Magnus Scheving of LazyTown Entertainment
The “H” part of “ADHD” sometimes gets short shrift in the talk about adults with attention deficit disoder, but here’s an ADDexec (ADHDexec?) who takes plenty of advantage of his hyperkinetic nature.
“TODDLERS know Magnus Scheving, the boss of LazyTown Entertainment, as Sportacus. The hero of “LazyTown”, a children’s television programme that promotes healthy lifestyles, Sportacus lives in an airship, performs somersaults at the drop of a hat and spends his time thwarting the plans of the town’s lazy-minded villain, Robbie Rotten. The role fits Mr Scheving as snugly as Sportacus’s blue lycra suit. He has built a colourful business driven by his own cartoonish levels of energy. “I wasn’t made to sit at a desk,” he says, wriggling in his chair and constantly jumping up to scribble on a whiteboard, grab another piece of fruit or emphasise a point.”
The Economist quickly points out that movement isn’t all that Scheving is about:
“Restlessness should not be confused with a lack of focus. In his 20s, Mr Scheving and a friend challenged each other to succeed at a sport neither knew anything about. Mr Scheving wound up with competitive aerobics, became European champion twice and finished second in the world.”
It’s clear that Scheving has talent to spare — physical, creative, and intellectual. His success relies on harnessing and blending them all in a way that works, not only to create a great television show, but an entire brand built around not entertainment but an entire “lifestyle” for children.
reference: Fit for purpose in The Economist, Mar 29th 2007
From The Economist print edition
