar to the plastic keys. Three or four come loose. I try again. Several wriggle free this time.
Twenty minutes later, my session ends. I am surrounded by the remnants of my destruction and thoroughly soaked in sweat. I feel revitalized … and relieved I’m not responsible for cleaning up the mess.
In addition to the smash rooms, iSmash has also become a leader in several other areas of entertainment. Customers can participate in splatter paint sessions—some of which feature glitter boosters and paint guns—as well as lumberjack competitions and multiactivity parties involving a charcuterie board of customizable offerings.
Being an industry leader has its challenges, though. “It’s hard, because in most industries, there are people with decades of experience and you can do research based on their history,” Shortino says. “With this industry, there was nothing to look at. This was a lot of trailblazing, a lot of, ‘okay, let’s try this … okay, that didn’t work out, let’s adjust.’”
But, Shortino notes, the Rochester community has supported him through it all. “It’s been cool to build a lot of this [with] help from the people of Rochester.” He adds, “Because we’re new and don’t require a massive clientele, we have the flexibility to go into areas other brands can’t. When people think of an entertainment franchise, we want them to think of iSmash.”
For Shortino, the payoff is personal. “Growing up, I loved the types of places where kids would run up to the door because they were so excited to go inside. I was a kid who did that. And seeing kids act like that at iSmash is an amazing feeling.”
Learn more: ismashusa.com.
This article originally appeared in the March/April 2026 issue of (585).
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