Inside Extreme Kidnapping

Fans see these experiences as thrill-seeking adventures.Mental health professionals question this trend.Clinical psychologist Dr. Barbara Greenberg calls the trend "bizarre and very unusual." She says it "speaks to the high level of risk and sensation people need to be entertained."

Founder Adam Thick said,Adam Thick.said, “This service caters to the extreme sports adventurer bored with what’s available; this takes it to a whole other level.”

Raymond T. Moody, founder of Kidnap Solutions, said,saidThese clients have ridden every roller coaster, passed through every haunted house, and seen every horror movie. They want something more immersive, more visceral.

Lewis Chiu, who went to Extreme Kidnapping in Detroit before the company moved to Louisiana, said, "I wanted to do it because I always have fantasies of being kidnapped by a bunch of women." Chiu went to Detroit three times for this service.

Chiu explained:

What I got out of it made me stronger. It made me think about my family and my mother during the experience. I realized that when you are kidnapped, you are completely vulnerable and totally at the mercy of the kidnappers.

Here is how to schedule an experiencewith Extreme Kidnapping. After choosing a scenario, like a ransom situation, a price sets. Costs range from $150 to over $1,000. The company offers two teams: the Elite All-Girls Kidnapping Team and the Henchmen. Henchmen offer a movie-style abduction experience; the All-Girls group is a fantasy experience.

You will be taken anytime, anywhere. The company often avoids crowded spots so fake kidnappings do not get reported to police.

The Extreme Kidnapping team gets creative to make the experience as miserable as possible. AGQcontributor documentedhis time getting fake kidnappedand revealed the pre-experience Q&A asked if he was okay with being hit with trout, summer sausage, or a piranha. They also asked if he would consent to getting stunned.

Before your planned kidnapping, the Extreme Kidnapping team asks each person questions: are you okay with being stunned, do you have phobias, do you want a safe word, etc.

According to theGQarticle, they do not always follow those instructions exactly, likely to heighten the experience:

For the illusion to work, the script must break down at some point. The kidnapper must admit the [scenario] is fake and then make the fake [event] seem like it went wrong. A small seed of doubt is all it takes...

It also hit me that, outside of my captors, no one on earth knew where I was. I quietly started to panic. Control slipped away from me, just a bit, and doubt crept in easily.

An app calledkidnAppThe company connects Waiters, those asking for a kidnapping, with Takers, the kidnappers, to build custom experiences the Waiters request.

As a Waiter, you can quickly request a kidnapping by entering your name, safe word, desired experience details, and things you do not want. Takers work for the company, which claims "our hiring process is thorough and intense to guarantee the highest quality experience for our users." You can find out for $4.99 a month.

Get outside your safespace and step away from the norm.Not many companies offer this service. This service is bespoke. This is about kidnapping. This involves adventures. pic.twitter.com/Ly8YQjnmwv

Other companies exist, but only one dominates the market. Adam Thick'sExtreme Kidnapping.Extreme Kidnapping started in the early 2000s. Some articles mention a California company calledKidnap Solutions., but it seems to have closed down.

Fun stops when someone gets hurt. This is the worry for manyPsychologists and law enforcement professionals believe extreme kidnapping can cause long-term effects.have with the extreme kidnapping trend.

Dr. N.G. Berrill, executive director of The New York Center for Neuropsychology & Forensic Behavioral Science, stated:

If someone is psychologically weak and thinks it will be fun but ends up in a dark room or trunk, that could break them.

This is a pathetic way for bored rich people to entertain themselves. Organizing a fake kidnapping means you know the process—and I think this is perverse, not thrilling, and not a real event.

Former FBI executive Lauren C. Anderson seems to agree:

I know we live in a free country, and everyone has the right to act as they please under the law. I respect that right. But from the view of someone who has investigated [kidnappings] in this country and globally, it troubles me.

When a couple was seemingly taken from a busyThe police sometimes get involved in fake kidnappings on New York City streets.in 2013, police got notified by witnesses. Cameras caught the abduction thanks to nearby surveillance.

Even though no one reported a missing person, police put up posters asking for help identifying the men on camera. Another witness saw the men in a minivan before the abduction happened.

Deputy Commissioner Paul Browne said the abduction "might have been a hoax staged among friends to celebrate a birthday."

The couple told the police they were not abducted, and no charges resulted.

It is not too late to book a#Halloween.Extreme kidnapping lets you make friends jealous by getting involved.#kidnapped.! pic.twitter.com/LLsyTcgfAW

Adam Thick, founder of Extreme Kidnapping, is involved.He expanded his business and shared it.in the market. Solo sessions are common, but Thick's business also offers group or corporate kidnappings.

In 2014, Thick's company organized a group experience for a nonprofit. Twenty staff members teamed up to find the development director who professionals had taken.

Extreme Kidnapping also provides anti-kidnapping training. Thick says everyone needs this information. “If you travel abroad, if you have kids, if you do business, you need this,” he stated in an interview with Fox NewsIn 2017, Thick claims fake experiences give a person tools to stop a real kidnapping or cope with one.