Bad Axe Throwing offers coronavirus stress outlet

Feeling stressed over the pandemic? Looking for an outlet while guaranteeing social distance? Try throwing an ax.

But not any old ax anywhere you choose.

On a recent Friday evening, a steady stream of walk-in guests visited the Bad Axe Throwing club on District Avenue in Fairfax, Virginia, just to get in touch with their inner lumberjack.

“This is a great opportunity, I think, for everyone to blow off some steam,” said Mario Zelaya, founder and CEO of Bad Axe Throwing. He described the sport as the “cooler version of bowling” or “bowling 2.0” and as much more satisfying — and probably cheaper — than therapy.

The club has more than 40 locations across the country, in Canada and the United Kingdom.

Walk-in customers are greeted by a coach who has them sign waivers, provides a rundown of safety rules and demonstrates the one- and two-hand throwing techniques. Larger parties can try other techniques such as two axes at once, underhand, “scissors” (throwing overhand and underhand simultaneously) and the “dongle” (throwing from between the legs).

Throwers can chuck a weighty East Wing ax or a lighter hatchet — or try both.

Kaleigh Hammond, an ax-throwing coach at the Fairfax location, said she’s noticed a lot of people from the medical field coming in lately as a way to de-stress. Mr. Zelaya also noted a fair amount of teachers and first responders have been visiting his businesses throughout the pandemic.

As a show of appreciation during the pandemic, the company is offering teachers a discount for ax throwing every Monday and Tuesday. Teachers can bring in their school badges or IDs and receive the “hero rate.” Firefighters, nurses, paramedics, police officers and active and veteran military members also can get the hero discount, which is generally 25% off.

“We used to call it the ’first responders rate,’” Mr. Zelaya said. “We decided that, given the pandemic, the first responders to us are the teachers. And they are also the nurses. They are also the doctors. So we expanded that hero rate because from our perspective they’re all heroes. They’ve served the country in some way, shape or form.”

“We thought it was a great way to reward those people who are kind of on the front lines, helping them to keep going forward,” he said.

On a Friday evening, Ms. Hammond coached and supervised a continuous flow of masked walk-in customers, many of whom were first-time ax throwers looking to have a good time.

Carlos Casabianca and Annika Moje, a couple from Alexandria, Virginia, visited Bad Axe for a creative date night. The couple, both first-time throwers, brought along a small stereo to listen to while they chucked single-bit axes at wooden targets.

“It’s perfect for whoever has an ax to grind,” Mr. Casabianca said, laughing. “It’s always something we wanted to do.”

He said the secret to ax throwing is the smoothness of the throw and not the force, which can cause a hatchet to bounce off a target.

Another visitor, Allan Leach, had traveled straight from his job as a mortician at the Universal Mortuary in the District to the Bad Axe club to throw for the first time with his cousin Lauren Pollard.

“My cousin, Lauren, here helps me experience all these types of good things,” Mr. Leach said. “We both work and we’re busy, but when we have time we try to find something exciting to do where we can enjoy ourselves.”

“This is stress relief because I see a lot of death at work,” he said. “I grew up cutting wood as a kid so I’m good with the ax, but throwing, it’s fun. You get a technique down. It’s really fun. I like it.”

The Woodbridge, Virginia, resident joked that ax throwing is all about the wrist flick, comparing it to a free throw in basketball, as he tossed a hatchet at a wooden target. The blade landed on the ring closest to the red bull’s-eye.

It was his cousin’s idea to try ax throwing. Ms. Pollard said she had been brainstorming activities that are fun and socially distanced. The wooden targets are spaced about 6 feet apart with protective fencing on both sides.

Ax throwing also seemed like a good way to “toss out aggression,” she added.

Before each session, visitors are instructed not to throw when someone is walking down a lane to retrieve an ax from a target. Another rule is not to throw when an ax is already on target, which can lead to “freakish accidents” such as an ax ricocheting back to someone, Mr. Zelaya said.

And the golden rule for ax throwing? Throw together, retrieve together.

Mr. Zelaya opened the doors of his first Bad Axe venue in Burlington, Ontario, in fall of 2014 and then began opening businesses in the U.S. in 2016.

With more than 40 locations, Mr. Zelaya claims there’s never been a major injury at his businesses. Of course, there have been minor scratches, such as when coaches warn people that the blades are sharp and instruct them not to touch them and then someone touches a blade to see how sharp it is.

In 2017, Mr. Zelaya helped create a governing body called the World Axe Throwing League. It is the largest professional association for ax throwing in the world and hosts international tournaments, including the World Axe Throwing Championship, which included the world’s top 128 ax throwers this year.

The 2020 World Axe Throwing Championship took place Dec. 4-6 in Atlanta.