WHAT do Portland and reality television show LEGO Masters Denmark have in common?

Jakob Grohn Damgaard, that’s what!

Jakob was last month crowned as the winner, alongside build partner Rasmus Wolf, of series two of the Danish version of the popular family show.

But what’s his connection to Portland?

Well, Jakob lived in Portland for three years as a child from 2005 to 2007, when his father Soren Damgaard was the factory manager of the Vestas wind blade factory on School Rd.

The whole family moved from Denmark to Portland – Soren, his wife Malene, and children Rasmus, Jakob, Amalie and Emil.

“I had just turned seven when we moved to Portland,” Jakob remembered.

“My time growing up in Australia has shaped the person I am today to a great extent.

“I attended Portland North Primary School and have many fond memories from my school time and of many great teachers – I distinctly remember John Wallis, Paul Booth, Sian Munn, Adam Hardcastle and, most importantly, Nola Nelson who helped me and my siblings settle down.”

The home of LEGO

The family grew up in Lem, a small town just outside of Ringkobing, on the western island of Jutland and about as far west of the nation’s capital of Copenhagen (350km) as you can get.

However, it is just an hour’s drive from something Denmark is famous for – the home of LEGO.

“As a small kid, prior to moving to Portland, I remember regularly being pulled out of school early to spend the day in LEGOLAND with my mum and siblings. It was amazing!”

Which might just have given young Jakob a bit of an advantage when he joined in on one of our special community events.

“I have a fun memory of winning the first prize in the LEGO competition at the Tyrendarra Agricultural Show back in 2007 with my brother.

“I actually still have the LEGO set that we won back then in my collection.”

LEGO Masters

LEGO Masters has become a worldwide hit – with local versions of the show being broadcast in at least 15 different countries.

The original production was the British version in 2017, while the Australian incarnation has completed four series since its 2019 debut.

Denmark, though, only came on board in 2021.

“The Australian version of LEGO Masters has been popular in Denmark.

“Prior to the show coming to Denmark, I had a few sporadic appearances on TV in relation to LEGO, and when the show was launched the production company reached out and asked if I was interested.

“I was sceptical at first, but after watching the first season I was convinced and I am so incredibly grateful that I took the opportunity – it was an absolutely fantastic experience.

“Initially, I was supposed to participate with my brother, Rasmus, and my (eventual) partner was supposed to participate with his sister.

“However, both our partners were unable to do it and so the casting team saw the opportunity to set us up together.

“We ended up bonding as if we had known each other for life and we are now good friends. We had incredible synergy and cooperation throughout the show.”

And with the new relationship, came a level of trust in each other.

“We had many builds that we were extremely proud of.

“In episode five, the challenge was to build an animal in a size ratio of 1:4.

“After convincing my partner that it truly was a real animal, we ended up building a cassowary – a little tribute to my time in Australia. I reckon the result turned out great!”

As any LEGO Masters fan will know, the judges always want the build to tell a story and what a story the winning construction told.

“We built a life-size brick wall with minifigures living inside the wall in tiny rooms they had built for themselves with LEGO bricks, of course.

“Two figs had found some matches and thought that farting on the flame was great fun.

“Unfortunately, this had caused the wall to set on fire from within, and so the main story of the build revolves around the other minifigures frantically trying to collect some water from the (life-size) flower vase on the shelf in the living room in order to put out the fire.

“We had 24 hours in total – the build was massive and ended up securing the victory!”

Long wait

Jakob has had to keep his win a secret for a long time, with the final airing just a couple of weeks ago.

“We actually finished filming the show in December 2021 so it has been an infuriatingly long wait.

“Luckily, I managed to keep the win a complete secret from everybody except my girlfriend, so it was so much fun celebrating the victory with my friends and family.”

Outside of LEGO, Jakob, who is now 24, is concentrating on his education.

“I am studying Cognitive Science in Aarhus – the second-largest town in Denmark. I will be done with my Master’s degree next summer and then I will have to figure out what to do.”

And the rest of the family?

“Emil, my younger brother, is studying economics in Copenhagen.

“My sister, Amalie, is living and enjoying life in Berlin, while Rasmus, my older brother, is doing an internship at the Danish Embassy in Thailand.

“Hence, my parents are now living on their own the small town of Lem.

“My dad is still working at Vestas and has just celebrated 25 years with them.”