Ryen McPherson

Bumfights Vol. 1 – Cause For Concern (2001)

At the age of 13, McPherson was introduced to Rufus Hannah and Donnie Brennan, two local homeless men living on the streets of La Mesa, California. Rufus was known locally as the "Stunt Bum" and was frequently seen performing amateur stunts in a park close to McPherson's school. McPherson was told of Rufus' stunts and shortly thereafter formed a relationship with him, documenting Rufus and Donnie's day to day life as well as the various stunts performed by Rufus, that up until meeting McPherson, had been performed exclusively for the enjoyment of the local high school students and police. These stunts were performed without incentive, monetary compensation or coaxing. After witnessing them himself and spending a considerable amount of time getting to know Rufus, McPherson set out to capture a side of the homeless lifestyle that very few residents of his suburb were aware of. This early video footage would later be used in the first installment of the Bumfights video series. Volume 1 would be titled: "Bumfights: A Cause for Concern" in the hopes of raising awareness through "shockumentary" style filmmaking techniques.

In 2001, the 56-minute film, Bumfights Vol. 1 – Cause For Concern, was released on DVD, produced by McPherson, along with his friends Zachary Bubeck, Daniel J. Tanner, and Michael Slyman.

All those involved in the creation of Bumfights were arrested for various charges after a friend of Rufus and Donnie persuaded them to sue. In 2003, McPherson was sentenced to 280 hours of community service at a homeless shelter. In 2006, the San Diego court system denied an appeal for a second time against jail time from McPherson, concerning an alleged probation violation.

Three more Bumfights volumes were created, however McPherson and his team were not responsible for these, but instead two investors, who went by the pseudonyms Ray Latticia and Ty Beeson, purchased the rights to Bumfights. McPherson stated in an interview that they were "extorting us and doing a bunch of shady shit, so we sold off our rights." Ty Beeson was seen on TV as arrogant and cocky in an attempt to increase sales even more. Beeson appeared on an episode of Dr. Phil, in which he shaved his hair and dressed identically to Dr. Phil who was meant to be interviewing him, however, Dr. Phil cut the interview short after seeing an intro segment in which Beeson bragged about the little amount he paid the homeless and the millions that he made from them.

Indecline: Vol. 1 "It's Worse Than You Think" (2005)

Four years after the release of the first volume of Bumfights, McPherson and his Indecline team released 'Indecline: Vol. 1 "It's Worse Than You Think"', a video that strayed away from showing their relationship with the homeless. Instead, the focus of the video is mainly graffiti, street crime, people with mental disabilities and skateboarding segments, with heavy anti-establishment and anti-capitalist overtones. The DVD was released in 2005 and came with an Indecline stencil.

Thailand

In November 2014, McPherson and his Bumfights co-creator Daniel Tanner were questioned by Thai police, before being released without charge, after trying to post human remains back to the US. On November 18, 2014, a warrant was issued for McPherson's arrest. McPherson and Tanner immediately left for Cambodia, and subsequently returned to the US.