Arranging Your Own Kidnapping for Fun and Profit

Bored with bungee jumping? Maybe staging your own fake abduction is just the thing to satisfy your adrenaline needs.

  • Share
  • Read Later
Image: Man Wearing Ski Mask and Staring
Getty Images/Vetta

Hey, adrenaline junkies: bored with bungee jumping, skydiving and running with the bulls in Pamplona? Maybe getting kidnapped is just the thing to satisfy your cravings.

(MORE: Extreme Sports, India-Style: Not for the Faint of Heart)

A recent GQ.comarticle recounted the experience of going through a fake kidnapping courtesy of Extreme Kidnapping, a Detroit-based business run by ex-convict Adam Thicke, who engineers fake kidnappings for a fee.

The kidnappers for hire have been serving thrill-seekers for more than a decade, reported the NY Daily News. Inspired by the 1997 thriller “The Game,” Extreme Kidnapping offers customizable abductions with a multitude of torture tactics to choose from, including stun guns and waterboarding. The starting price is $500 for fours hours of captivity — and of course, the classic kidnapping at gunpoint.

(MORE: Man Fakes Own Kidnapping to Avoid Girlfriend)

Journalist Drew Magary, went for a customized $1500 dollar package, for which he got to peruse a full torture menu and choose between thugs or an Elite Girl squad for his kidnappers.

The most memorable parts of the experience, apparently? Being forced to listen to to “Sweet Dreams” by TheEurythmics on endless repeat and peeing in a Gatorade bottle. Magary did get something of an adrenaline rush, though when Thicke hinted darkly that “there are other things about me that you don’t know.” The idea that the kidnapping could easily become real had him on the verge of hysterics, but all ended well with the exchange of $100,000 in fake bills and a farewell note.

(CRIMES OF THE CENTURY: The Lindbergh Kidnapping)

According to Michigan Live, Extreme Kidnappings is hoping to get a reality show. But their business plan isn’t without issues; as local law enforcement expertstold ABC News, these types of games can become dangerous for all parties involved if intercepted by police unaware the kidnapping is fake.