The Challenger Foundation is the subject of a new Netflix documentary.
The brutal conditions of an infamous wilderness therapy camp and what went on there are the subjects of a new Netflix documentary, Hell Camp: Teen Nightmare.
The “tell-all” documentary plans to unravel the true story of the 63-day programme that promised to “wear kids down until they’re good again”.
Directed by Liza Williams, the documentary features testimonies from those who attended the camp and details about what happened to those who were there.
Read on for all the information about Hell Camp, the subject of the new Netflix documentary, and what happened to its founder Steve Cartisano.
What was the Challenger Foundation?
Set up by former military special forces officer, Steve Cartisano, the Challenger Foundation was a 63-day programme that charged parents of “out of control” teenagers $15,900, with the promise of wearing their children down “until they’re good again”.
“The ’80s were a time when the world was changing,” the documentary trailer begins. “There was a deep concern that the youth of America was taking a wrong turn.”
Cartisano noticed this and established the foundation in 1998, and reportedly believed in the idea of intimidating tough kids into submission through outdoor survival.
The foundation was later embroiled in scandal and eventually shut down following charges of child abuse and negligent homicide over the death of a 16-year-old girl.
What happened at Hell Camp?
The Challenger Foundation, which has become known as Hell Camp, saw dozens of families spend thousands of dollars and enrolling their children into wilderness therapy.
According to High Country News, the camp had incredibly strict rules which included strip searches and military haircuts as Cartisano “adopted a drill-sergeant style of speech” which required the teenagers to say “I apologise” instead of “I’m sorry”.
The publication noted that children would be punished by carrying a football-sized chunk of cow manure all day in their backpack or having their oatmeal ration taken away.
While the camp seemed successful, with reportedly satisfied customers including the Winthrop Rockefeller family of Arkansas, things came to a head in 1990 when a teenager died.
Kristin Chase, a Florida teen, fell during a hike atop Kaiparaowits Plateau in southern Utah and collapsed. According to authorities, she hallucinated and fell to her death.
As per Tampa Bay Times, an autopsy concluded that she died of exertion heat stroke, which was likely complicated by altitude and extremely high temperatures.
Cartisano denied any negligence in the death, noting that Chase had not yet entered the “impact” portion of the programme, which according to the brochures saw the teenagers take part in “five days and nights of physical and mental stress with forced march, night hikes and limited food and water”.
However, Cartisano and Challenger were charged with negligent homicide and nine misdemeanour counts of child abuse.
In the trailer for Hell Camp: Teen Nightmare, one witness said: “They were emaciated, they were dirty, you couldn’t even tell that they were kids.”
Another person claimed: “The doctor had counted over 80 scars, marks and contusions.”
Where is Steve Cartisano now?
Despite denying any wrongdoing, Steve Cartisano was charged with negligent homicide and nine misdemeanour counts of child abuse.
He was later acquitted of any criminal charges but faced numerous civil suits, all of which were settled out of court.
Cartisano was ultimately banned from operating any child treatment programme in Utah and then in Hawaii, where another version of the camp failed in 1990.
As per High Country News, Cartisano started similar programmes in Costa Rica, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands, but none were ever licensed.
The former military officer went on to work as a supervisor of a dormitory for American Indian students in Oklahoma.
He died in 2019 at the age of 63.
Hell Camp: Teen Nightmare is available to watch on Netflix now. Sign up for Netflix from £4.99 a month. Netflix is also available on Sky Glass and Virgin Media Stream.
Looking for something else to watch? Check out more of our Documentaries coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to see what’s on tonight.
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