Axe Thrower Interview: Nikki “Penikillin” Miller

I’ve had the good fortune of talking to Nikki a few times over the years as various tourneys, so I decided to just go ahead and get it on the record. “It” being an interview – not Nikki. They were kind enough to sit down with me during the U.S. Championship tourney weekend. We talked about how she got started, what sets their home venue apart, and the value of finding your own definition of success. Here’s the axe thrower interview!

What brought you into axe throwing to the start?

I always told people it was COVID-based desperation. I had a shitty social media job in 2021 when I was back in New Jersey. Had to get out of there and saw the job listed for Axe master. And I was like, that’s the sickest thing I’ve ever heard.”

It was like food truck festivals and that was it. So I did that work. And then when I moved to Boston, I literally just Googled Axe throwing Boston and thankfully clicked the (formerly known as) Revolution Axe Throwing.

And I picked there and got super into it. They were like, “You are good and should compete.” And I went, “Okay!”

What does success look like to you?

I think throwing well for myself, when it boils down to it. I am someone who gets disappointed if I lose. Of course I am. I’m natural. I was a jock in my youth. It sucks and it’s never not going to suck. But even today, I went 0 and 2 and I threw pretty well for myself, I’m pretty happy with how I threw. And I only cried a little bit, so I count that as a win. I count that as a success. Absolutely. I hit some clutches, most clutches. Yeah. So I’ll take that.

What are you currently throwing?

Oh, fuck.

I’m throwing a …

My bull axe is …

Oh God, he’s going to be so mad at me.

My bull axe is an attagirl ax with an unknown vintage head and some handle. I think like 13 and some change. That sounds like a number that’s right.

And then my clutch axe is made by local guys in Massachusetts, Groveland Axe. And I have no idea what the head is. It was like a head they tried once and didn’t like. So I got it for slightly cheaper. And then when I was told that maybe your next step to get better was a specific clutch axe. I just went back to that one because I was like, I’m not buying one and it gets good coverage.

What do you think your local venue or league does that’s unique or special to your venue?

Wicked is awesome because we have such good, not professional people. We have good people who are just in it to have a fun community, as well as the people who take it incredibly seriously and are good.

I’m also just lucky enough, they just happen to have fostered this community. We have some of the best people in axe throwing in our venue, kind of all the time. And I’m playing them constantly. So that’s like an unexpected bonus.

But we also have so many people who just started and want to get good and everyone’s willing to help, as well as like our Sunday Black League where everyone in playoffs had an above 70 standard average.

You get both of those and no one’s weird about it. It’s not super split up. And we are helping the people in the lower leagues and the lower leagues are like hanging out with the higher leagues.

And we have that big community, so it’s awesome.

What do you think is going to keep you in this sport and what do you think could drive you away?

I’ll stay in the sport because I don’t have any friends if I’m not doing it. I don’t have a friend or a boyfriend, so I would like to keep doing it for that reason. I just love the sport of it all. I think it’s such a silly sport and every so often I come to realize I’m so invested. And I think I find that fun. I like that I do a weird sport and people are like, “What? Sorry, you said axe throwing?” I enjoy that. It’s mystique, whimsical and fun.

What would drive me away? If shit closes, I’m not going to hunt it down. That’s the thing that sucks. It’s like so many venues are struggling right now. And so if it shuts down, I’m not going crazy far out of my way to keep up with it. I don’t know. I don’t know what would drive me away. People stop doing it. Realistically right now, I’ve said before and I said it again, like I’m going to throw until this place kicks me out until it’s like, well, we don’t have leagues. And I’ll be like, damn. All right. Bye.

If you could change one thing at axe throwing, what would it be?

I think everyone should let me win.

What’s your biggest achievement so far in ax throwing?

I did pretty well at the Northeast Regional, which I was happy about. I tied fifth in the main and then fourth in the women.

That doesn’t feel right.

[[Dear reader – I have no real idea what happened at this moment of the interview, or what Nikki was trying to communicate, so I’ve saved it here so you can try to figure it out. They kinda did a scale thing with their hands and kept looking left and right. It felt like a spell?]]

 There was a fifth and a fourth and a fifth.

[[they returned from the conjuring here]]:

That was very exciting because I did regionals the year before, it was at Wicked. So that was my first real big travel. I was very happy about that. And I’m the reigning second place champ in our Big Axe League and I threw my big axe 81 this season. I’m kind of one of the scary ones in Big Axe at Wicked, and that makes me really happy. So that’s a big one for me.

What’s something you would tell your just starting out self as you now?

Well, “pick up the axe, girl, get closer.”

I learned on the back of a trailer and we had hard-as-fuck boards. So I learned to throw really far back and my whole axe-throwing career has just been slowly figuring out how to get closer to the black line.

Proud to say, I throw my clutches at the front of the black line. We’re making moves.

Competitively, I’m like… I don’t know. Don’t take it too seriously. I get in my head and I think my biggest personal obstacle in axe throwing is that my game is mostly mental. I know where clutch is. I know where Bull is. I’m good at big axe.

Humble brag.

No, but seriously. And my game’s all mental. And so it’s like one throw at a time. Take your time. We’re chilling. It’s fine.

Anybody you want to shout out or anything else you want to add?

I mean, I love the Wicked Axe team. They’re great. Bridesmaid is the league master there and also he’s my boyfriend. So as much as I have to yell at him to help me fix my clutch, he’s great.

Everyone at Wicked is awesome. Zach, Bald Eagle. My friend. Okay, that’s good!