Let the Mayhem ensue: Portland has new ‘rage room’ and paint-splatter business

Photo / Courtesy Mayhem Mayhem’s paint room is ready to go for children and adults.

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The founder of a small business called Mayhem is building out three rage rooms and two paint splatter rooms at 52 Alder St. in Portland’s West Bayside neighborhood.

“Rage rooms have been on the rise in the United States in recent years,” said Paul Taylor, a New Englander who has been based in Maine for over a decade. “Most major cities have at least a couple, and I’ve always thought it would be interesting to have one in Portland.”

Mayhem Rage Rooms LLC leased 3,128 square feet of retail space from RD 65 Hanover LLC. Peter Gwilym of Porta & Co. brokered the deal.

The building consists of connected sections bordered on the west side by Hanover Street and on the east side by Alder Street. The west section has the address of 65 Hanover St. Mayhem's suite on the east side has the address of 52 Alder St.

A brick building has several doors and signage.

Photo / Courtesy Porta & Co.

A small business called Mayhem is coming to 52 Alder St. in Portland’s West Bayside neighborhood.

The building owner is Reveler Development, a Portland-based real estate investment, development, construction and management company. Taylor signed a five-year lease.

“We’re excited to see Paul and his team activate this space in the coming months,” said John Laliberte, Reveler’s CEO.

Other tenants include Argenta Brewing and a store associated with the Hearts of Pine soccer club.

Port Property, a Reveler affiliate, manages the property and tenancy.

Things to break

Mayhem claims to be the only “rage room” venue in southern Maine, according to a news release.

The site will offer three rage rooms on the ground floor. The top floor is dedicated to art-related activities and is designed for both children and adults to unleash their creativity without the worry of mess.

Taylor's background includes studying criminal justice at the University of New Haven. When he left college, he worked in security operations for a pharmaceutical company in Connecticut and pivoted to fraud analysis for a focal company.

A person stands at a counter covered with stickers.

Photo / Courtesy Mayhem

Paul Taylor, seen here at Mayhem’s front counter, will offer "rage rooms" and a paint splatter space.

He moved to Portland about a decade ago and now works for BlackHawk Network, a financial technology company with an office in South Portland.

The idea for the business has been rolling around his head for a few years, and he’s heard from others who mentioned they wished Portland had a rage room.

Rage rooms are a safe place where people can break things.

“When you book a session, you’ll get a large plastic tote of ceramic and glassware, and specialty items available to add on to your session, maybe concrete or ceramic statues,” said Taylor. “I’ll source a couple of pianos. Some people like to source old washers and dryers.”

He’s been adding old steel safes and plans to hide items in them. People who can get the items out with a sledgehammer will get prizes.

A sledgehammer, speaker and baseball bat are propped together.

Photo / Courtesy Mayhem

Sledge hammers, baseball bats and safes are part of the equipment to be found at Mayhem’s rage room.

“We're offering an adrenaline-based experience,” said Taylor.

Splatter paint

In the paint rooms, people can splatter canvas with washable paints using squeeze-bottles, water guns, water balloons and brushes.

“This will be a place for people to bring their kids,” said Taylor. “I have a 3-year-old and we're very much entering the mess phase.”

Safety will be a top priority throughout the facility, with a long list of protective measures in place, such as participants receiving personal protective equipment, multiple cameras and limited capacity.

When Taylor ran his business plan by the Maine Small Business Development Center, he received encouragement to forge ahead.

Need for the right building

It took about a year and a half to find the right space in a semi-industrial building with a large overhead garage bay door, next to an active commercial neighborhood but not near residences. The noise of breakage will be against a far wall and so is not expected to bother other tenants, he said.

From the front door, the layout starts at the front desk, with display cases containing specialty items and some larger items out and about. Staff will check in customers and bring them bins for the rage rooms. There will be an area for personal protective equipment staging, including coveralls, closed-toe shoes, safety goggles, face shields and earplugs.

There will be a rage room sized for one person and others sized for four and six people. They’ll have stuff to hit with, such as baseball bats and sledgehammers.

“I picked up a couple of candelabras. There might be a wrench — miscellaneous things that you can use to break things,” said Taylor.

The rooms will be cleaned after each session.

Goodwill and estate sales

Taylor gets stuff to break from various places.

“I have a relationship with the Goodwill Buy the Pound Store in Gorham,” he said. “You can buy materials from them by the palette. I take a box truck over there every once in a while. I’ll go to estate sales. I search Facebook Marketplace sometimes.”

Investment in the self-financed build-out is coming in at about $45,000. Final construction is underway and the goal is to open in October. Build-out includes taking down some walls between former office and conference spaces and adding additional wall sheathing to the rage rooms. The paint room is ready to go.

“Many rage rooms focus on the danger and the grit and it being just an angry space, and it is that for some people,” Taylor said. “But Mayhem is a place for people to come and have a permission structure to just be a little messy, be a little crazy and get the adrenaline going.”