Question 1

What is Deniable?

Accepted Answer

Deniable Activity is an immersive spy experience. It is part escape room, and part Jason Bourne movie.

Events take place across a city at multiple secret locations. Participants engage in real espionage tasks, such as foot surveillance,  solving intelligence puzzles, covert entry and search, handling human agents, and even getting into simulated gunfights.

All of this while being followed by a team of human enemies looking to stop you.

https://static.wixstatic.com/media/d7f3e3_b29e114f49694b8e930ac290852b3f30~mv2.jpg

Question 2

How Does It Work?

Accepted Answer

After signing up, you'll receive a confirmation email with a location and time to meet one of our staff. It's important that you're on time, as the event won't wait for people who are late. They'll walk you through the safety brief and confirm you've signed the waiver. After that, the world around you will start to change based on the mission you've chosen.

A secret location nearby will serve as your base of operations. This Black Site, known only to the participants, is a hub of activity and logistics. The short term leased building provides you with a place to regroup, reorganize, and reset. It houses all of the resources you may need, including vehicles, subject matter experts, support staff, and equipment.

Through much of the session, you'll be guided by a mentor or handler who will support your group. They have a role within the story that will intersect yours often. Frequently, other characters will flow in and out of your journey to assist you in specific tasks with expert knowledge. All the while, our Tactical Operations Center (TOC) staff back at the Black Site are on call, available to assist you with transport, equipment, and information.

Your experience may include many types of activities. We've been able to include vehicle pursuits, helicopter trips, installing audio and video surveillance, clandestine entry into residences, and simulated gun fights in a number of events. The mission you choose and your comfort level will dictate what happens during your experience.

All of this happens with the full knowledge and authorization of the property owners, law enforcement, and other participants. However, to anyone else, they'll never know what's going on right beside them.

Question 3

How do you make your events realistic?

Accepted Answer

Primarily, we pull from non-fiction literature on espionage and special operations. The events described within offer moments of incredible tension and excitement. With a storyline build upon these events, we take historical activities and apply a game mechanic we've honed for years.

We also enlist staff and advisors with a wide background in business and military/law enforcement. This allows us to create our espionage and tactical experiences for a general audience. It also enables us to infuse practical business skills and team building into our corporate events.

Question 4

What kind of events do you offer?

Accepted Answer

There are two main categories of event available.

Our Black Sites appear and disappear around Ontario, and they are where you can find most of our covert espionage and tactical events. These are our immersive experiences that we produce for the general public. Tickets are always extremely limited. We are also able to produce Black Site events for private groups as well (you can contact deniable.ca@gmail.com (deniable.ca@gmail.com)if you're interested).

We also produce team building and team training events. Using our staff with decades of business experience, we're able to create uniquely compelling and engaging events. Our traditional 'team building' events legitimately push your team to exercise their skills in trust, leadership, communication, initiative. We also offer a team training experience that is highly facilitated. During these team training events, we'll focus on Lean / Six Sigma continuous improvement and communication skills. We find that for either of our building/training events, nothing inspires and level-sets a group more than being forced to learn something new as quickly as possible.

Question 5

How experienced are your staff?

Accepted Answer

The manager of our events, Sean, has over two decades of experience in the retail and corporate space. Primarily educated in Lean/Six Sigma and continuous improvement, he also has management, communications, and government experience. When it comes to event production, he has been creating and operating these types of events for 15 years.

We also call upon a cadre of staff that can be used to supplement our skills as required. Security, retail management, military/law enforcement, risk, and insurance are just some of the sectors we can call upon to enhance a team training or building experience.

Question 6

Who's going to enjoy this?

Accepted Answer

We attract people from a wide variety of personal and professional backgrounds. We've found a few common traits among them that you can use to see if you might enjoy our events:

1. You enjoy a good action or spy film - If you're watching these and enjoy the suspense, the skills, the plots, and the adrenaline, then Deniable might be able to do the same for you.
2. You like a challenge - If you enjoy pushing yourself and your capabilities, we can give you a new set of skills to learn and apply against a hostile group of humans working to foil you.
3. You like to learn new things - We always want to incorporate new activities into our events, and the skills coming from the espionage and tactical world are pretty novel acquisitions.
4. You're team focused - we do find that people who want their group to win are more successful and have more fun than those seeking personal glory. (We can totally do the personal glory thing though! Message us at deniable.ca@gmail.com (deniable.ca@gmail.com))
5. You want something different - we've looked around. You're not going to find a lot of other experiences like ours, anywhere.
6. You're willing to believe - We do strive to make our environment as immersive as possible. If you're the kind of person who's willing to make the final leap and play along, we'd be very surprised if you didn't have a good time!

Question 7

Who's not going to enjoy this?

Accepted Answer

Good question!

