In 2006, reporter Jamie Fullerton flew to Ohio to wrestle a bear named Caesar for a quirky magazine article. It was a strange day, and after the wrestle-induced adrenalin wore off, Fullerton noticed even stranger things about Caesar’s handler, hulking Ohio native, Sam Mazzola.

Mazzola, it turned out, had a private exotic animal empire hidden on his suburban farm in Ohio: the epicenter of a dangerous subculture that had been allowed to grow unchecked by the state. Though Mazzola initially presented himself as an altruistic animal saver, his troubling relationships with his workers confused and worried Fullerton.

When Fullerton returned home to the UK, he continued to keep tabs from afar. A few years later, he learned of two bizarre deaths that took place on the farm, sparking his curiosity and prompting him to return to Ohio to finally uncover the truth behind this unusual character; to tell the rise and fall story of Sam Mazzola: Ohio’s bear king.

As he retraced his steps, Fullerton found that Mazzola had been living a secret life. Mazzola discovered that he could draw people into his world with promises of wild animal adventures, but as Fullerton dug deeper, a much more disturbing picture emerged, showing what the animals were really being used for. The story slowly revealed itself as a bizarre, sinister love tale that ended in conspiracy-tinged tragedy.

With original music from Grandaddy’s Jason Lytle, Beast Master is a chilling portrait of a man who had ridden tornados of controversy for years, living in the eye of the storm of Ohio’s infamous exotic animal scene. Told through interviews with those who knew, loved, hated, worked with, or investigated Mazzola himself, Beast Master uncovers the truth behind a story that Fullerton has been reporting for 16 years.