‘Scientology Speedrun’ stunt spreads beyond US as church increases security

A viral “speedrun” challenge through Church of Scientology buildings has officially gone international, one day after the trend spread coast-to-coast for the first time in the United States.

On May 3, a group of some 300 people gathered outside a Church of Scientology facility in Vancouver, Canada, CBC reported. While the front door was locked and no one entered the building, it did mark the first time the viral “Scientology Speedrun” challenge had been brought to a city outside ​the United States.

Back stateside, the viral trend had been exclusively relegated to Los Angeles before this weekend. But that all changed May 2, when a group allegedly broke a door to enter the church’s Manhattan building. According to Fox News, some of the individuals threw objects and damaged property, resulting in ⁠an injury to a staff member.

In a statement shared with USA TODAY, Scientology spokesperson David Bloomberg said, “Church facilities are peaceful spaces designed to welcome parishioners, visitors and members of the public.” He added, “Turning them ‌into targets for viral stunts is not journalism, protest or civic activity. It is ​trespass, harassment and disruption of religious facilities.”

Taking its name from the world of video games, a speedrun is an attempt to complete a task or goal as quickly as possible, whether that be a level in Super Mario or a language in Duolingo.

The Scientology Speedrun breaks free from the confines of a screen, and involves groups of mostly teenaged boys and young men running through the halls of the fabled ⁠church.

“Some online have referred to these incidents as ‘speed running,’” Bloomberg said. “In reality, they involve organized trespasses into ‌religious and public information facilities for social media attention.”

The trend is largely credited to a TikTok video posted in March by an anonymous creator called Swhileyy. Though it didn’t yet have the Scientology Speedrun moniker, its ethos was there. Swhileyy sprinted through Scientology’s iconic main campus in Hollywood, ⁠California, dodging staff, navigating stairwells, and laughing all the while.

Within weeks, the video not only amassed tens of millions of views but also spawned copycats eager to explore ever deeper corridors and, some might argue, be increasingly more disruptive.

Swhileyy has since denounced the speedrun trend in ‌an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, citing an attempt in ‌Los Angeles that resulted in a Scientology staffer requiring medical attention.

“They went through there with five people,” he said. “They all had masks on or towels on their face. They had air horns. They ran through creating a crazy commotion. [I heard] they actually pushed a Scientologist to the ground, which is ⁠insane to me. That’s assault.”

The 18-year-old maintains that what he did was all in good fun, and that he never “promoted ​the idea” of taking things further.

“I do not condone ⁠what I ​did, even though I didn’t break any laws. All I did was explore the building. I was never asked not to come back to the premises,” Swhileyy said. “I never once in any video or any comment section or anywhere promoted the idea of running through there or beating my record.”

Given the mystery and intrigue that surrounds the Church of Scientology, some content creators have claimed they’re ⁠trying to map the facilities and learn more about the organization. On the whole, however, those who participate appear to be nothing more than social media clout chasers.

The virality of the Scientology Speedrun has been likened to “Storm Area 51,” a 2019 meme gathering that challenged people to rush the gates of the secretive Nevada-based government ⁠installation en masse.

While everyone kept a safe distance from the heavy military presence that was established in anticipation of the event, the movement became a cultural moment, attracting participants and media coverage from around the globe.

With the Scientology Speedrun phenomenon showing no signs of slowing down, Bloomberg said “the Church has taken additional security measures to protect staff, visitors, parishioners and religious sites.”

However, ⁠he added, “Those measures are not the story. The story is that ‌a house of worship and public information facilities have been repeatedly targeted by people seeking internet attention.”

The ​Church of Scientology was ‌founded in Los Angeles in 1954 by sci-fi author-turned-theologian L. Ron Hubbard. The church’s teachings are based on Hubbard’s seminal work “Dianetics,” a technical ​handbook for ridding the mind of “nightmares, unreasonable fears, upsets, insecurities and psychosomatic illness,” according to Scientology’s official website.

For those outside the church, Scientology’s perceived focus on interdimensional beings, extraterrestrial rulers and high-profile defectors, has long shrouded it in myth and secrecy, making it a source of endless intrigue.