The Smash Room has arrived in Abu Dhabi.
The space, which opened its first branch in Dubai in 2018, is in Nahil Building on Al Rawdah Street and is currently in a soft opening phase.
It was founded by Hiba Balfaqih and her friend Ibrahim Abudyak, who wanted to help people in the UAE de-stress by breaking things.
In addition to an area dedicated to destruction, the new venue also has a cafe and arcade games, for those who want further relaxation after a session.
“We are so excited to finally bring The Smash Room to Abu Dhabi. Expanding our brand and growing in the UAE has been a major goal for us and we are beyond thrilled to be able to take this leap and bring this experience to a new audience,” said Abudyak.
“We created this space to offer a unique way of releasing pent-up stress and frustration while also having fun with no limits. Abu Dhabi has been making strides in their entertainment offerings and we are proud to now be a part of the scene.”
How it works
Each session is preceded by a list of safety rules, and visitors are given full upper-body padding, a helmet and gloves.
There is also a crowbar, sledgehammer, cricket bat or baseball bat available as a weapon of choice for the session. Items can even be hurled at the concrete walls.
Breakable objects are brought over from the scrapyard or through donations and include things such as plates, glasses, old TVs and DVD players.
The idea of a Smash Room
The concept for the space began when Balfaqih’s grandmother passed away in 2017 and left her with some unresolved feelings.
“I had a lot of anger and resentment,” she previously told The National. “I went and did the traditional methods of therapy and it just didn’t help.”
One day she decided to try something different, and as an entrepreneur with a background in psychology, Balfaqih realised she was on to something.
“I came up with the idea to go into my backyard and smash something, and I felt relief. So I thought: ‘All right, let’s start a business’,” she says.
Balfaqih said she hoped the room helps others find an alternative way to deal with stress, likening it to “exercise”.
“When you start smashing, you’re releasing your endorphins and so forth, so that’s the area that’s the ‘therapy’ part – the release of negative energy.”
Other new openings in Abu Dhabi
The Smash Room is the latest entertainment venue to open in the capital. It joins SeaWorld Abu Dhabi, Snow Abu Dhabi and Adrenark Adventure in Al Qana.
New restaurants have also come to Abu Dhabi, such as Somewhere, which serves Arabic-Mediterranean, in Marina Mall and Les Dangereux, which is fine-dining fare inspired by Arabian tradition, at Mamsha on Saadiyat Island.
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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
