Meet Oskar Arngården — Hot CrossFit-Loving Priest Who's Dead Ringer For Chris Hemsworth
The resemblance is seriously uncanny.
Instagram Thor is the god of thunder and every god has his priests, right? That's where Oskar Arngården comes in.
OK, not exactly. Arngården is a Lutheran priest for the Church of Sweden and his ministry has nothing to do with either the Thor from Nordic mythology or from the Marvel Universe. But Anrgården does look an awful lot like Chris Hemsworth, who plays the hammer-wielding hero in the Marvel films.
rngården's resemblance to Hemsworth and his penchant for posting workout pics on Instagram have garnered him a lot of attention recently. He uses the handle The CrossFitPriest and gets online to talk about physical fitness as well as spiritual pursuits.
Who is Oskar Arngården? Read on for all the details.
1. The CrossFit Priest
If you got to Arngåden's Instagram page, you'll see that he keeps his bio simple, saying only "Lutheran priest in the Church of Sweden, with a big passion for training." The New York Post reports that he's 35 years old but doesn't say much more about his background. He has social media posts going back several years and the photos are a mix of workout pics and videos, shots of him in clerical garb, and some really cute photos of him with kids. Unfortunately for those of us in America, most of the captions are written in Swedish so we can't glean much of an origin story from the account. All we can say for sure is that his dedication to CrossFit is as serious as his dedication to God. He also looks so much like Chris Hemsworth that he could be hired to be his stunt double in Hemsworth's next film.
A priest getting a workout in.
2. Thor lookalike account
In the spirit of research for this article, I spent some time perusing Chris Hemsworth's Instagram, just to be sure that the comparisons were accurate. It's actually uncanny how much the two men look alike. They share the same swoop of hair in the front and a chiseled jawline and piercing eyes. They even both toss kettlebells around to stay fit. If Hemsworth would pose in a clerical collar, it would be hard to tell the two men apart.
You can't deny they look alike.
3. Training tips for spiritual growth
Arngårgden has switched to English in his recent captions, possibly because his following has grown to over 140 thousand on Instagram and he's lifting his way to worldwide fame. Some have asked him how he manages to keep training while also working as a spiritual guide to his congregants. "Sometimes I get questions about how i manage time between training and religion, and if my training dosen’t take time from more important stuff. But in some way I believe my training gives me more time for religion. It gives me endurance and strength to study more and to give more in my work as a priest," he writes. "I think it is a mistake to make them opponents. Instead let them complement and contribute to each other. We are both spiritual and bodily as human beings. Like for anyone else who trains for good health — it gives us not just positive result in training but also in our ordinary life. And thats a biological fact."
He ends by saying "So, my best tip if you want to have more energy for bible reading (or if their is anything else you want more energy for)... Try some training."
4. Hemsworth's workout tips
Flipping back to Hemsworth's account (For more research! Really!), followers can get workout tips from him, as well. He actually has a workout app so you can train like Thor if you want to. Or you can just watch...er...research the videos.
5. Turning off the comments
The one downside to his newfound fame is that Arngården has been dealing with creepy commenters. He has temporarily turned off commenting on his posts to deal with the issue and he made sure to explain himself when he made that decision. "This couple of weeks have been really crazy. It has been fun, but also a little bit scary. I have noticed in myself that I am not at all comfortable with the attention that has been pointed to me as a person," he wrote. "I started this account to get to talk about whats really important in my life; God!... and also, hopefully maybe inspire to a healthy lifestyle. This is what i want this account to be about. Nothing more — nothing less. For me it isn't about having many followers, it is about the message... BUT I am really glad for everyone who follow and who feels that what i write means something to them"
"I am fully aware that there is a lot in my comment-stream that I don’t want there; mean comments, sexual comments, unrespectful comments...etc," he explained to his followers. "To deal with this, I will start deleting more than I have done before. Unfortunately, this means I will delete everything that is in a language I don’t understand — which means anything that is not written in English or Swedish. Until I finish deleting, I will close the comment-stream"
He ended by saying "My meaning is never to hurt anybody by doing this, or in any other way. I hope you understand. All the best!!"
6. Keeping his mind on peace
Despite the upheaval his Instagram fame has caused, Arngården tries to keep his mind on spiritual matters and end the day on a calm note. In one post he shares his prayer for the end of the day. "Going to bed this night after a long week full with impressions. Going to bed thanking God for all that he has given me. Begging for forgiveness over what i have lacked in love. And asking for help towards the coming days and the future I know nothing about. A prayer I try to end every day with."
Neither Arngådren nor Hemsworth have commented on their twinning looks but we can only hope they find a way to work out together.
Rebekah Kuschmider has been writing about celebrities, pop culture, entertainment, and politics since 2010. Her work has been seen at Ravishly, Babble, Scary Mommy, The Mid, Redbook online, and The Broad Side. She is the creator of the blog Stay at Home Pundit and she is a cohost of the weekly podcast The More Perfect Union.