Hobby tunneler Eric Sutterlin shows off part of his homemade underground labyrinth in Wisconsin.
Photographer: Micah McMullin, courtesy of Eric Sutterlin
Meet the DIY Diggers Who Can’t Stop Making ‘Hobby Tunnels’
TikTok’s “Tunnel Girl” has focused fresh attention on the amateur excavators who build their own underground infrastructure — often in defiance of local laws.
Two years ago, Bryan Ritchie was shoveling dirt to put a walking path around his house in Huiroa, New Zealand, when he just felt the “urge to keep going.”
An environmental restoration specialist during the week, Ritchie, 58, now spends his Sundays with his well-worn shovel, indulging in his favorite hobby: tunneling. His hole now descends 16 feet underground and runs for 82 feet, stretching from behind his shed to the far end of his garden. “If I could, I would do it every day,” he said.