Magnús Scheving

Magnús Scheving was born on the 10th of November, 1964, to Þórveig Hjartardóttir[2] and Eyjólfur Magnússon Scheving. His paternal grandfather was Danish.[3] He grew up in the small Icelandic town of Borgarnes.[4] At 15 years old, he had his first job as a telephone exchange messenger for Borgarnes.

Originally training to be an athletics teacher in his youth, he later decided to learn architecture.[5] However, he later had another career change, going into carpentry instead. His knowledge in both architecture and carpentry allowed him to build his own house later on, which he described as "physically...[laying] every brick and roof tile."[6]

In his twenties, he made a bet with a woodworking friend, Fjölnir Þorgeirsson, that either would master a sport of the other's choosing (that they knew nothing about) within three years. Scheving chose snooker for Fjölnir, and Fjölnir chose aerobics for Scheving. Eventually, Scheving became a national champion in aerobics, and Fjölnir became a national champion in snooker.[7][8] He has an older sister and a younger brother.

In 1992, Scheving became the Icelandic Men's Individual Champion in aerobic gymnastics.[9] In 1993, he became the Scandinavian champion, and was the European champion twice in 1994 and 1995. He was voted Athlete of the Year in Iceland in 1994.

In addition to his sports career, Scheving became a well-known and sought after public and motivational speaker around the world. He also from 1991–93 hosted his own chat show in Iceland, with a format where parents could come on and ask him questions about how to raise healthy children. In 1995, he published a children's book called Áfram Latibær, the first recorded work in the LazyTown franchise.[10] During this time, he was also running a carpentry business, which gave him the money to travel the world. He also was a fitness teacher for teenagers at a local school, having earned a degree in sports science at University of Iceland.

Scheving as Sportacus

In the 1990s, during his public speaking and aerobics career, Scheving noticed an absence in healthy lifestyle role models for children. In a 2019 TED talk, he recalled,

I realized, thirty years ago actually, there was no role model in health for kids. There was Popeye, who eats spinach, but he smoked and hit people. And you thought, maybe that's not a good role model. Maybe we need a different role model for kids. And there was no entertainment brand dedicated to kids' health in the world.[11]

In 1995,[10] he published Áfram Latibær, an Icelandic children's book which told a narrative story about a sports elf giving townsfolk tips on how to eat healthily and exercise.[12] The book was adapted into a stage play of the same name directed by Baltasar Kormákur. The show toured Iceland from 1996[13]–1997 and made LazyTown a household name across Iceland. It was shown to be immensely popular among children and so, a sequel was written, Glanni Glæpur Í Latabæ, which was the first time Robbie Rotten was introduced, played by Stefán Karl Stefánsson.

LazyTown was commissioned by Nickelodeon in May 2003 and the first episode aired on Nick Jr. on August 16, 2004.

Scheving is the creator and co-founder of LazyTown Entertainment. This company produces books, videos, games, and sporting goods to help promote fitness and a healthy lifestyle to children. He is also creator of the show LazyTown (Latibær in Iceland), where he played Sportacus (known as Íþróttaálfurinn in Icelandic) from 2004 to 2014.

In 2006, Scheving received a Lifetime Achievement Award at the Icelandic Edda Award ceremonies for his work as founder and creator of the LazyTown franchise. Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson, President of Iceland, presented the award to him.[14][15]

After LazyTown Entertainment was bought by Turner Broadcasting in the summer of 2011,[16] Scheving continued to play Sportacus. However, in 2014, he announced that he would be departing the role of Sportacus (after the end of the TV series), passing it on to Dýri Kristjánsson, who played Sportacus in all subsequent live shows.[17] He also announced in 2014 that he would depart from his position as CEO of LazyTown Entertainment.[18][19]

In 2010, Scheving starred in the film alongside Jackie Chan The Spy Next Door, in which he portrayed a Russian villain attempting to destroy the world's oil supplies.[24][25]

On November 2 or 3, 2022, Scheving spoke at the World Business Forum in New York City on the topic of "great ideas" and creativity.[26] Later that week, he spoke at the WBF in Bogotá, Colombia on November 9th or 10th, on the topic of high performance teams.[27] While in Colombia, Scheving encountered an enthusiastic Sportacus cosplayer.[28][29]

Circa 1989, Scheving married Ragnheiður Melsteð, with whom he lived for 24 years.[38] The couple officially divorced in 2014.[39] Magnús and Ragnheiður have a daughter and a son. Scheving also has a daughter with his former partner Halldóra Blöndall.

In January 2017 Scheving got engaged to Hrefna Björk Sverrisdóttir in their restaurant ROK. The couple got married in 2020.[40][41] In December 2022, Hrefna announced the birth of their son on her Instagram page.[42][43] In February 2023, after a three-year hiatus from Instagram, Scheving posted an image of himself and his infant son reclining on a beach in Adeje, Spain, both wearing matching sunglasses, captioned "My son in the sun."[44]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Magnús Scheving.

• Magnus Scheving at Instagram
• Magnús Scheving at IMDb
• "Magnus Scheving Lazytown Interview". Male actors. 2008. Archived from the original on September 20, 2008.
• "Magnus Scheving – aka Sportacus from LazyTown". Care for Kids. Dad in profile. July 2008. Archived from the original on July 31, 2008.
• "Mr Motivator". Times online. November 4, 2006. Archived from the original on May 17, 2011. Magnús Scheving, aka Sportacus, claims to have reduced childhood obesity in his native Iceland by 16 per cent - with a TV programme. Welcome to the hyperactive world of LazyTown