DETROIT – -
Michigan is an area starving for tourism, and one company is offering an extreme reason to visit.
Getting kidnapped has become a big attraction around the world, and Michigan based Extreme Kidnapping is offering the experience many are willing to travel for and pay for.
The idea isn't new; Karen Drew and the Defenders did a story on the same company 10 years ago. Today, these kidnappers for hire are still around, still at it and are now getting a lot of major media attention.
Adam Thick, the founder of Extreme Kidnapping, says he can't handle all of the calls he's getting, many from out of town, Europe and the United Kingdom.
"The biggest problem for us is the issue of geography," said Thick. "You know, if we could be doing all of the jobs that are coming in from offers from all over the place, from other states, you know Canada, this place and that place, we'd be working all the time."
Because Thick and his crew don't travel to kidnap, the willing thrill seekers must come here, to Metro Detroit. "The prices we have listed are for Metro Detroit only," said Thick.
How it works:
You contact the company, to drop a dime on yourself. They give you the adrenaline rush of getting snatched anywhere in Metro Detroit at any time.
They have several packages:
- The economy kidnapping for $500 bucks, where you are taken to a secret location and roughed up a bit.
- The $1,500 deluxe job, an overnight ordeal where you're guaranteed to have the daylights scared out of you.
- You can also name your own torture for a customized price.
One person to try out the service was Drew Magary, a writer on assignment for GQ Magazine. The publication paid for the standard package which comes with a royal butt kick, to the tune of 14 hours.
"They blindfolded me and they handcuffed me and they wrapped me in duct tape and they brought me to their sort of lair," said Magary during a phone interview. "I got stun gunned, I got kicked once, when they ripped the duct tape off there were a lot of bruises on my arms," he said of his experience. "First of all, being held captive that long you get fatigued and so your mind is not as strong as it usually is, so you are more willing to doubt yourself," said Magary.
The article, which can be found in April's issue of GQ, lead to national exposure, and welcomed re-explosion for Thick and his band of would-be-thugs for hire.
"We have our eye on reality TV, that's our goal at this time," said Thick. He believes his extreme experience is safer than diving with sharks and any number of other thrill seeking adventures.
Of course the obvious question is what if someone sees this and calls police ?
The Oakland County Sheriff's Department has gone on record as saying, this is a bad idea and it could be dangerous. The Extreme Kidnappers say they have only had one accidental police intervention in 10 years, and no one got hurt.
Like it or not, the company is growing here in Metro Detroit.