In civilian life, his name is Oskar Arngarden, and “crossfitpriest” on social media. At 38, this Swedish Lutheran pastor has tens of thousands of followers on Instagram who religiously follow his fitness tips peppered with spiritual advice.
The married man and father of two, a chaplain at Uppsala Hospital north of Stockholm, likes to describe himself as a “shy guy”.
But on the social network, he puts his heart and soul into reaching his digital herd.
“In the Bible we can read that the body is a temple. I believe that in part this invites us to ask ourselves this question: how can we take care of this temple? ‘ he told AFP, phone in hand, sweat on his forehead, and showing the videos of his account.
We see him lift weights and endure the ordeal to further sculpt his impressive muscles.
“I’m talking about faith, but also a lot of health, (…) not only from a physical point of view, but also from an existential point of view, mental health,” he deciphers.
His first Instagram account, launched in 2019, has enjoyed meteoric popularity. Oskar is then overwhelmed.
“It got out of hand,” he recalls. “In a couple of months I hit 160,000 subscribers and I wasn’t feeling very well.”
Many comments then linger on his physique, tattoos and underlining his resemblance to Australian actor Chris Hemsworth. He falls into depression and closes his account.
Finally, in 2020, he resumes his activity for the application “with a clearer idea” of the message that he wants to transmit in particular to his Swedish subscribers in one of the least religious countries in the world.
“We are held back by history where the church is at the center and where people come to church,” he analyses.
“We now need to find ways for the church to reach out and reach out to people. And where are the people? They’re on social media.”
Oskar Arngarden now sees his religious practice inextricably linked to the Internet and CrossFit.
“Social networks have something spiritual (…) we can interact with the whole world, get information, understand the world,” he pleads.
“God is part of every aspect of my life. In a way, when I do bodybuilding, it’s also an interaction, a prayer to God. That part of me, faith, is always with me, whatever I do. I can’t separate it from the rest.