Steve Cartisano founded the Challenger Foundation in 1988. The goal of this organization was to “straighten up” the youth who were caught between the changing trajectory of the 80s. At that time, several Americans were very worried that the youth were getting negatively influenced and that something needed to be done to get them back on track. The Challenger Foundation put children under their program through hard labor and discipline.
The new Netflix documentary titled Hell Camp: Teen Nightmare showcases this brutal ordeal. Steve Cartisano used a boot camp-like approach towards the participants. They were made to take part in daunting mental and physical training. Furthermore, the program took place in the harsh conditions of Utah. This organization became very popular very quickly. It was not just attracting normal teenagers but also children of celebrities. This included two of Winthrop Rockefeller’s children.
According to Dexerto, the organization was manipulating teenagers and abusing the system. They reportedly even dragged the children and tied them to trees. Furthermore, to take part in the grueling 63-day program, a participant had to pay $15,900.
The founder of the Challenger Foundation, Steve Cartisano, died on May 4, 2019. According to The Cinemaholic, he was suffering from colon cancer. However, the cause of his death was cardiac arrest. At the time of his passing, Cartisano was 63 years old.
The synopsis of Hell Camp: Teen Nightmare on IMDb reads, “Out-of-control teens across America were sent to a therapy camp in the harsh Utah desert. The conditions were brutal, but the staff were even worse.”
The director of Hell Camp: Teen Nightmare is Liza Williams.
Steve Cartisano: What was the Challenger Foundation’s founder accused of?
The Challenger Foundation began surviving on borrowed time after the tragic passing of a 16-year-old girl named Kristen Chase. Chase’s autopsy report said that she suffered an exertional heat stroke. This was enough to raise eyebrows, and investigators finally showed interest in this camp. After her daughter’s passing, Sharon Fuqua did not criticize the Challenger Foundation. She added that she was open to sending more of her children.
In a conversation with Desert News, Sharon said, “We’re not condemning Challenger. I’ve never met any more dedicated, loving people striving to help children. What we did for our daughter was the best thing we could have ever done. We felt this was the answer. I truly feel it would have been if she’d been able to complete it.”
Authorities charged Steve Cartisano and his organization with negligent homicide and nine misdemeanor counts of child abuse. However, after getting exposed, the Challenger Foundation gradually went bankrupt.
In the documentary, a man who witnessed the brutality of the camp said, “They were emaciated, they were dirty. You couldn’t even tell that they were kids.”
Furthermore, High Country News reported, “Cartisano applied what he liked to call ‘street smarts’ to problem kids: strip searches and military haircuts. He adopted a drill-sergeant style of speech which required ‘Yes sir!’ answers.”
The report further stated, “Rules were strict and heavily enforced – a girl caught saying ‘I’m sorry’ instead of ‘I apologize’ would be punished by carrying a football-sized chunk of cow manure all day in her backpack. A boy caught eating raw oatmeal instead of cooking it would have his oatmeal ration taken away.”
The court acquitted Steve Cartisano of all criminal charges in Chase’s death in 1992. However, he began a similar program in Hawaii, which soon got banned.
