The Mercury’s entertainment writer was well-rested, the sun was shining, Christmas shopping all done.

But fast forward just a few hours and there she was, swinging wildly in a pine-lined room in Wollongong, smashing up computers, crockery, vases – whatever she could get her wrecking hands upon.

When someone carries the name Desiree Savage, you know there’s going to be some fire in there.

As the Daily Planet’s slightly less famous mild-mannered reporter Clark Kent showed us, superhuman strength can be lurking within even beneath a calm exterior.

Savage was in the new Wollongong Smashlab to test out the facility, which offers customers a chance to perpetrate ultra-violence upon inanimate objects for a brief period, all in the name of entertainment and stress relief.

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The baseball bat was her weapon of choice, although she seemed to get even more pleasure from hurling objects at the wall.

You can watch the video of Savage wreaking havoc on the Mercury website.

While her colleagues can attest that Savage is not an angry person, the chance to break fancy things without consequence appears to bring out a destructive streak in anyone.

SmashLab founder Ryan Capobianco – an appliance repairman – told the Mercury it would be a good form of stress release.

The SmashLab is at Shop 3, 91 Burelli St, Wollongong (entry from Kenny St) and opens tonight.

Prices are $45 for 10 minutes, $85 for 20. Smashable items included.