Meeting the men who get paid to tickle each other

I’ve done and seen a lot of strange things in my 33 years on this planet, but the journey of making Tickled takes the cake. As an entertainment journalist from New Zealand, I thought I’d found a strange new story: Fit, young, attractive men were being flown from all around the world to Los Angeles, where they were paid ridiculous amounts of cash to tickle each other. All while in brightly coloured Adidas sportswear. It was called Competitive Endurance Tickling.

I posted on the organiser’s Facebook wall, only to be told they didn’t want to deal with a homosexual journalist. OK: This was strange. First off, their PR person had taken the time to google me, and find some old newspaper articles about a relationship I had. “How nosey!” I thought at the time.

Secondly, the organisers of a sport where good-looking dudes straddle each other while tickling had taken exception to a “homosexual journalist” asking a question! It’s been over two years since that happened, and it’s been a mad ride. Jane O’Brien Media – the company behind the sport – really doubled down. They got legal counsel in New Zealand and America, who made it pretty clear I should stop poking around – or else. For a time, they had a private investigator outside my house. I felt like I had chosen to make a film about Scientology, not tickling.

The moment though when I knew I had a documentary was when Jane O’Brien Media flew three representatives from the United States to New Zealand. They stayed about a week, and we had some pretty surreal meetings. They made it clear that making a documentary about Competitive Endurance Tickling and what was behind it would lead to trouble. One moment that sticks in my mind is when I was told that no one would ask about where the tickling documentary had gone… but people would ask me about what had happened to my house!

David Farrier: Journalist/Director of Tickled

There were times over that week when I thought about throwing it in. My friend Dylan – who had also committed to making a film about what the hell was going on – encouraged me on. He’s a brave dude, and together we made our documentary. We exposed an outfit targeting and harassing young, vulnerable young men online in a way so utterly bizarre I still can’t believe what happened is real. Things got pretty dark at times, but I am glad we made the film. If you watch it, I hope you’ll go on the same twists and turns we did. Some incredibly brave people spoke out about a very strange and disturbing thing that’s been going on for over 20 years.

It’s also a stark reminder of how dangerous and destructive homophobia is in 2016. We’ve come a long way – but we have a long way to go. If homophobia didn’t exist, I don’t think this film would exist. It’s a strange catch-22. All I hope really is that as people watch the documentary, some minds are changed and attitudes shifted. Then all this will be worth it.

Tickled is now available on digital and on DVD/VOD from 28 November.

tickled

Words: David Farrier

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