Break Room LA: A Place To Smash Things

What to choose, what to choose. Should we get the toaster? The printer? Perhaps, possibly the microwave? Ooh, that old Xbox looks good. Keyboard, yes please. Why not, why not take them all? And smash them down to broken down piles of parts! Thanks to the recently opened Break Room LA.

Oh and we did break apart these things as we tried it out ourselves. We have a break down of how things are...broken down. Sufficed to say there is going to be plenty of stuff for you to smash with an aluminum bat, but more on that later.

The Valley has its own place to break away old laptops, TVs and bottles. It has Break Room LA. The concept is simple, you go there to break things. You go there to have fun wailing away on used consumer goods and don't worry it all be recycled...again.

Let's go through how it's done and what you'll be doing there. The process has you choosing a time and date online. Walk-ins are welcome, but we were told it's always better to call or e-mail, so you don't have to wait. You have to be at least 13-years-old to smash there and until you're 19 can't be in the rooms alone. So, you'll need to be older than 18 or accompanied by a guardian or parent until then. Online or in person you have to sign a waiver before smashing. *Don't forget to fill out the back.

You'll check out the different plans and prices. It's hard to recommend which one to try as they all vary, but we went all in and got to smash items in all the different size ranges. Take your time with the large items. The cheapest plan starts at $12 to give you a taste, but you're gonna want to at least put $20 down for a real time.

Really, check out the fine selection of items to bash apart. Like looking for a fine wine, you might want to look at what's the latest thing to smash as the selection will change with new items needing to be added all the time. You see the items you'll be destroying come from the local recycling center. So, think about what your doing as helping the environment.

You see the owner, Steven R. Munoz Reyes came to a deal with SCV Recycling, which is providing all the things you smash. Steven told me at first, he tried Craigslist and the app Offer Up to get items, but it just wasn't giving him enough stuff to be broken up. He then remembered a recycling center his father took him too as a child and scheduled to meet the owner. He met the owner and surprisingly he said yes to the partnership, providing him with things to smash. After you smash that broken down phone or fax it goes back to SCV Recycling to be recycled. In pieces of course, because you smashed it.

After choosing your plans and items you"ll suit up. For safety, you'll be wearing some protective gear. You can take anything you're worried about getting damaged out of your pockets and put it in a provided locker. Then comes the jump suits. We recommend taking off your shoes first when putting on the jump suits. They can be a bit hard to put on over your shoes. Do it before the gloves too. You'll be given, two sets of gloves to wear, first for health, they get sweaty, so, rubber gloves. The second wrapping is for safety. Your wearing some nice thick gloves now. Then the safety mask to protect your face. Listen, glass or plastic or whatever can smash off  what you're breaking and go straight for your face. These masks stop those items and save your looks and your eyesight. 

Your options of weapons include aluminum bats, crow bars and metal pipes. You're allowed to take all with you in to a dedicated room of breaking. Which, one to choose? We say, "All of them!" Each has a different feel. Each sort of make a different sound. And you're gonna love making those sounds with them.

You'll be led to your "break room" where you can prop your phone up in a plastic container for safety to take video. It's fine to bring a camera, but it's up to you to keep it safe. Break Room LA will give you a plastic container, but if you have a camera bigger than a small container we suggest bringing something you think that'll keep it safe.

If your phone has a phone jack you can play your own music while breaking apart an old fax machine. Smash stuff to heavy metal or to classic orchestra music. It's up to you.

As for the smashing itself. Ahhhhhhh!!!!! What glorious fun. With everything prepared, the door closed behind us and our rock tunes playing, we went all out, smashing up a storm. The alphabet learned to fly as we took a bat to a keyboard. Bottles would not break when thrown at the wall right away. We swear it's not like the movies, it's hard to break glass bottles sometimes. It took us multiple times until on one go we got them to shatter. The next time the glass bottles made friends with our friends, the aluminum bats. And, oh did they break apart to the symphony of music playing in the background.

Good-bye, PS2. We hardly new you. Who knew what was inside of you until taking a metal pipe to you.

Adios, XBox Guitar Hero Drum Set. You weren't identifiable as that after we took a crow bar and opened you up with so much force you went everywhere. You're playing your songs in heaven now.

Small upright fan, we were not a fan of you. That's why we walloped you until we couldn't break anymore of you.

Jumping into the air with glee. Using the force of gravity on the way down to make the impact even more powerful and intense. We collided with the top of you and broke you into yourself. We hit you over and over again. Bashing you in, flattening you. We yelled, we screamed in joy. We loved destroying you, microwave. "What did we do on the weekend?," someone might ask us around the water cooler or a friend on the phone. "We f%&ked up at microwave. And loved doing it."

When talking with owner Steven again, he told us he would be changing a lot in Break Room LA in the coming weeks and months and making it more independent from the Escape Room business he also owns. Will update you when major changes happen. Steven said vehicles might become part of the menu to be smashed, but that's down the line. But come on, it's a Street Fighter reference in the making.

For those who haven't tried it, try it at least once. Smash something at Break Room LA. For a wide selection of items that will probably always be different, the ease of access in The Valley and the adventure of suiting up smash an experience you might want to do way more than once awaits you.

*If you have anymore questions about the rules, be sure to call or e-mail Break Room LA  If you want to bring your own items to smash come 10-15 minutes early for Break Room LA to check if it's okay.

*This experience is also from the same people who make Suite 201 Escape Room. If you're looking for an escape room experience you might want to try it.

Break Room LA
6819 Sepulveda Blvd
Ste 201, 2nd Floor
Los Angeles, CA 91405 
Hours
Mon Closed
Tues-Thurs 6pm-11pm
Fri 6pm-1am
Sat 2pm-1am
Sun10am-10pm
1.818.923.7513        

​[email protected]

*Parking 
You'll want to park through the opening in the Mid-Valley Professional Building on Sepulveda Blvd in its lot. During the time Break Room LA is open it's okay to park anywhere in the lot as the other business have 9-5pm business hours.