ABSTRACT
In the history of Danish radio broadcasting the founder of Danish radio gymnastics, Captain Jespersen (1883–1963), stands out as a charismatic figure who still today appeals as an intriguing voice from the past. After some dramatic falls from his horse Captain Jespersen was injured several times, but through the personal experience of a religious call he felt obliged not only to seek recovery himself but to spread the message of human perfection through self-discipline to the whole Danish nation. During morning gymnastics in the radio, he tried to awaken Danish radio listeners not only by means of some rather rigorous schemes of gymnastics and the use of military-like commands but mainly through encouragement to spiritual transformation, often deriving from Martin Luther and St Paul, which sometimes even resulted in the domestic performers standing still and freezing for an extended period of time. Though Captain Jespersen advocated ‘a healthy soul in a healthy body’, to him the religious spirit of man should take control over the sinful body. This could be done by a lifelong conduct of self-control developed though gymnastics every morning.
