Wrestling aces in private

“10 years ago, I was the hottest guy ever”

Fit as a young man: Christian Zierhut (43) and Martin Heiligenbrunner (44) still fight, but have to invest a lot of time in their bodies to do so.(Bild: Markus Wenzel)

A janitor's boy from a council estate and a boy from the country are still in the ring in their mid-40s. "We don't do it to show off ourselves. We want to be a role model for children and young people," say wrestling aces Christian Zierhut and Martin Heiligenbrunner. And one of them admits: "At home, I'm the one who gets put in the headlock."

Deafening heavy metal music blares from the loudspeakers as two heavyweight musclemen make their way down the corridor to "Kickstart my Heart" by Mötley Crüe. You can smell the sweat, feel the adrenaline. The audience is fired up for the fight of the evening. Flashback: Two days earlier. Martin Heiligenbrunner comes in through the door with a somewhat unsteady step, holding a trauma ointment in his hand.