Creative Scotland Crowdmatch has provided £1,010 of match funding
Help make a film about the cost of anti doping
Edinburgh, United Kingdom
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Aim
A documentary about the disastrous consequences for clean athletes involved in contamination in professional sports.
What happens when a world-class athlete, at the peak of his career, tests positive for steroids he’s never heard of?
At the center of SPIKED is Chris Vui, captain of the Samoan national rugby team and a leading figure in the English Premiership. At the height of his career, during the World Cup, he tested positive for steroids. The levels detected matched known contamination patterns, but the consequences were immediate and shattering. Chris was removed from the competition, placed under strict confidentiality orders, and unable to defend himself publicly while accusations spread. In Samoan culture, such allegations carry deep stigma, extending beyond the individual to their family. Silence became its own punishment.
Three years later, Chris finally received his verdict. He is "guilty". He has lost everything and now works as a truck driver while battling PTSD. His goal is no longer simply to return to professional sport and clear his name, but also to shine a light on the systemic unfairness in anti-doping procedures.
His case is not unique. Across many sports, athletes are increasingly sanctioned due to contamination from food, supplements, or environmental exposure.
We have secured exclusive access to Chris and his team and have several high-profile athletes willing to take part in the documentary.
Filming in the UK has already started and the crowdfunding will help with the rest of the production, including international travel to interview experts and other athletes involved in similar cases.
WHY THIS STORY? WHY NOW?
Under anti-doping laws, the discovery of a banned substance effectively places the burden of guilt on the athlete. Regardless of intent, they must prove how it entered their system, making accidental contamination one of the hardest defences to establish. As anti-doping science becomes more advanced, contamination cases are rising.
One of the greatest challenges facing anti-doping today is accidental contamination. Athletes can unknowingly ingest prohibited substances through everyday products that appear safe. Poor manufacturing controls mean that some over-the-counter supplements, including protein powders, vitamins, and creatine, may contain undeclared anabolic steroids or prohormones. Food can also present a risk. In some countries, drugs used in livestock farming, leave residues in meat that can trigger a positive anti-doping test despite offering no performance-enhancing benefit.
TUSITALA FILMS
Tusitala Films, produces documentaries that explore social justice and the people driving change.
Tusitala Films produced the award-winning feature documentary Oceans Apart: Greed, Betrayal and Pacific Rugby, which exposed systemic inequalities in international rugby and contributed to meaningful discussions within the sport's governing bodies. The film has screened at leading international festivals, reached audiences worldwide, and demonstrated the power of documentaries to inform, challenge, and inspire.
We are a carbon neutral company and all emissions generated by the production of this film will be offset with local initiatives.
THE FILM
SPIKED is both an intimate character-driven story and a wider investigation into the modern anti-doping system.
The film follows Chris Vui’s ongoing fight to clear his name, capturing a journey shaped by silence, uncertainty, and the psychological toll of suspension. His story is interwoven with other contamination cases, highlighting how global supply chains and ultra-sensitive testing have created new risks that athletes cannot fully control.
Expert contributors provide context and balance, exploring the scientific and legal challenges behind anti-doping, while carefully examining the vulnerabilities of testing processes.
The result is a grounded and thought-provoking film that questions whether the system designed to protect athletes and clean sport is still delivering justice.
STATUS
- Exclusive access secured
- High profile contributors attached
- Production underway
TIMEFRAME
Filming started a few months ago while the case was still confidential. With Chris's verdict now public, we are now able to continue the production.
We hope to have the final edit done by November 2026 and to release the film shortly after that. We will run an impact campaign to make sure the film is seen where it should be.
MATCH FUNDING
The project is part of the Creative Scotland Crowd-match Fund.
With Creative Scotland match funding, your support will help ensure the film is properly resourced allowing us to tell this story with the care and quality it deserves.
To receive match funding, the following pledge conditions apply:
1. For every donation made to your campaign, Creative Scotland will match it £1 for £1, up to a maximum of £250 per individual donation.
2. Only one donation per supporter will be matched.
3. The campaign must receive donations from at least 25 unique supporters to qualify for match funding.
4. Match funding counts towards the overall crowdfunding target – so the combined total of public donations and Creative Scotland match funding must reach 100% of your target for you to keep the funding from Creative Scotland.
5. If the campaign does not reach 100% of its target before closing, the match funding will be withdrawn, and no funds will be paid out.
6. Creative Scotland match funding is only available for 8 weeks from the "live" date.
By backing SPIKED, you’re helping bring an important and often silenced topic to the screen and supporting an impact film that can make a difference.
Thank You!
Funding method
Keep what you raise – this project will receive all pledges made by 25th September 2026 at 10:19am