Jan is surprised by the support he has found for his specialized hobby. “I’m completely overwhelmed by the community,” he tells WIRED. “Maybe viewers feel exactly the same as I did when my friend cut that piece,” he reflects. “And I hope that many of my viewers now feel inspired to dive deeply into the sport of bread cutting.”

To that end, Jan offers links to purchase the same specialized tools he relies on; He made sure to select pieces that were available around the world. And although it currently does not have promotional agreements with those brands, it does not seem to be ruled out. After all, he is a superstar.

Jan’s day job has nothing to do with the food business, he says, and he has never baked his own bread. “We have so many incredibly good bakeries here in Germany that I don’t think I’ll run out of different types of bread to try anytime soon,” he says, although he adds that he’s “always on the lookout for unique breads.” Jan cuts an entire loaf before moving on to a new one, and fans consider each subsequent loaf another “season” of her show.

So far, Jan’s favorite bread has been Frankenlaib, the traditional German round sourdough bread from which he earned his recent Golden Slice. What he liked least, he says, “despite a good performance,” was a square, block-shaped loaf of whole wheat bread. This is because, despite his perfectionism, he doesn’t believe in shortcuts: “Although we did very well in the end, I personally don’t find the result on a square loaf to be as impressive as cutting a ‘real’ loaf of bread in the traditional way,” explains Jan.

Jan prefers to use round loaves of bread.

Courtesy of Germanbreadcutter

Like any professional athlete, Jan has his days off. In these moments, his viewers are quick to encourage him not to lose faith. Commenting on a less-than-stellar portion of May, one fan wrote: “Reflect on the mistake for 5 minutes and then move on. Tomorrow will be better!” Another joked that while the slice was a “tough” watch, he “could probably still eat it.” Jan has observed in one of his videos that the tip of a bar presents special difficulties in grip and stabilization. “My personal Achilles heel,” he wrote. (The last time he had trouble with one of these sections, one fan wrote: “You attempt cuts that others would consider final pieces. You remain an inspiration of skill, artistry, and responsibility.”)