A Madison brewery owner has apologized for vandalizing video game machines with graffiti at Aftershock Classic Arcade Bar, citing mental health problems.
Brad Van Kauwenbergh, co-owner of Aftershock, 1442 E. Washington Ave., said he discovered the graffiti Sunday morning in more than 10 places on games, walls and tables. Surveillance camera footage showed a man doing some of the damage about midnight, before the bar closed at 2 a.m. Sunday. Aftershock on Sunday posted photos on its Facebook page.
“It was egregious,” Van Kauwenbergh told the Wisconsin State Journal. “Nobody’s ever tagged our machines before.”
Kyle Metz, owner of Black Rose Blending Co., 1602 Gilson St., apologized for doing the vandalism on Monday in a Facebook post, saying he has been dealing with mental stress and hopelessness.
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Kyle Metz, owner of Black Rose Blending Co., has apologized for vandalizing machines with graffiti at Aftershock Classic Arcade Bar.
“I was in a bad headspace that night and had a few too many beers and made a huge mistake that I regret,” Metz wrote.
Van Kauwenbergh said Metz earlier contacted Aftershock, apologizing and offering to pay for the damage. Metz also asked Aftershock to remove the photos of him from its Facebook page, which it has not done, Van Kauwenbergh said.
Aftershock filed a report with Madison Police on Monday.
“If he’s suffering, I feel for him,” Van Kauwenbergh said. “But he’s an adult, and he needs to be accountable for his actions … There’s no excuse for that kind of behavior.”
Some of the graffiti is on walls, which can be painted, or on glass or acrylic sheets, which can be replaced, he said.
But some is on the artwork of machines, which is “a lot more difficult and more time-consuming and expensive to do anything about,” he said.
Van Kauwenbergh said he doesn’t know Metz. In his post, Metz said he didn’t target the business. “Aftershock is a place that I actually really like, and used to frequent weekly,” Metz wrote.
In an email to the State Journal, Metz said he has had a hard time running an undercapitalized business and is pursuing therapy.
“I guess I may have been looking for some sort of escapism in a dark place,” he wrote in his Facebook post. “I think the rush made me feel good when things weren’t actually okay.”