Lanark's Abbie is ace with an axe!

Abbie Young can show the men a thing or two about axe throwing at Hatchett Harry's!

Abbie Young (23) left her call centre handler post in 2020 in order to gain more experience in the world of teaching, before completing her college course and applying for university.

She wanted to expand her people skills the hard way by entering the male-dominated arena of competitive axe-throwing – a pastime originally popular among Canadian lumberjacks.

Alongside completing her HND in social sciences at Glasgow Clyde College, Abbie works as a supervisor at Hatchet Harry’s in Union Street, Glasgow, which has helped turn axe-throwing into a rapidly expanding leisure activity.

Lanark lass Abbie is honing her people skills for a future teaching career.

As the firm’s only current female employee in Scotland, she regularly has to prove herself to groups of burly male customers – who are not always pleased to be out-thrown by a woman.

Yet the tenacity of this five-feet-seven-inch “girl from Lanark” has paid off, as she has been offered a place on a history degree course at Strathclyde University in September and now feels ready for almost anything that her future teaching career may throw at her!

Abbie, who joined the firm in October 2020, said: “Hatchet Harry’s is a great place to work. I used to feel quite intimidated by the male customers but I’m not one of those women who shies away from a challenge.

“I’m always keen to strip away gender bias and being at the sharp end – sometimes literally – has given me skills that will be invaluable to secondary school teaching.

“Working at Hatchet Harry’s is also great fun and I’ve even picked up loads of DIY skills, from changing target boards at the venue to general upkeep and maintenance.”

Part of Abbie’s role as supervisor involves teaching customers how to throw axes at wooden targets.

She added: “I was not great at it when I first tried it but I took to it quite quickly and can now hit the odd bullseye. It’s definitely more about technique than brute force.”

Abbie’s no stranger to sharp implements, though, having spent several years before her call centre job and Hatchet Harry’s working as a body piercer in a tattoo parlour.