Frank Elstner
This is how he feels about his Parkinson’s disease
Frank Elstner boxed as a teenager, and today a punching bag feels it.
© ddp images
Presenter legend Frank Elstner keeps fit with boxing and declares war on Parkinson.
Even at an advanced age, presenter legend Frank Elstner (82) stays really fit. The inventor of “Wetten,dass..?”, who suffers from Parkinson’s disease, relies on boxing. He says he boxed as a teenager in conversation with “Bild am Sonntag”. Around three years ago, his wife Britta, to whom he has been married since 2009, gave him boxing gloves and a sandbag. It’s “hanging in our basement. When I box against it, I can let out all my aggression,” says Elstner.
How is Frank Elstner?
The founding member of the Parkinson Foundation Advisory Board, whose mission is “a world without Parkinson’s,” is doing well today. “Sometimes I think that I don’t have Parkinson’s at all,” says Elstner. “I am very grateful that I have a mild course, because the disease manifests itself differently in each person affected.” But he does a lot for it: “Sports come with mental training, good nutrition and iron discipline.”
Professional boxer and boxing world champion Dilar Kisikyol (32) can also confirm how disciplined Elstner appears to be in his training. She is committed to social projects, including in the fight against the disease. Among other things, Kisikyol leads a boxing group for women with Parkinson’s. “You can tell Frank Elstner how well trained he is. He has incredible punching power. Very determined and focused,” she says.
Parkinson’s is “not a death sentence”
A Parkinson’s diagnosis is “not a death sentence,” says Elstner, who made his own illness public for the first time in 2019, and wants to encourage others. “It is rather a call to oppose the development of this disease,” he explains. It is particularly important not to lose your sense of humor and to remain optimistic. He always maintained both after his diagnosis.