By Shawn Hogendorf

Staff Writer

Humor is a vessel that can overcome many barriers. It is also a vessel that can evoke emotions ranging from happiness to resentment.

Todd Swank, 36, of Prior Lake, has experienced both sides of the comedic ladder.

Some people bash him for the content on his Web site, www.shortarmguy.com. Others praise him for inspiring them to be what they always wanted to be.

“In this society, people are often judged by their physical characteristics,” Todd said. “Growing up different you have a different perspective on what that is like.” Todd Swank of Prior Lake takes a
picture for his Web site,
shortarmguy.com. Swank posts
pictures and video of his life on a
weekly basis. (Photos by Shawn
Hogendorf)

Todd’s arms are very different. He only has eight fingers. His left arm is less than 11 inches long from elbow to fingertips, and he has no thumb. His right arm is almost normal length.

These differences drew a lot of attention to Todd as a child. Rather than wallowing in the public’s perception that he was a “freak,” he took these differences and made people laugh.

Enter shortarmguy.com.

As an adult, Todd developed a Web site that receives nearly 30,000 hits per month. He entertains and inspires people. He occasionally offends some people. But that’s comedy, he said.

Todd recently received an e-mail from a Prior Lake resident who came across his You Tube videos after doing a search for Prior Lake.

The anonymous e-mail reads in part, “I wonder how your children will feel when they discover some of the things you have written on your Web site. You say completely inappropriate things. Does your mother know what you have written? Your father? You talk about prayer and being religious, yet try to exploit yourself online. I will never be able to look at you or your little arm the same way again.”

E-mails like this bother him, but he said he replies to them explaining his perspective and the fact that his family reads the site every week and his wife is his editor, Todd said.

“When people send negative e-mails to Todd, it’s sad that they don’t get it,” said Todd’s wife, Sheri. “He is a family guy. He loves his children. I hope people don’t look at his site so seriously.”From left, Luke, Sheri, Todd and
Avery Swank strike the
“shortarmguy” pose at the Dewitte
Public access on Prior Lake. Todd’s
family finds itself the muse for
much of Todd’s material on
youtube.com.

The negative e-mails are rare, Todd said. “I tend to get in trouble with the humorous e-mails I post that sometimes contain adult humor,” he said.

On the other side of the spectrum, Todd receives numerous e-mails from people across the world who call his site inspirational, he said.

“Those e-mails remind me that there is a reason I do this,” Todd said. “I’m helping people to realize how to feel about themselves. It’s about believing in yourself and knowing you can do whatever you set your mind to, not what society perceives your handicaps to be.”

Shortarmguy.com is a culmination of weekly journals about Todd’s family life with photos and videos of that week’s events, rants about things on Todd’s mind and e-mails he receives from viewers and finds humorous.

“I don’t mean to offend anyone with the e-mails on my site,” Todd said. “I know that 95 percent of the people who visit my site will find them funny. The site is not intended for children. It’s freedom of speech. I find them funny.”

Todd was a class clown as a child. When he moved to the Twin Cities from Cedar Falls, Iowa in 1992, he aspired to be a stand-up comedian – before he married and realized life on the road may not be for him.

He was a finalist two consecutive years in the “Funniest Person in the Twin Cities” competitions at Acme Comedy Club in Minneapolis.

When he was a child, people would stare at Todd. They were often unsure of what to say to him because of his handicap, he said.

“I would joke about it to break the ice,” he said. “It worked, so I was like, ‘Whatever, let’s play.’

“You have to find a self confidence,” Todd said. “You can’t let others’ opinion of you affect your opinion of yourself. If you let others form your perception of yourself, you will always be in that box of their perceptions, and you won’t go anywhere.”Todd Swank takes a picture of his
child Avery and his wife Sheri at
the Dewitte Public access on Prior
Lake.

Todd spends nearly eight hours a week updating his Web site.

“He pours his heart and soul into this site,” Sheri said. “Everybody wants to make a difference. For Todd, it is the message that even though people may look different, we are all the same inside.”

Todd said he would like to show people how to change their attitudes about their own situations. “Maybe they’ll embrace what makes them unique and not worry so much about what others think about it. Maybe not, [but] at least I’d like to give it a shot.”

Todd is currently the vice president of marketing for a computer wholesale company, Nor-Tech, in Burnsville, while chasing his dream to become world-famous.

“The power of the medium [the Internet] is amazing,” he said. “The idea that anyone can become a superstar overnight plays into the fact that I want to be famous. I am looking for the right video, and that might happen.” 

Shawn Hogendorf can be reached at (952) 345-6374 or shogendorf@swpub.com.