MANIAX AXE THROWING
MANIAX was the first Urban Axe Throwing company in Australia, established in 2014 in Sydney NSW. We are also the largest in Australia, with venues in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth and Adelaide. We’ve had close to 500,000 people through our doors across Australia, which equates to approx 25 million axes thrown! That’s with no significant axe-idents beyond a splinter.
Wind back the clock to 2014...
Director of MANIAX, Adam Schilling, shares how MANIAX all started...
"I still remember the conversation vividly when I was sitting in the back of a car heading out for some beers with some friends in Canada. There were these crazy Canucks throwing axes for fun in a warehouse in the outskirts of Toronto. I wanted to give it a try but it was completely booked out. It was then I knew all this craziness might just excite our local Aussie market and be something huge. I was determined to bring it back to Australia.
It started with beers, a bunch of different types of axes, mates and some knocked up axe targets in my backyard. We lived in Coogee in Sydney at the time, surrounded by apartments. We had the fire pit burning, the dogs running around and the scene was set for good times. We threw axes into the night for a couple of weeks until the neighbours had enough of the many loud thuds of the axes hitting the targets and started yelling at us to stop. Over these couple of weeks, we tried and tested every axe we could get our hands on. To this day, we continue our R&D with products and procedures to perfect the experience that is Urban Axe Throwing.
From what started off as just mates having a laugh, it wasn’t long until we knew we had to find a warehouse. We went searching in the inner west of Sydney and luckily found a landlord that shared the passion for taking risks and having a go.
We put in a DA to the local council and then the reality hit. Some of the locals were up in arms. They hustled the media, the council, which made our debut extremely difficult. There were certainly times when I thought Axe Throwing may be too un-PC for Australia but we persevered and fought hard.
It turned out the battle was all a blessing in disguise - the media loved it! We ended up all over the news, in the local newspapers, national TV, Radio, social media. All this attention pushed us in the face of the public, which drastically helped our little start-up business idea gain traction.
The rest is history with our Sydney venue becoming very successful and most of the naysayers even stopping by to throw axes and have the time of their life. As we got busier it was time to expand around Australia. Five years, four venues and close to 300,000 people later, our Australian venues operate at capacity most weekends for groups of all backgrounds – bucks, hens, family get-togethers, birthdays or just those wanting something different than the same old, same old. Our weekday sessions are busy with many large companies wanting to give their team members something edgy to do to set themselves above the old boardroom games.
I never get bored of seeing people throwing an axe for the first time and hitting that bullseye, the cheers, yelling of excitement, pure primal noises that bellow from deep in their stomach. It truly is rewarding to know that all the battles that were fought to bring axe throwing down under were worth it. We run MANIAX as a relaxed, thrilling, but above all safe environment.
What makes us excited? Seeing this thing grow from a bare warehouse and a crazy idea to a pumping number of venues with a fabulous team of Axe Throwing legends leading the way with every type of Aussie who wants to learn how to throw an axe. Our staff really make your experience what it is – they are a bunch of champions. MANIAX is not MANIAX without them and I feel very lucky to have them. Each has their own spin on how to do it best, and they give their all to make sure that every person walks out with a big smile on their dial and a story to tell their mates about how they learned a crazy new skill of axe throwing.
What’s next for us? We've been listening to our punters and want to create more and more venues! We intend to keep on expanding around Australia and then who knows, probably further afield.
So next time you're thinking of something to fill in some time with a group of work colleagues, family, or friends, come and hurl some axes. You might want to even book one of our food and beverage packages, eat meat, and throw back some tinnies. Who knows, you might surprise yourself with the inner Viking you never knew you were. The 300,000 people that we have already taught will be one step in front when it comes to the next Zombie Apocalypse."
Adam Schilling - Director, MANIAX Group of Companies