It all started with a video of a young man in a bright tracksuit strapped to a bed writhing and laughing uncontrollably as four other young men straddle him, tickling him on his feet, stomach and under his arms.

When Kiwi journalist David Farrier, who specialises in bizarre stories, saw this video and an online ad recruiting “male athletic and fitness models (aged 18-25)" for "situations in which attractive, ticklish, and masculine guys are actually tickled in two different restrained formats”, his curiosity was piqued.

Discovering a world of “Competitive Endurance Tickling” where strong young men vie to see who can stand being tickled longest, he thought it sounded perfect material for an oddball documentary.

Farrier contacted the videos’ promoter - Jane O’Brien Media - asking to learn more. But instead of receiving a polite “no”, or being ignored Farrier was told they wouldn’t help a “homosexual journalist” (in fact, he’s bisexual), because “we desperately [do] not want a homosexual participation base applying for the project”.

Baffled, since the videos he’s seen were so clearly “gay”, Farrier kept digging. Replies turned even more hostile; two people claiming to be associated with O’Brien visited him, threatening him with heavy-duty litigation and telling him he was sticking his head “inside a blast furnace”.