Under his leadership, his local association of the "Turnerband" continued to grow, and Henlein became a well-known figure in the Sudetenland. During this time, Henlein worked very closely with another "Turnerband" leader, Heinz Rutha, who wrote articles arguing for the "Turnerband" to become a type of political party which would nurture "völkisch" ideas amongst the youth. In July 1923, Rutha first met Henlein when he heard the latter give a "fiery speech" at the local "turner" club, and the two become inseparably close as the two shared a common interest in promoting a sense of "völkisch"-tinged nationalism together with physical activities amongst young men (neither Henlein nor Rutha ever had much interest in young women). Rutha was active in the "Wandervogel" youth movement where he took young men out for long camping trips in the Sudeten mountains and forests, where they would contemplate the beauties of nature, sing German nationalist songs, and cultivate a sense of brotherhood. Rutha, who believed in the unity of "body and soul", often saying that healthy male bodies made for a healthy race, had decided to link his "wandervogel" group with the "turner" movement.