In the first part of our chat with Jan Beyer who recently left The LEGO Group, he told us about how he ended up working for the Danish toy manufacturer for 21 years. Now, we’ll talk a bit about what he accomplished there.

Jan Beyer receiving BrickNerd’s Nerd Of Note award, from the author of this article, at the 2022 Skærbæk Fan Weekend

If you were to compile a list of all the things Jan Beyer did in his years at The LEGO Group and ask people to pick the one they value the most, chances are that one achievement in particular would stand out: Skærbæk Fan Weekend, born as the LEGO Fan Weekend in 2005, which was incidentally the setting for this interview. But how did it come to be?

“Well (laughing), it started almost by accident. AFOLs always wanted to do events, and for LEGO, that was interesting because events end up inspiring the end users by showing them what is possible with LEGO bricks. It is a good showcase, even if most people who go as visitors will never be able to build what they see. Kids and adults alike get very inspired.”

But talking to AFOLs about how they run events, and maybe even giving them advice on how to run their events, isn’t necessarily all that easy if you’ve never run an event yourself.

The Accidental Start of Skærbæk

A young and promising Jan Beyer at the 2005 LEGO Fan Weekend in Skærbæk. Image via Byggepladen on Flickr

“So I told my boss Tormod Askildsen that I needed to do an event for myself because I felt bad telling other people what to do—I basically didn’t feel I could keep talking about things I hadn’t tried. And right after that, I just happened to attend a Christmas party at the Skærbæk Feriecenter. I ended up sitting next to Søren Hansen (who recently retired) but was running the center at the time. He asked me what my role was, and I reluctantly admitted I was working with LEGO fans. That intrigued him, so I showed him a few pictures on my phone, and the next thing I knew, he was suggesting we do something together. At that time, we had already had a few snaps*, so we drank to that, and everything was very cheerful.”

(*This has nothing whatsoever to do with Snapchat. Please click through for more information!) But let’s get back to the origins of Skærbæk Fan Weekend.

“Several months later, our paths crossed again for some reason, and he asked me what had happened to that thing we were supposed to do together. He told me that their two sports halls were available for one single weekend that autumn: the last weekend in September. I suddenly found myself with an opportunity and a bit of a budget, and I knew people who would want to come and display their models, while Søren had tables we could use, so we went for it.”

“They had some bouncing castles that could fill half a hall, we had a little café set up, and I went to the manager to the employee store in Billund and asked if we could get some sets and key chains that we could sell at the event, just to try out the concept. We’re still discussing how many people participated at that first LEGO Fan Weekend—some say 40, others say 80, but I think it’s closer to 40 than 80. We filled half of one hall with models.”

Jan, in the yellow shirt, manning the modest store at the very first LEGO Fan Weekend in 2005. Image via CHRISP on Brickshelf

And just like that, the LEGO Fan Weekend in Skærbæk was born—on a completely different scale than the beast that now brings more than 1,000 people together every September.

The 2009 LEGO Fan Weekend minifigure. Two for sale at BrickLink, at US $1300 and $2000… Image via Bricklink

“We found out that it was a lot of fun! I basically did most of the organising myself—my wife was helping out because we were living close by, so it was almost like a family thing, “The Beyers are doing an event, want to come?” And people did. So we decided to do it again, and again, and at some point I eventually realised I had figured out a recipe for a good event, so the incentive that was originally there was gone—the mission had been accomplished.”

But by now, the Fan Weekend had proper momentum. Stopping it was not going to be an easy task.

“The community said no, very loudly. And I can understand that—a few factors make this event extra special. The proximity to Billund is one of those factors. I always tried to make sure that my colleagues would come and check out the displays and that the participants could go to Billund and experience something unique. And it kept growing and became more and more popular.”

The sixth LEGO Fan Weekend, in 2010. Clockwise from top left: LEGO CEO Jørgen Vig Knudstorp holding his keynote speech; speedbuilding the Tower Bridge; the shop … with all those pristine Imperial Flagships and Grand Emporiums for sale; and an impressive GBC loop. Images via Christoffer Behrens on Brickshelf

The End of the Grand Experiment?

