Urban Culture
From its humble beginnings in a backyard in Toronto, an amateur sports league that pairs axe throwing and alcohol has ballooned into a successful chain of locations across North America.
If Matt Wilson had to trace his current livelihood to a single moment in time, it would be one mundane night with some buddies a dozen years ago.
“We were just crushing beers at my friend’s cottage and were kind of bored,” recounts Wilson, who was working at a couple of local Toronto bars at the time. “He pulled out a hatchet and taught me how to throw an axe. I just thought it was a lot of fun.”
It was so fun that when Wilson returned home to his downtown apartment, he duct-taped a target in his backyard, bought a $10 hatchet and called some friends. “I was like, ‘You know what? We should do like a little league,’ ” he says. His friends agreed to chip in $20 each to cover the cost of wood and began showing up to his backyard every Tuesday evening to throw some axes over a few drinks.
And so, the Backyard Axe Throwing League, or BATL for short, was born. Today, Wilson oversees a successful chain of axe-throwing venues, where nearly a million patrons have tossed hatchets. But going from a backyard hangout to a profitable business didn’t happen overnight.
Back in the early days, everything grew out of Wilson’s home. His eight-person roster quickly doubled to 16, and his landlord let him take over the other half of the yard, where he added floodlights and made more targets with concentric circles and a bullseye. Soon, the league developed a cult status with about 60 members, buoyed mainly by friends and friends of friends. Wilson had to set up a waitlist and matches were attracting spectators. “The backyard was just packed,” he says.
It was so packed that, in 2011, he procured insurance, moved the league to a 1,200-square-foot warehouse and bumped up the membership fee a bit to cover expenses. He added two more weekly league nights to meet demand, always making sure he was on hand to teach the mechanics and offer coaching tips. And the new location was BYOB.
But there was a problem: He couldn’t afford to rent both the warehouse and his apartment. For Wilson, it wasn’t a tough decision. “I put my mattress in the corner of that warehouse and piled my boxes around it to hide it,” he admits. “I lived there for a while.” Uprooting his residence may seem like an extreme length to go for what was essentially an extracurricular activity, but Wilson was about to become a poster child for the old expression, Do what you love and the money will follow.
After a league member asked if his hockey team could hold a private axe-throwing event at the warehouse, Wilson came up with a price that would include some lessons from him followed by a tournament for attendees. Immediately, some of the guests wanted to book their own parties, and the whole thing snowballed until the warehouse was reserved seven days a week with either league nights or private events.
At that point he decided to finally quit his job. Then in 2013, he opened a second, 7,000-square-foot location now known as BATL Toronto East. “We hit the ground running with that one,” he says. “That’s when I was like, ‘OK, this is the real thing.’”
Since then, Wilson has put together a more formal management team, snagged investor funding and opened 12 more BATL locations. He now employs 275 people.
While most of its locations are spread across Canada, BATL broke into the American market last year with venues in Chicago and Nashville, plus a new site in Detroit as of May of this year. (Most of the Canadian clubs boast full-service bars; booze is in the works for the new spots.) Plans are in the works for more U.S. cities, including Houston and Scottsdale. Over just the past few years, other axe-throwing businesses have appeared on the scene, with many focusing heavily on the growing American market. Ontario-based Bad Axe, which launched in 2014, now has 15 U.S. locations, and smaller, American-based outfits like Kick Axe and Half Axe are popping up here, too.
Although there’s no doubt that Wilson is the father of the movement, it took some time for him to get used to the idea that it’s become a legitimate trend. “There was very much a personal transition period of understanding that competition was OK,” he admits. “That it was a form of flattery and it’s a good thing.”
Lots of factors have contributed to BATL’s success, but part of the allure is simply the chance to give technology and social media a break. “People have demonstrated that they need to find something to replace the time that they spend in front of their computer or on their phone,” Wilson says. “And maybe having a beer and doing something is a little bit better than just pulling up a barstool.”
If a bunch of city dwellers taking an interest in an activity once associated only with lumberjacks prompts an eye roll or two, then perhaps the opinion of America’s best lumberjack can quash any doubts about the rapid expansion of recreational axe throwing. Matt Cogar, a five-time STIHL Timbersports U.S. champion, says he actually likes the concept.
“Axe throwing is probably one of the easiest events to do in lumberjack sports,” Cogar says, “and it’s that idea that it’s something new and cool for people to try. It has a foundation in lumberjack tradition, so it’s kind of a way to give an ode to the history, too.”
As axe throwing spins its way into the mainstream, more people are asking Wilson a question he’s answered a lot over the years: Isn’t it dangerous? After all, you’re giving amateurs both alcohol and an axe.
The answer is a definite no, says Wilson, who’s happy to spew facts from a safety report he sends to future landlords, including the stat that axe throwing at BATL is safer than tennis, bowling and track and field. Plus, there are plenty of safety measures and features in place: The axes aren’t all that sharp, and staffers, who are well trained in instruction, make sure patrons are following the rules and not overindulging. There’s been a handful of minor cuts over the years, but the major injury tally remains at (a confidence-instilling) zero.
We're going to create a global sport.
Next up on Wilson’s agenda: Conquering the world. In 2016, he and BATL COO Brian Simmons founded the National Axe Throwing Federation with the mission to create a uniform rule system and safety standards while fostering the growth of the sport through interleague competition. There’s even a National Axe Throwing Championship, where the winner takes home, yes, the Wilson Cup. The NATF now has members in over 50 cities across several countries and, according to Wilson, that’s just the beginning. “We’re going to create a global sport out of it,” he says. “It feels really great.”
Sharing his passion with millions is what Wilson finds most thrilling. It’s not a matter of if you’ll join the craze, he says, but when. “Everybody wants to throw an axe. They just don’t know it yet.”
Throw an Axe Like a Pro: America's best lumberjack, Matt Cogar, shares his tips.
Stand your ground
Start with your feet shoulder-width apart. Place your dominant foot behind you to ensure your nondominant foot remains in front. Make sure your hips are facing straight toward the target. “That’s where all your throw is going to happen,” Cogar says.
Double up and throw
“You want to keep a double-handed grip, which adds a little stability,” Cogar says. Grip the handle with your dominant hand above your nondominant hand, lift your hands above your head and bend your elbows so that the back of the axe falls slightly behind you. Then start bringing it up toward the target. “Release the axe near the top of the target. It gives you a good place to start, and you should be hitting close to the bullseye because of the trajectory of the axe.”
Rotate it right
“In order to get the blade edge to hit, you usually want one rotation,” Cogar says. While the target is usually 20 feet away during competitions, axe-throwing bars typically put patrons closer— about 15 feet. Cogar says that’s still enough room for the axe to fully rotate once in midair as it sails toward the target. If the axe handle hits the target, you’ve under-rotated and will want to move back a bit. If the top or back of the axe head hits, you’ve over-rotated. In that case, take a step closer to the target.
Try it empty-handed
“I like to do a couple of mock throws, to visualize the throw and release.” That practice session is a good time to make sure you’re not flicking your wrists, which can lead to over-rotation. “And keep your eyes where you want to hit,” he says. “Ultimately look at the bullseye — you’ll be closer to it.”
Just do it
Cogar recently visited an axe- throwing bar with some guys who’d never even touched an axe and the results were solid. “Before we left, everybody had thrown a bullseye. Once you get the hand-eye coordination, you’ll hit the target,” he says. “But as long as you’re enjoying it, that’s really the whole goal.”