Ryan Duffey Strode was a child street preacher who made headlines and toured the TV talk show circuit in the late 1980s. His preferred preaching style was to shout about sin and the devil at the top of his lungs to all passers-by. (Ryan's father had previously been arrested for his own street preaching.)
In 1988, Ryan, his six-year-old sister Pepper, and five-year-old brother Matthew decided to spread the good word in the parking lot of their Marion, North Carolina elementary school. After repeated warnings, the school suspended Ryan. Of course, the Streisand Effect ensued. Below is a TV news segment of Ryan and his sibs at school. My favorite moment is Pepper's observation that the situation was "straight outta hell."
According to Wikipedia, "At 16 years old, Strode took a job at a Wendy's fast-food restaurant and began being exposed to secular influences; to his family's dismay, he began wearing a hat backwards and listening to popular music." He apparently left home in 1997 to "live with a punk rocker friend" and got married. A 2023 article in the Asheville Citizen-Times mentions Stode, currently a factory work, but not in the context of his former celebrity as a childhood preacher. Rather, he's profiled as a participant in an Xtreme Toughman competition.
(Thanks, Chanté McCormick!)
Previously:
• This is how to start a street spat between two preachers
• Street preacher in Grinch costume holds 'Santa is fake' sign outside elementary school (video)
