“In traditional BDSM, you have ‘safe, sane, and consensual,’ or at least ‘risk-aware consensual kink,’” explains Dr. Helena Rivas, a sociologist at UC San Diego who studies deviant subcultures. “What we are seeing with the ‘Abuse Fanatic’ label is a rejection of that framework. The fanaticism is directed not at the act, but at the power to harm without consequence .”

, a figure who has directed numerous titles within this specific niche of the industry. Principal Cast and Performers

While the mainstream SD entertainment scene (Comic-Con, the Symphony, the Zoo) has no connection to this underworld, certain fringes of the local film and comedy scenes have been accused of enabling the fanatics.