Lumberjax throws down in Regina
When four colleagues from Trademark Homes found themselves with free time in Winnipeg last October, they decided to try a novel pastime: axe-throwing. They enjoyed the activity but thought that they could create a better experience back home, so they immediately set out to create Lumberjax, Regina’s first and only axe-throwing facility.
“This is much more than just a bunch of guys wanting to come and chuck axes and be real manly,” said Matty O’Connell, the brand manager for Trademark Homes who, with James McCullough, Tyson Liske, and Ryan Moore, originally conceived Lumberjax. The activity, he said, appeals to a surprisingly broad range of demographics in this country. “At the root of it, there’s something a little bit Canadiana about throwing axes at a target.
“This is another opportunity to do something different, to get family together, to get your friends together, to get your team together – whether it be a corporate or sports team – and just try something different,” O’Connell said. “When you’re competing and high-fiving each other, there’s a different dynamic that comes out.”
Fortunately, Trademark was already in possession of a viable space for axe-throwing. “The building that Lumberjax is in is Trademark’s old shop,” said O’Connell. “So, we had the building, we had the facility already, it was the perfect space to do it, and, on the drive back, we pondered it all the way. Before we knew it, we were open within three weeks of us visiting Winnipeg and getting the idea and the concept all together.”
Indeed, the operation has proven so successful that Trademark has subsequently opened a Lumberjax location in the city that inspired it. “Since then, we’ve actually opened up a second location back in Winnipeg,” said O’Connell. “We’ve differentiated ourselves a little bit in Winnipeg by having a much larger facility than our competition, and we’re catering a lot more to large bookings, bachelor parties, corporate events, teambuilding experiences and that kind of stuff.”
The Lumberjax experience begins with instruction. In one of the eight throwing lanes, new arrivals are taught the most straightforward methods of axe-throwing. “They’re only one-and-a-half-pound hatchets, so you’re not throwing five or six pounds of axe at these things — they are manageable,” said O’Connell.
“Obviously, there’s some guidelines and some proper technique that helps steer you in the right direction, but, once you start honing in on your own, personal touch, and flavour and style of how to throw the axe, it really does appeal to everyone,” said O’Connell, who added that even many children are able to participate. “We do have a process where we allow kids 14 and under as long as they’re able to throw the axe safely.”
Meanwhile, spectators can observe the proceedings from a mezzanine level furnished with picnic tables. Lumberjax does not provide food or refreshments, but outside consumables are allowed as long as they are non-alcoholic.
Because prospective axe-throwers are not always able to make the trip to the facility, Lumberjax has created a mobile lane to accommodate other venues. “We’ve been able to set up at multiple events and be able to bring the axe-throwing experience to different places,” said O’Connell.
Enough Reginans have already taken to the pastime that Lumberjax will soon host larger-scale competitions. “We are about to launch a league for the late summer and early fall here,” said O’Connell. “We’ve got a lot of people that are highly interested in it. At the bare minimum, they just want to come out on a weekly basis. We’ve got a bit of a community that’s starting to grow around it, and they just want that weekly time where they can come in.”
Those players will quickly become part of the growing national and international trend of axe-throwing competition. “That’s another reason why we decided to open it in Regina,” said O’Connell. “We wanted to make sure that, in a place like Regina that we pride ourselves in being from, we didn’t want a larger corporate entity from Toronto to come into our prairie landscape and take our market. We wanted to be the prairie boys that were able to get this business off and running here.”