For Henlein, preserving a sense of masculinity and with it "healthy" male bodies was the key concern for his work with the "Turnerband". The British historian Mark Cornwall noted that Henlein's language was very gendered as he always spoke about preserving the "German male hero" which was his ideal of what a Sudeten man should be. In an article in 1925, Henlein urged his followers to be "complete men" and "dress in a manly way!" Reflecting his fear that men were starting to "go soft" becoming like women, Henlein wrote: "Our age bears all the signs of decadence and decline. "Mannestum" (maleness) and a sense of heroism have been rare among us Germans; a weaker, slacker, more effeminate trait is dominant, something emasculating, which will never be constructive for our people!" Through Henlein's colleagues found him to be a friendly and affable man, who was a natural mediator, he was well known as a tough disciplinarian who imposed rigorously demanding and quasi-military training on the young men involved in his gym club."