The new kung fu reality series "Shaolin Heroes" premieres on SVT on January 2. Entrepreneur and former politician Jan Emanuel is enthusiastic when he talks about his participation.
In this program, nothing is held back. You are tested as a person mentally, but primarily physically all the way through the pain. The only thing I wonder is how they will be able to understand how this really happened.
Far beyond the border
The concept of "Shaolin Heroes" is that participants undergo twelve days of hard physical training and work with their inner demons in a temple in South Korea - as the mythical monks have done for centuries.
We are challenged physically in ways that you wouldn't think SVT would support, says Jan Emanuel.
He describes it as the participants being pushed far beyond the limits of what they thought was possible.
I've been training for a really long time. I thought I knew how much I could do. But I had no fucking idea and it was awesome.
The other participants are skier Jon Olsson, artist Pa Modou Badjie, comedian Filip Dikmen, restaurateur Johan Jureskog, actor Matias Varela and football icon Johan Mjällby.
Men only
No one is voted out, there are no intrigues. The gain for the participants was instead the inner journey, according to Jan Emanuel.
For the first time in my life, I've left a TV set without feeling embarrassed. This made me feel good. This gave me something.
But why are there only men in “Shaolin Heroes”? Shouldn't there have been some female participants?
"It's shocking because SVT is by definition cowardly. But SVT is brave in doing this. They realize that what we have been through could never happen in a mixed group," says Jan Emanuel.
He claims that men talk and act differently in groups if women are involved and welcomes any criticism of the arrangement.
A good production wouldn't be a good production if the poorest people weren't afraid of it. But it's also the best advertisement for the production.
Mikael Forsell/TT
Facts: The participants in “Shaolin heroes”
TT
Jan Emanuel, controversial entrepreneur and former politician for S and Folklistan. Won "Expedition: Robinson" in 2001.
Jon Olsson, recreational skier and entrepreneur with a large following on social media.
Pa Modou Badjie, artist, one of the members of the group Panetoz who competed in Melodifestivalen.
Johan Mjällby, footballer with a long career in AIK and Celtic, 49 caps for Sweden and World Cup games in 2002.
Johan Jureskog, chef and restaurateur who runs the restaurant AG in Stockholm and the chain Jureskogs.
Filip Dikmen, comedian and social media profile who has competed in both "Let's dance" and "The Traitors".
Matias Varela, actor known from the films "Fast Cash" and "438 Days".
The Chinese martial art Shaolin is named after the temple of the same name in China, where it was developed in the 6th century by the Indian monk Bodhidharma. He founded the concept of “chan” so that the temple’s monks would become stronger and more resilient. Shaolin has also been practiced in Sweden since the 1970s.
Source: National Encyclopedia.