Those good times lasted until Tormod Askildsen and his other colleagues a little bit further up the food chain at The LEGO Group decided that enough was enough: LEGO’s special relationship with this one event had to stop. The 2014 edition of the event would be the last LEGO Fan Weekend.

This is how AFOLs get emotional. Image via promobricks

“I was extremely disappointed. Because it was my baby. It still is, even if I haven’t been directly involved for some years. Not going to Skærbæk has never been an option for me. Behind the scenes, I kept pulling some strings here and there, and when my bosses told me I couldn’t use my work time to do this, I did it in my spare time. But of course I was disappointed, and I told everyone we just couldn’t let it go. Luckily, we were at least allowed to go out with a bang.”

The “bang” in question was a train set—a very special train set. Every attendee at the 2014 event received that year’s LEGO Inside Tour set, the LEGOLAND Train, with a limited-edition custom-printed sleeve saying “LEGO Fan Weekend” as a thank-you gift.

4000014 The LEGOLAND Train, Fan Weekend Edition. Possibly the best event kit ever?

“I still remember the moment when everybody’s jaws just basically hit the floor. We had legendary designer Steen Sig Andersen do a presentation about the design process of the Inside Tour set, which nobody thought was weird as it was a rare and interesting set anyway. Then we started pulling the pallets into the dining room, and nobody could believe what was happening. Being able to do that was mind-blowing, and I remember thinking that we at least ended our event with something special.”

Euphoric Norwegians with their precious copies of the LEGOLAND train.

But the Fan Weekend didn’t die. Instead, it was to go on as the Skærbæk Fan Weekend—although nobody knew that as they were saying their goodbyes after the 2014 event.

Saved by the Fans

“The community clearly just wasn’t ready to end it. Luckily, I was able to find a few very close friends to take over. But that was a bit of a process. People were reluctant to get involved because nobody could tell them what level of involvement they could expect from the company going forward. Would LEGO pull out completely or would it still be possible to put together some kind of AFOL program in Billund, for example?”

In the end, The LEGO Group is still involved with the event. Every year, there is an AFOL day at LEGO House on the Thursday before the Skærbæk Fan Weekend, and factory tours and behind-the-scenes peeks at LEGOLAND are still offered on the Monday after, even if it is just to a lucky few.

The opening speech at the 2024 Skærbæk Fan Weekend, with the steering team on stage: Thomas Wesselski, Stephan Sander, and Caspar Bennedsen. And hundreds of AFOLs in attendance

“I won’t say that there’s anything wrong with that. But in hindsight, with the ANE (AFOL Networking Event) program including many other super cool events—which I have visited a lot of—Skærbæk probably still gets a bit of special treatment compared to other events. Then again, what does it help an event in Canada if we offer them the chance to go to Billund on the Monday? That’s not going to work.”

2024 Skærbæk Fan Weekend event kit: One of the well-known cabins at the Feriecenter. Sadly, this one has been scribbled on by a number of people. Image via Tom Scotsman MuskovicH on Facebook

“It’s a special event, but not because I started it. It’s special because the package makes it possible: the location, the people, the unique internationality—I have been to lovely events that have people attending only from the one country where the event is hosted, and then I feel something is missing to me. There have also been talks about moving it to a different location—why should it stay in Skærbæk, should we host it in Billund, is Copenhagen a good alternative? But the Feriecenter is also putting a lot of effort into it, and so is the current steering group. They’ve invested in the event, and it is a very good event.”

Jan insists that calling the Skærbæk Fan Weekend a very good event doesn’t mean that there aren’t other very good events—and he should know, he’s been to a few. But it will obviously always be special to walk through the door at this one.

“I’m thrilled to know I started it. But I could never have done that alone. So I’m humbled that I could be the facilitator to help give birth to something that then grew to full bloom without me. It’s like being a parent and seeing your child grow, and then suddenly it’s bringing together 1,200 people from all over the world. My colleagues who were at the AFOL Day at LEGO House saw all these AFOLs passing by saying hi to me and wanted to know how many of them I actually knew… and I told them probably between 80 and 90 percent. They just can’t believe that, but I’ve spent 20 years getting to know these AFOLs.”

