Magnús Scheving has a lot to offer and has now picked up the hammer after a year-long break and is beautifying houses in the city center. Construction is hard work and he complains and moans about the harsh conditions in the evenings.
Entrepreneur Magnús Scheving is known to most people in connection with the popular show LazyTown, but he has many other things to offer.
“I am a carpenter and I decided not to waste that knowledge,” he says cheerfully. Magnús is now working hard to renovate a house in the city center.
The house was in bad shape when Magnús bought it and he is now doing his best to fix it up. “It is located in the heart of Reykjavík, directly opposite Hallgrímskirkja in one of the most beautiful squares in the city, and I just felt like I had to fix this house.”
As he said before, Magnus is a carpenter by training, but he hasn’t worked in that trade for a long time and says he doesn’t plan on going into construction. “Of course, I’m still working for Turner, but I can also do projects for myself.”
However, he clearly enjoys the construction work, which he says is hard work. “What’s better than picking up a hammer again and getting to know real work again?” And he is quick to answer when asked if the construction work is different from the work he normally does at Turner. “It’s more physical. I have great respect for all craftsmen because it’s hard work. These are hard-working people who build this country.”
He says it’s been a few years since he last picked up a hammer. “I built my house from scratch and everything in it. Windows, walls and everything. But it’s been a few years now, so you kind of wonder if you can still do it.”
He gets upset when he’s asked later whether he still has what it takes to build a single house. “I have to admit that I’m the weakest of the group. I told the guys that I’d take on anything that was physically difficult. Lifting, carrying wood, shoveling and stuff,” he says with a laugh, adding that a certain amount of professional skill is needed, which comes from experience.
Despite lacking a lot of it, according to his own account, he’s still a slave to the project, but he does think that interested parties can hire him for construction projects. “I’m not sure I can take on a lot of work. I don’t think I’m the best at it, those who are there with me are better.”
The goal is for the house to be ready in December, but in all likelihood a restaurant will be run, which Magnús won’t come anywhere near. “I’m just making sure the house is nice,” he says, adding that he’s now considering putting a turf roof on the house.
Magnús is of course in better shape than most, having had a long career in aerobics, but he still doesn’t deny that the construction work takes a lot of work and is in many ways a great workout. “I have to admit that I complain and whine in the evenings about the hard work, it’s a completely new type of exercise.”
There’s plenty more to being with Sportacus, whose main task now is to give lectures. “I give a lot of lectures all over the world about health and LazyTown, that’s kind of my main job now. “It goes well together, flying out and then coming home and building. What’s better than being out in Icelandic nature?” he says happily in conclusion.
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