Today we’d like to introduce you to Kevin Torsel.
Hi Kevin, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
I’m a Haitian kid from Powder Springs, GA. Owner and CEO of Outrage Rage Room. I went through a lot growing up, so I acted in ways I shouldn’t have. My mom always cared, though, so she did what she thought was best for me. When I was about 13/14, I went to therapy for anger management. Therapy was tough because I didn’t like talking about my problems and one thing you have to do when you got to a therapist is talk.
My therapist understood my emotions and decided to approach me with a different method. She would give a plate and told me to write down what was bothering me. Then she would tell me to break it. After a visit or two, I started to open up and get my act together. Ever since then I’ve always been thankful for that experience. It helped me relieve my tension by breaking a plate compared to smashing holes in my room walls. I didn’t even know rage rooms existed until about two years ago when I saw it on a TV show.
I’ve always had a dream of opening my own business, ever since I was younger. So when I saw someone smashing an item on tv, something in me clicked and said, “I have to open one”. My girlfriend and I started to come up with a plan to get one open. We had a dream, and we chased it.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
It was definitely a tough process because; 1) We were only 20 and 2) We were broke. Despite not having much funds, we put what we had together and got the ball rolling. Starting thinking of names, got our LLC together, get our business bank account set up, set our business plan, drew our logo and the hardest part… finding a location.
That was the hardest part for us because Rage Rooms are not as popular as I thought. I mean think about it, two 20-year-olds call you and try to explain that they are first-time business owners and they would like to open a business that allows people to break stuff indoors… Yea, it sounds ridiculous right?… That being said, we got denied by six different locations. We started to get a little discouraged at the time, but we kept pushing each other and didn’t let each other give up.
On our 7th attempt at a location, we met Rich Dawson with Phillips Edison and CO. He believed in us and said he had the perfect location for the type of business we have. He was more excited about getting us on board than we were at the time. He told me he was going to try his best to get us into a location and he delivered! We had keys in hand and the lease was signed 10/2020! On top of this great news, Rich told me that he was able to lock us in for three months free rent. Let’s skip the story about our celebration, let’s just say there were a couple shed tears.
Now that we finally had a location and three months free rent, it was time for construction… ohh boy… storytime. I drew a floor plan and we committed to it. I had the better credit at the time, so I tried my best to secure a loan. Sadly we weren’t able to get a loan. I tried many grants and wasn’t accepted by those either. We didn’t have any other choice but to do the construction our self. Trying to find a location was our hardest challenge… little did I know it was actually easier than what came next… Building Permits.
21 years old at the time and walked into a government business licence building stating that we want to build our store from scratch with no experience… let’s just say this was a headache. After a long month and a half, we finally got our permits and started construction. We didn’t have much money, so we built our rage rooms with PVC piping, heavy curtains and scrap wooden pallets. We knew we needed an office and storage room so we learned how to frame metal studs and place drywall with a couple YouTube videos. Definitely almost went deaf messing with a concrete ram shot loll.
I was still working at my main job at the time, so the only time I would be able to do any work in my unit was after I got off at 7 pm. We spent 3-4 hour nights just trying to get as much done as we can, sometimes leaving our store past 1 am. I actually totaled my car during this time, so transportation was tough having to share a car. I received a $3000 check from my accident, and I decided to use it to get more supplies and our storefront sign because without a sign we were not allowed to open. Skipping over a couple minor details, construction was completed on the first week of February 2021.
After tremendous support from our family and close friends, we opened our doors on February 12th, 2021. We have been open for five months now, and it has been great. Officially have two employees! Just hit $100,000 in gross sales! Also looking at opening another location. We are at the stage now where I am trying to partner with a therapist and psychiatrist to see if I can in-cooperate smash relief with therapeutic relief. We were achieving our dreams, and I couldn’t be happier. In a world where people feel as though they cant let go of their heavy burdens. I’m happy that we’re able to help people relieve their stress and forget all of their mess. We feel as though we’re giving people a second chance.
Ugh, I have so much more I want to say, but I guess I’ll end it here. This journey has been tough, but we pushed through. People threw dirt on our names but our flowers still grew. We still have a long way to go, but I’m glad we made it this far.
As you know, we’re big fans of Outrage Rage Room. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
Outrage is a rage room. A rage room is a place where people can exert their rage by smashing items that are in a room. Outrage Rage Room provides a safe space for destructive therapy. We encourage the healthy process of allowing yourself to physically break so you don’t mentally break.
We are the only rage room in the Metro Atlanta Area. We have a multitude of different things to smash; Computer systems, Office Items, Glass, etc. We give a bat or a hammer and you get 15 minutes to release all of your stress. We know not everyone can talk, but we know anyone can pick up a bat. Where else can you break stuff without getting in trouble for it? Outrage also has Rage Painting, where you get to throw paint on a canvas and take it home with you. Lastly, we plan on starting Car Smashing in October!
What sets us apart from other rage room globally is that we are the cheapest rage room in the United States and we allow kid eight years and up (kids are stressed to lol). And two years old for Rage Painting. We have also been featured on a couple YouTube series and Love and Hip Hop ATL. Despite being open for only five months, I am really proud of the turnout.
This is a new venture so alot of people are still slightly skeptical about what a Rage Room is. Once people started catching word about what we were about, word started to spread quick. I opened this business with the idea of helping people and we have done just that. From divorces, breakups, work issues to school finals, we got you!
Thanks to help of Brandon Alexander “The Network King” we were able to reformat how we approach our customers with his “Brand Bible” and that helped us market a little better. This has been a long journey and we are only just getting started! If you have a dream, chase it! I plan on retiring not only my self but my Mom and my Mother-in-law, so i have work to do!
Can you talk to us a bit about happiness and what makes you happy?
My happiness comes from seeing other people happy. Especially my mom. When she’s smiling it always makes me happy. I just love helping people. I grew up with a lot of people, but I lost a lot of them along the way. I really miss them but live goes on. I learned that I didn’t lose anyone along the way that deserved to stay in my life. Whenever I saw someone in need or down I would step up try to cheer everyone up.
I love working on things and learning new skills. I hate the feeling of not knowing how to do something so If im not clear on something, I will literally study it in my free time. What really makes me happy is knowing that I am making a difference. Seeing my dreams comes to reality has been an ecstatic experience.
Pricing:
- Major Rager (17+) – $30
- Minor Rager (13-16) – $20
- Lil Rager (8-12) – $10
- Rage Painting + $10 (Added to original pricing)
Contact Info:
- Email: outrageatl@gmail.com
- Website: https://www.outrageatl.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/outrageatl/