LEGO House CEO at the time, Jesper Vilstrup, and Kjeld Kirk Kristiansen at the AFOL Day in 2017, the fan opening of LEGO House

Jan Beyer’s Greatest Hits

As I mentioned at the beginning of this article, Skærbæk is arguably Jan’s biggest legacy if you ask the AFOL community. But after 23 years, there’s bound to be a few other highlights as well.

“I’d have to mention the world’s longest weekend trip! Flying to Australia for a weekend for Brickvention in 2023 was… some people would probably call it stupid, but it was work, and I got paid to do it. The alternative would have been to tell my wife that I’d take out three weeks of holiday and go to Australia while she had to stay home and watch the kids (which was never going to happen). I had done a weekend trip to Japan before, but Australia was that one step further. It was super exhausting, but it was fun.”

Trying to explain the AFOL phenomenon to danish newspaper Berlingske in 2006. Facsimile: Berlingske

“I’ve already mentioned some other things, like the modular buildings or developing activities at certified stores—knowing I’ve taken part in creating things that are still going on and important is a good feeling. And LUGBULK! I was deeply involved with the creation of that system, which is still a very important part of how AFOLs source their parts today. Then I’d definitely need to mention all the time I’ve spent trying to help colleagues understand what the AFOL community is and what it can do. I made an internal AFOL e-learning program for that because, for most people at The LEGO Group, it’s not that they don’t want to be involved with AFOLs, but that they basically don’t understand the phenomenon, the way it’s a lifestyle or even a philosophy.”

And that struggle sometimes goes all the way to the top, not least because the people running the company aren’t as involved with AFOLs now as the ones running it 20 years ago were.

Greeting German AFOLs at the Idea House in Billund for the 75th anniversary of the LEGO Company in 2007. Image via Michael Brandl

“I had a discussion with the Vice President of Corporate Communications about greeting videos for AFOL Networking Events. I wanted CEO Niels B. Christiansen to do separate videos for separate events and was told in no uncertain terms that that was not an option. I insisted that my way was the right way, and the response was that the vice president should be able to tell a manager what to do. I had a longer chat with the VP explaining that I knew the AFOL community would notice if the greeting videos were mass produced, and finally managed to convince her to agree.”

It’s probably unavoidable that Jan gets a bit nostalgic at this point.

The LEGO Community Engagement team back in 2017, left to right: Paul Striefler, Jan Beyer, some elderly gentleman, Kevin Hinkle, Jacky Chen, Kim E. Thomsen. Photo via Jan Beyer on Facebook

Nerding Out About GBCs with Kjeld

At this point, Jan was sort of a “Subject Matter Expert” on AFOLs within LEGO and saw their excitement and willingness to engage with such a devoted fan base ebb and flow over time.

“That was a lot easier back in the day. Jørgen Vig, for example, was a fantastic supporter. I could call his PA and easily make an appointment to see him in his office, telling him I needed a greeting message for an event, say, in Australia. He’d ask me if I’d brought my camera, and we’d just do it right then and there. He’d even pull out Ryan McNaught’s brick-built didgeridoo from his shelf and show that to the camera while addressing the people in the video. And Kjeld…”

Megan Rothrock demonstrating her build to Kjeld Kirk Kristiansen, Jørgen vig Knudstorp and his children at the 2012 LEGO Fan Weekend

The company founder’s grandson, Kjeld Kirk Kristiansen, used to walk the floor every year in Skærbæk. Now he’s 77 and understandably not as active anymore, but he’s always been extremely enthusiastic about the people who were most creative with his family’s product.

GBC master Akiyuki, flanked by Tom Atkinson and Maico Arts, visiting Denmark in 2019. Image via Caz Mockett on Flickr

“Sometimes I’d get a call from an unknown number, and when I picked it up it was Kjeld. Then he’d say, “Hey Jan, could you put me in touch with somebody in Japan? I really like the work of this Akiyuki guy who builds these GBCs. Do you think he’d be available for a chat?” And I knew Akiyuki would be coming to Skærbæk, so Kjeld wanted a meeting in his office. When we went there, I felt like a fly on the wall just listening to them being totally nerdy about GBCs. Kjeld told Akiyuki he’d watched all his videos on YouTube. He was basically just a superfan!”

