Former Amish man shares secrets from community he left behind in viral TikToks
When Eddie Swartzentruber ran away in the middle of the night, it was freezing in the heart of Minnesota. Hours had built up to the moment he snuck down the stairs, fled from his Amish community and didn’t turn back.
“I ran out of the house and out the driveway and down the gravel road, I just ran as fast as I could,” Swartzentruber said in a TikTok. “I was quite a bit scared, but somehow, someway, I just knew that things would probably work out.”
And things did work out. In the years following Swartzentruber’s departure from his Amish community, he now runs a business, has a wife and shares his experiences with millions of people on TikTok.
“Most of my videos are just responding to question(s) that I get,” Swartzentruber told KARE. “Answering a question will spark 100 other questions.”
@eddieswartzentruber_1996 Replying to @Drake How did I run away? #runaway #amish #tiktok #fyp #examish ♬ original sound - Eddie A Swartzentruber
When he was 17 years old on Jan. 18, 2014, Swartzentruber fled his community in Harmony, Minnesota, and faced the arduous task of rebuilding his life, he told KARE.
Now he is 25, lives in Rochester and his TikTok bio touts the same mentality it took for him to start over: “Everything worthwhile is uphill.”
Aside from Swartzentruber’s captivating story, people flock to his account for a different reason: Outsiders want to know anything and everything about the secretive Amish community.
Do Amish men shave? Do Amish women use birth control? How does law enforcement work? Can you get divorced? Hundreds of questions spam Swartzentruber’s videos, but he doesn’t mind — he keeps answering.
@eddieswartzentruber_1996 Replying to @kellyboyer1999 Do Amish Shave? #amish #fyp #examish #shave #learn ♬ original sound - Eddie A Swartzentruber
Swartzentruber adds some spunk to his answers too, occasionally joking about how he was “corrupted,” describing petty fights among men and even drawing parallels between the Amish community and cults.
The difference between someone joining a community such as the Amish and himself is that Swartzentruber was born into his family, and it was all he ever knew, he told his viewers.
“This community, this farm will always have a special place in my heart,” he told KARE.
@eddieswartzentruber_1996 Replying to @onionburgers why did I join a cult? #amish #tiktok #examish #cult #fyp ♬ original sound - Eddie A Swartzentruber
Despite his roots, Swartzentruber says his decision was worth it and he’s helped other people leave the community, too. “I will never turn anybody down because you just never know what they’re going through,” he said.
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