People that might not enjoy this would likely be:
1. Those with a limited imagination. If you're not willing to suspend your disbelief just a bit, it might be hard to fully engage in the experience.
2. Those that don't want to be there! This might seem obvious, but if you're going to drag along a friend who definitely does not seem interested in this, they probably aren't going to have a fun time (and to be fair, they may make it less fun for you too). We'll do our best, but we can't force them to enjoy themselves. 
3. Those terrified of prop firearms. We don't use them in all our events (so check the event description if you're concerned!), but when we do, they make an appearance to enhance the realistic atmosphere. We also use them for our simulated combat scenarios. If these things aren't your jam, no problem! Just make sure you're selecting an event without any in the description. 
4. Those looking to be the singular hero. We can totally make that happen! But, it's critical you get in touch with us. The experiences we offer are almost always team based, and may require tasks to be completed at the same time. We can modify the event for you, but you have to let us know!  Contact us at deniable.ca@gmail.com (deniable.ca@gmail.com)
5. Those not willing to follow directions or learn new things. For both safety and immersion, it's really important that you're on board with getting some instruction from our staff. It's going to make your event better if you're able to pick up the new skills and apply them in the right way!

Question 8

I have a physical or mental impairment - can I attend?

Accepted Answer

We'll do everything to make sure you can! Here's what we know about our events:

• many of our events involve moving from place to place by foot (between 1-4km of travel)
 • we are limited in the spaces we can rent for our events, so we can't guarantee they're accessible. Many will have stairs to be navigated regularly
 • our events can instill a sense of paranoia and suspicion. It's up to you to assess if this may aggravate existing conditions
 • our combat simulations may not be a suitable place for service animals

We'd be more than happy to discuss your specific situation, and make accommodations if we can! Get in touch by emailing us at deniable.ca@gmail.com (deniable.ca@gmail.com)

Question 9

Why are your events so expensive?

Accepted Answer

Deniable Activity is a premium experience lasting several hours. We utilize a large staff, multiple short term leases, and maintain extensive equipment for every event.

While escape rooms, bowling alleys, virtual scavenger hunts, or pop-ups immersive experiences may be able to turn over dozen of guests every hour, we pride ourselves on small exclusive experiences.

If you're looking for comparable experiences at similar price points, you can check out these companies:
GTA Exotics - Sport Driving (https://gtaexotics.ca/)- 3 Hours (at $149/hr), 6 Hours (at $119/hr)
Blackcomb Snowmobile Tours (https://www.blackcombsnowmobile.com/)- 2 Hours (at $124/hr)
Altitude Flight Sim Center (https://altitudesim.ca/boeing-737-flight-simulator/)- 90 minutes (at $152/hr)
No Limits Heli Adventure (Volcano Ice Cave Tour) (https://www.nolimits-helicopters.com/en/c-heli-tours/volcano-ice-cave-adventure-13177)- 4.5 hours (at $333/hr)

Question 10

How long do they last?

Accepted Answer

Our shortest experiences are approximately 3 hours. This gives you a chance to feel immersed in the world we create, and learn the skills you'll need on a mission. On the other end of the scale, we can offer events that extend up to 48 hours.

Check our event post to get a duration for your event.

Question 11

What are these simulated firearms (airsoft) and combat simulations?

Accepted Answer

Many of our events will never see a simulated firearm, but we know that for full immersion into a covert world, sometimes it's necessary to add props.

If your event mentions simulated firearms, you can expect to see detailed copies of real firearms at the experience. These are 'airsoft' devices, which are designed to fire a plastic projectile and for use in a game similar to paintball. In spaces where they are used as props, they are 100% disabled so that they are unable to discharge any plastic BBs. At this point, they are as dangerous as a baseball bat.

If your event mentions simulated combat, you can expect to engage in a paintball-style game using these devices. In these situations, we'll provide you with eye protection to keep you safe. We'll also offer you mouth and face protection as we know that globally, the most common 'serious' injuries are cuts or broken teeth. However, these simulated combat scenarios are exceedingly safe, and our equipment is managed to prevent any serious injuries.

Under no circumstances are these devices used in public settings. We're not here to cause a panic.

Question 12

Is this dangerous?

Accepted Answer

All activities involve some risk and, despite how intense our events sound, they're very safe. We do our best to mitigate as much as many risks as we can, and let you know about the rest. If you listen to our safety briefing and follow the rules, you should be ok! (That's the case for almost everyone that's been at our events over the past 10 years)

That said, we can't be there to stop you from running into a busy street or from tripping over a curb. So at all times, be careful and pay attention!

Question 13

Do people get hurt? Could I get hurt?

Accepted Answer

Over seven years, we've NEVER had a serious injury, or even an insurance claim. To date, the worst injuries we've seen are allergic reaction to bug bites, and cuts/scrapes. However the risk always exists. We do our best to mitigate what we can and warn you about the rest.

For events that include simulated firearms (airsoft), we know that globally, the devices have caused things like cuts and broken teeth. If your experience contains airsoft, we'll provide you with appropriate eye protection, and optional teeth and face protection.

Question 14

Is this legal?

Accepted Answer

Yes!

No matter how intense or illicit the experience may seem, we're complying with all the rules for these activities.

We connect with local law enforcement prior to our events, and we have full permission to conduct our experiences from the owners of the venues we use. When it comes to our surveillance missions, you're following willing participants, and when you're using our simulated firearms (airsoft), they're legal to own and use here in Canada with some restrictions.

In some cases for sensitive training, we may ask participants for a police background check prior to attendance.

