Magnús Scheving

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

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."

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. Magnús chose snooker for Fjölnir, and Fjölnir chose aerobics for Magnús. Eventually, Magnús became a national champion in aerobics, and Fjölnir became a national champion in snooker. He has an older sister and a younger brother.

In 1992, Magnús became the Icelandic Men's Individual Champion in aerobic gymnastics. In 1993, he became the Scandinavian champion, and was the European champion twice in 1994 and 1995. He competed at the FIG Suzuki World Cup three times and won bronze in 1993, silver in 1994 and placed fifth in 1995. He was named the Icelandic Sportsperson of the Year in 1994.

In addition to his sports career, Magnús became a well-known and sought after public and motivational speaker around the world. In 1995, he published a children's book called Áfram Latibær, the first recorded work in the LazyTown franchise. During this time, he was also running a carpentry business, which gave him the money to travel the world.

In 1989, Magnús married Ragnheiður Melsteð, with whom he lived for 24 years and co-founded the LazyTown production company. Magnús and Ragnheiður have a daughter and a son. The couple divorced in 2014. Their daughter, Sylvia Erla, is a singer who reached the semi-finals of the Söngvakeppnin in 2013, but did not make it to the final. Magnús also has a daughter with his former partner, Halldóra Blöndall.

In January 2017, Magnús got engaged to Hrefna Björk Sverrisdóttir in their restaurant ROK. The couple married in 2020. In December 2022, Hrefna announced the birth of their son on her Instagram page.

In 2025 the Icelandic Competition Authority formally opened an investigation into possible wrongdoing related to the circumvention of Icelandic laws by a restaurant employers' organization acronymized SVEIT. SVEIT had been accused by union Efling and others of founding a company union, Virðing. Shortly after its founding Virðing negotiated with SVEIT inferior terms than had already been negotiated by the far larger union Efling and the far larger employers' organization Confederation of Icelandic Enterprise. Thereafter the Labour Court ruled the inferior terms to be unlawful, explaining in its decision that the existing contract between Efling and CIE was legitimate and that Icelandic law forbade the negotiation of lesser terms of employment than those found in an existing contract. Magnús and his wife Hrefna are both subjects of the investigation, both through the couple's company Taste plc, as well as Hrefna's multi-year chairmanship of SVEIT. The investigation seeks to clarify whether the founding of Virðing and the ensuing negotiation with SVEIT of lesser employment terms were an illegal conspiracy by the restauranteurs. The couple have been ordered by the ICA to hand over correspondence with anyone connected to Virðing, as well as correspondence with anyone who has ever worked for SVEIT. The ICA confirmed to the Icelandic National Broadcasting Service that the sort of lawbreaking being investigated may result in hefty fines and/or multi-year prison sentences when violations are adjudicated.