Motor City Match helps launch Detroit’s first and only rage room

• The Damage Zone opens as Detroit's first rage room, offering adults and children supervised spaces for controlled stress relief
• The business offers 30-minute sessions - longer than typical rage rooms - plus ax throwing and guided breathing exercises
• The business becomes the 177th Motor City Match recipient to open, following an $85,000 grant for renovations and inventory
• Motor City Match has awarded $19.1M in cash grants; 85% of overall winners are minority-owned businesses, 70% are women-owned and 67% are owned by Detroit residents

The City of Detroit and Detroit Economic Growth Corporation (DEGC) celebrated the grand opening of The Damage Zone, the city's first and only rage room. Located in Detroit's Bethune Community, The Damage Zone becomes the 177th Motor City Match business to open a brick-and-mortar location.

The inaugural rage room facility was brought to life by founder and owner Zienethe (Zina) Holifield, who coined The Damage Zone's motto: "Be a responsible psycho." Customers can release negative emotions by breaking items in themed rooms inspired by households and office spaces. Holifield, whose background spans career fields including child and family therapy, corrections and child abuse investigation, said she aims to combine entertainment and stress relief with community impact.

"Everyone has a little crazy in them, it's how you manage the craziness that makes you a responsible psycho," Holifield said.

Holifield, who grew up in North Carolina after moving from Saginaw, Michigan, returned to Detroit in 2013. The self-described social entrepreneur said she wants to provide a safe space where people can manage stress by breaking items in a controlled environment.

"I came to Detroit to pour back into the community, and The Damage Zone is part of that mission," Holifield said. "We're a responsible outlet for emotions, a place where everyone can safely manage their 'crazy' while having fun."

The Damage Zone ribbon cutting

The facility serves customers 13 and older, and offers a separate space for children ages 5-12, making it the first kid-friendly rage room in the Midwest. Adult customers can break recycled items from local cleanout companies and donations, while children's areas use new inventory. Holifield said the business uses about one large storage container of items weekly.

"All the anger, stress, and sadness I was holding back was released at the Damage Zone," customer Da'on B. wrote in an online review. "This experience was so much more than just a time to be destructive. It was an opportunity for me to take the mask off and feel and release everything I'd been feeling for the past few days."

The Damage Zone, at 15785 James Couzens Freeway, offers 30-minute sessions, longer than typical rage rooms. The business includes happy hour ax throwing from 3-5 p.m. Thursdays and corporate discounts. Staff members guide customers through breathing exercises in a lounge area after their sessions.

"The Damage Zone represents exactly the kind of innovative small business Detroit needs," said Deputy Mayor Melia Howard prior to the event. "When entrepreneurs like Zienethe create services that promote both stress relief and safety, it strengthens our entire community."

The business received an $85,000 Motor City Match grant to update heating and air conditioning, renovate the space and buy inventory. The rage room employs four Detroit residents, two full-time and two part-time. Holifield plans to hire two more workers.

"We know how emotions like stress, anxiety, anger and frustration can negatively impact quality of life, which is why having a safe, judgment-free zone to unleash your emotions is so vital for our city's residents, young and old," said Sean Gray, vice president of Small Business Services at the DEGC, which manages the Motor City Match program. "We love seeing Motor City Match business owners like Zienethe who strengthens our community's mental health while building successful businesses."

City of Detroit Director of Government Affairs, Marshall Bullock and FOX 2 reporter, Charlie Langton actively using the Damage Zone rooms.

Through 27 rounds of Motor City Match:    

• Total cash grants: $19.1 million (Total leveraged investment: $102.7 million)  
• 85 percent are minority-owned businesses  
• 70 percent are women-owned businesses  
• 67 percent are businesses owned by Detroit residents

About Motor City Match    

Motor City Match is a unique partnership between the City of Detroit, the Detroit Economic Growth Corporation (DEGC), the Economic Development Corporation of the City of Detroit (EDC) and the U.S. Department of the Treasury through the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA). Competitive financial assistance is supported by a broad partnership of Southeast Michigan community development financial institutions and corporations including, Bank of America, Fifth Third Bank, Ford Foundation, Hudson Webber Foundation, JPMorgan Chase & Co., Knight Foundation, The Kresge Foundation, New Economy Initiative, and the W.K. Kellogg Foundation. Motor City Match applications are available quarterly. More information is available at MotorCityMatch.com.

Public link

Please use the above public link if you want to share this noodl on another website.