More and more professional athletes are openly embracing their religious faith – and some even cite Nietzsche as a source of ideological motivation. What is behind the Nietzsche worship among some athletes? Is Nietzsche really suitable as a motivator for physical training? And: Is the well-known atheist Nietzsche a better coach than God?

Like hardly any other philosopher, Friedrich Nietzsche has left his mark on popular culture — less in the pleasing mainstream entertainment, but more in subcultures and in artistic positions that are considered “edgy” and “dark.” In this “underworld,” Nietzsche's aphorisms, catchphrases, slogans and invectives are widely used — for example in the musical genres of heavy metal, hardcore and punk focused on social and aesthetic provocation. What is the reason for that?