PHILLIPPA Sutton and her husband Glenn are, she advises, "quiet and tame people".
So when the pair decided to open The Smash Room at their Hunter Valley destination Sutton Estate, eyebrows were raised.
"People have said, 'What on earth?' This is not a business they thought I'd start," says Mrs Sutton, who has a finance background.
The Smash Room - alongside the Wine Escape Room, but more on that later - is set beneath gum trees that pepper the scenic 27-acre Estate on Deasys Road, Pokolbin.
Once inside, customers don protective "cover-alls", glass-proof gloves, long boots, a face mask and helmet. They then step into one of two soundproofed rooms and can choose their "weapon": a wooden rod, metal baseball bat or hammer.
They receive a crate of empty wine bottles to place on a stand. For a bit extra, they can print an image to attach to the target: perhaps the face of Donald Trump or a sign with a rubbish bin and the words "my ex".
After choosing their favourite music to blast, and surrounded by walls graffitied with phrases like "break it, shake it, love it, repeat", they can get smashing. The backdrop is a brick wall reinforced with metal.
"Half the fun is watching the other person do it because the music is blaring - the girls like power movement songs and the boys like the really heavy metal," says Mrs Sutton.
Open since May 14, the demand is there. Four people can book for a half hour, bigger groups can book consecutive slots.
"Everyone who has done it has loved it, it's been really fulfilling," Mrs Sutton says. "Honestly, I thought people would like it but I'm not really an angry person. But you see it after [they smash] that first bottle. It's such a pressure release. Some people see it as an anger thing but I think it's just frustration release in a safe environment."
The Smash Room is the latest endeavour of the Suttons, who moved to the Hunter from Sydney 12 years ago and bought their property in 2012.
"I just wanted land for my horse, then we fell into it all," Mrs Sutton says.
That included wine tours and renting half of their large home out to holidayers. Then they bought a few electric bikes for their guests to get around on and it took off: they now have at least 100 of the bikes for hire via Sutton Estate and locations including Leisure Inn, Chateu Elan, Cypress Lakes, Hunter Valley Gardens and Hunter Resort.
Next came the Wine Escape Room, which began almost six years and was inspired by Mrs Sutton's experience of a general escape room when she was working in banking.
"I did it as a corporate team building thing, and I thought 'God, I am going to kill someone in here, I need a glass of wine, so I thought I'd build a wine escape room," she quips, explaining that the Wine Escape Room includes puzzles and clues that teach participants about Hunter Valley wine as they work together to find the prized bottle of wine and "escape" the room.
Some may have issues to get through, but generally it's about fun and the sensation of getting a big stick and smashing glass.
Keen to build a business known for its activities, not just a place to sit and drink wine, Mrs Sutton was helped by the owner of Brisbane's Rage Cage to understand the insurances needed for a "smash room". Based on a concept believed to have started in Japan around 2008 and has since spread globally, it also ticks an environmental box.
"The recycling of wine bottles in the Hunter Valley for commercial businesses is expensive so the local wineries, restaurants and accommodation businesses are happy to donate their empty wine bottles to The Smash Room," Mrs Sutton says.
"We are trying to find a new purpose for the smashed glass where it can be melted for driveways and footpaths."
The Smash Room seems set to be a hit with bucks, hens and birthday groups. It is a welcome relief after COVID-19 shut Sutton Estate for two months in 2020. Mrs Sutton used the time to design the Hunter Valley Guide app to promote local businesses.
Glenn Sutton, 57, who semi-retired from electrical commercial construction to find himself working daily on the land, is a fan: "For some it's a bit different, they may have issues to get through, but generally it's about fun, the music - the sensation of getting a big stick and smashing some glass around."