This section of my interview is getting a bit long, but before we draw the line and save the rest for the finale, we have to touch on one more very important AFOL attraction that Jan has been a big part of: LEGO House, which opened its doors on AFOL Day before the Skærbæk Fan Weekend in September 2017.

“That was honestly quite a challenging development in the beginning. LEGO House wanted to involve a lot of fans but were not sure how to go about that. But eventually, it turned out to be a place where we could be very creative—a place that had a management that was very understanding about the AFOL community and what we could do for and with that community. We could try out a lot of things, like fan evenings with designers and other cool concepts, so it was like a playground for us. And I could broaden my horizon with ideas that I’d had for years but never had the chance to try out because I’d never had the resources before.”

LEGO House “Grand Old Designers” fan evening, October 2017. Hosted by yours truly

“Money was not an issue initially with LEGO House. It was Kjeld’s pet project, and if he wanted something done in a particular way, there would always be money to make that happen. There was no need for LEGO House to be profitable, even if that seems to have changed slightly over the years. So we had staff and a budget, and the opportunity to do proper planning.”

And then there was the Masterpiece Gallery.

Providing the Opportunity of a Lifetime

“Oh, the Masterpiece Gallery. That was a lot of work because the process was so manual: reaching out to all LUG ambassadors, getting feedback, sorting the lists, making suggestions… and we wanted gender diversity and country diversity, so there were lots of frames to meet. We basically locked ourselves into a room for a whole day and went through my list of more than 300 builders, looking at pictures and making decisions. Exhausting, but awesome.”

Awesome, not least because of the very special honour it is to be chosen to put your models on display in the Masterpiece Gallery at the very top of LEGO House for a whole year.

“It was always me sending out that initial email. Stuart Harris, Master Builder at LEGO House, and his colleagues would eventually take over and go into details about what was going into each display case, but I always had the honour of reaching out to the people and sending the email to tell them they had been selected to display at LEGO House. And it’s a similar thing with the display cases at LEGO Campus: it’s an opportunity to give a badge of honour to people, put a patch on their jacket. As you can probably imagine, I got some pretty happy responses to those emails.”

Setting up in the LEGO Campus display cases, January 2022

In the end, it seems the one thing Jan is most happy about when it comes to LEGO House is investing to make AFOLs look good.

“Within The LEGO Company, I sometimes get the feeling that yes, we want to work with the community, but we also have very limited resources. However, it needs to be a beneficial relationship for both sides. My experience is that some AFOLs, I’d almost say unfortunately, tend to be like, ‘Oh! It’s LEGO on the phone. I’ll do whatever they want because it’s an honour to be allowed to.’ But that attitude won’t last forever.”

“When I started working with the AFOL community in Asia, paving the way into that market and reaching out to people that maybe already had an ongoing relationship with the local offices before we got in touch with them, they sometimes asked things where I needed to say no. Then some local colleagues got quite cross with me because this was the way they’d always been doing things, and they’d complain that they had no budget. I had to tell them that if that was the case, then it wasn’t doable—it would backfire at some point. There were hard talks, but usually people understood this eventually. With LEGO House, I was finally involved in something good for AFOLs that was backed up with a budget. That felt really nice for a change.”

We’ll draw the line there for the second part of our interview with Jan Beyer, but stay tuned for the finale where we discuss how The LEGO Company has changed in the past two decades and find out what Jan will do next. Here’s a hint: He’s not leaving his beloved AFOL community behind.

Were you one of the 40, or 80, people at the very first LEGO Fan Weekend? Do you have the LEGOLAND Train? Have you ever flown to Australia for the weekend? Maybe you have displayed at the Masterpiece Gallery… or simply admired the masterpieces on display while visiting LEGO House? Let us know in the comments!

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