Scientology ‘Speed Running’ Trend

Uwa Ede-Osifo, reporting for The Guardian:

On any given day, Los Angeles’s Hollywood Boulevard teems with tourists and street performers clustered near the area’s many landmarks. But in recent months, the strip has been set abuzz for a new reason.

Throngs of mostly adolescent boys and young men have been rushing the Church of Scientology’s international headquarters on the famed street.

The so-called “speed runs” appear to be bids for social media valor — clips of the raids have amassed millions of views on TikTok — as much as they are an outgrowth of public intrigue surrounding the church, which has previously drawn accusations of being a cult. Some users have developed blueprints for the building based on information gathered from videos of the raids.

I’m not condoning it, of course, but this video of one guy doing it sure was fun to watch.

★ Thursday, 30 April 2026