Question 15

Do the police know you do this?

Accepted Answer

Absolutely!

We ensure we contact the police well in advance of our event and let them know the details of our activities. Our event is also placed onto their communications system so that officers in the area are aware. 
It's important to note that none of our events have anyone dressed up as a police officer or security personnel. Please treat them as you would on any regular day.

Question 16

Your waiver is... scary.

Accepted Answer

Not really a question, but yes.

We’ve done A LOT of things at our events, from vehicle chases to helicopter insertions. We’ve continuously modified our waiver (https://waiver.smartwaiver.com/w/5ef3871474165/web/)to give you the BEST understanding of the risks you face, and to help you acknowledge them.

While not every event we run might put you face to face with things like hypothermia, it's good to know we've been thorough enough to put them on the waiver just in case.

Question 17

What kind of safety plan do you have?

Accepted Answer

While all events are different based on what activities are taking place at what locations, there are some common items we can list.

Before every event, we create a document the details the primary contacts for venues, law enforcement, medical support, and event staff. This document lives with our operations center, along with a list of procedures to take in the event of an emergency.

All our event staff are briefed on the document and have access to a copy if something occurs. Our operations center is able to coordinate a full stop to the event and direct our staff to anyone requiring assistance. At most of our events, there are likely 2-3 event staff nearby, even if you don't see them.

We maintain a full first aid kit and have first aid trained staff spread throughout the event. We're prepared to deal with minor issues on site and provide assistance to anyone before they're moved to the next level of care.

If you have specific questions, please let us know by emailing deniable.ca@gmail.com (mailto:deniable.ca@gmail.com)

Question 18

Drinking, Drugs, and Intoxication

Accepted Answer

Due to the nature of our activities, anyone exhibiting signs of intoxication will not be permitted to participate. No refunds will be provided to individuals that arrive in an impaired state.

In addition, anyone that develops signs of intoxication during the event will also be asked to leave without a refund.

Question 19

Are you insured?

Accepted Answer

We definitely are.

We maintain a five million dollar CGL policy through Canadian Insurance Brokers Inc (CIBI) and Special Risk Insurance Managers. We've never had a claim against us and we're happy that way!

If you need a copy of our insurance certificate, please send us an email at deniable.ca@gmail.com (deniable.ca@gmail.com)

Question 20

What is your refund and ticket transfer policy?

Accepted Answer

Our events usually have a lot of costs associated with them. Most of these we incur even if you don't show up for the experience. As such, we have the following policy in place for refunds:

1. 100% of the ticket price will be refunded if the event is cancelled by Deniable Activity OR if the purchaser requests a refund within 72 hours of their ticket purchase. Credit for future events is available.
2. 75% of the ticket price will be refunded if an individual requests a refund up to one week before the official start time of the event on their ticket. Credit for future events is available
3. 0% of the ticket price will be refunded if an individual requests a refund any with less than 7 days before the official start time of the event
4. When any of these rules in conflict, rule #3 will take priority.

ENSURE YOU HAVE READ OUR WAIVER WITHIN 72 HOURS OF PURCHASE - https://bit.ly/DA-Oct262024(https://bit.ly/DA-Oct262024)

ABSOLUTELY NO RESELLING OF TICKETS WITHOUT AUTHORIZATION FROM DENIABLE ACTIVITY - Confirm ALL third party transfers with us: deniable.ca@gmail.com(mailto:deniable.ca@gmail.com)

PLEASE ENSURE YOU FIND YOUR TICKET AND ORDER NUMBER IN YOUR EMAIL. IF YOU DO NOT RECEIVE A CONFIRMATION EMAIL WHEN YOU PURCHASE, PLEASE EMAIL deniable.ca@gmail.com(http://deniable.ca@gmail.com/)

Question 21

What if I'm going to be late?

Accepted Answer

Please let us know as soon as you can by contacting us by email: deniable.ca@gmail.com (deniable.ca@gmail.com)or by phone: (647) 792-7431.

Unfortunately, most events will begin whether you are present or not. Being late may mean you miss out on major components of the event, or have to be excluded from later portions if you didn't receive the appropriate training. We can't offer full or partial refunds for late participants.

Question 22

What if I have to leave early?

Accepted Answer

We'll be sad that you have to go!

Unfortunately, we won't be able to offer any full or partial refunds if you have to leave before the event is over.

Question 23

What if I can't make it?

Accepted Answer

You've got a couple of options.
1) You can check out our refund policy (also in this FAQ) and see what might apply to you.
2) You can try to transfer your ticket to someone else. HOWEVER, please note that you MUST let us know about the transfer so that we can adjust names in our system. We won't be able to help you if you don't let us know.
3) After the event starts, we're unable to offer any transfers or refunds.

Question 24

I'm under 18 (or I want to bring someone who is!)

Accepted Answer

We asked our insurance company, and right now it's just too cost prohibitive to allow those under the age of 18 to participate.

How do we change that? Let us know by email if this is of interest to those under 18, and how old they are. We'll continually reassess the demand to see if we can make the changes to our policy

DENIABLE ACTIVITY

Canada's Real Life Spy Experience

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