#20. Magnus Trolle. The story about sports, smiles & community energy. Denmark 🇩🇰

Magnus Trolle is a young and dynamic Community Manager from Denmark 🇩🇰, working at a company where community is not just a buzzword but the foundation of daily life. At only 23, Magnus stepped into Community Management through Conmedia’s cultural committee and quickly discovered how much impact empathy, positivity, and creativity can have in shaping a workplace.

I was especially inspired by the way Magnus describes the mix of structure and spontaneity: carefully planned trips abroad and tournaments on one side, and table tennis matches or music video surprises on the other. It’s a reminder that great communities thrive when people feel included, energised, and free to create.

This is Denmark’s chapter in the Community Managers’ Stories project! 

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Alla Zhdan: In my last company, I worked with Nordic countries and countries in the region. It’s extraordinary to have a Community Manager from Denmark with me today. I also like the idea that we’ll be discussing something you can apply in your own communities. Because I'm sure Magnus can share insights, ideas, and something inspiring with you. So yeah, today with me Magnus Trolle. And Magnus, could you please introduce yourself a bit and tell us what you're doing, where you are now, and how you are?

Magnus Trolle: Yeah, I'm feeling great, thank you, Alla, and thank you for reaching out. My name is Magnus, I’m 24 years old, and I’m the Community Manager at Conmedia. I live in Aarhus with my girlfriend, while the company is based in Randers. Community Management is still quite new to me, but I was hired back in 2022 to be part of what we call the cultural committee here. In addition, I do a lot of video editing, so my role is roughly split between 50% community work and 50% video production.

Photo Credit: Magnus Trolle

Alla Zhdan: How did you become a Community Manager?

Magnus Trolle: I've always enjoyed working with people and building strong connections and relationships. I’m really happy to be part of Conmedia, because the community and the people here are what matter the most. We’re not like a typical company – we’re not very corporate. Instead, we focus on recruiting by getting to know people, seeing their personality, and feeling their positive energy. 

Alla Zhdan: What kind of events are you organising for those awesome people?

Magnus Trolle: We do a lot of different things. For example, we’ve built our own craft beer system that we roll out for every Friday bar. We also arrange paddle events, and once a year we typically rent a house for a week. During the day we work, and in the evenings there’s always something planned. In fact, we organise one or two events every month – some bigger than others – and we usually have more than 90% participation, with only four or five people missing out at most.

The community spirit is strong here – everyone is friends, and there’s never a day when people aren’t spending time together after work as well. We’ve even acquired a CrossFit centre, which is now known as the Conmedia Sports Club, where employees can work out for free. We also open it up to other companies so they can join us. Every Tuesday at 6:30 in the morning, we meet at the CrossFit centre to run five kilometres together before heading to work.

Photo Credit: Magnus Trolle

Alla Zhdan: How could you share how this idea of the Conmedia Sports Club was invented?

Magnus Trolle: Well, almost three years ago we took part in a local company football tournament here in Randers, where we played against other businesses. We needed a team name, so we came up with “Conmedia Sports Club.” We even designed our own football jerseys and logo. By calling it a Sports Club instead of just a football team, we made sure it could include other activities as well – for example, a CrossFit section.

And that turned out to be a huge success. Today, we not only have the CrossFit centre, but also our own football team competing in the Danish amateur league – just like a real club. We even won the tournament. A big part of the idea was to bring in our best friends as well, and for most of us, playing football with friends on the same team is a dream come true. This was the perfect opportunity to make that happen. We now have 25 players at our disposal, and our Boss Club football team is currently number one in the league.

Photo Credit: Magnus Trolle

Alla Zhdan: What else can you tell about the things that unite your community?

Magnus Trolle: Well, most of us were actually friends before we even started working here. As I mentioned earlier, our recruitment process is pretty straightforward: we simply ask if someone knows a person who might be a good fit. That helps a lot, because you already know who you’re referring to, and the person coming in usually brings positive energy, can talk to everyone, and always has a smile. The result is a very uplifting atmosphere. After lunch, for example, we often play three rounds of table tennis around the table – it’s a fun way to move a bit, have a laugh, and enjoy some good music blasting from the speakers.

Beyond that, we organise a lot of activities together, especially through the cultural committee. It can be something small, like a casual evening with volleyball, dinner, or a Friday bar. But we also host bigger events, like our annual summer party. For the past five years, we’ve even been making our own music for it. Just a few months ago, we recorded a new song that we’ll surprise people with at this year’s party – and we’re even producing a music video to go with it.

This is the second story from Denmark, check the first one here:

Photo Credit: Magnus Trolle

Alla Zhdan: Do you partner with other communities or companies?

Magnus Trolle: Yes, we do. For example, we recently organised a social run here in Randers together with another company called Bodytreatment 2, which is run by three young guys we know. It was a free event open to everyone, and we had around 100 people join the run. The first 50 participants received an event T-shirt, and at the finish line we had a DJ, along with sponsors who provided healthy sodas and protein bars. It was just a really fun, positive experience. It was our first time doing something like that, and we enjoyed it a lot.

Alla Zhdan: What interesting things can you tell about communities in your country? What are the specifics and peculiarities?

Magnus Trolle: In Denmark, communities play a significant role in our culture — primarily through local clubs or associations. It’s a tradition that started back in the 1800s, when people began organising around shared interests like sports, music, or volunteering. Most Danes are members of at least one association — it’s just a natural way to be social, active, and connected. A big part of Danish community life is ‘hygge’ — that cosy, relaxed feeling of being together and enjoying the moment. At Conmedia, hygge really matters too. We make sure to have fun together, smile, and create a good atmosphere. Honestly, a bit of laughter and good energy always makes my day better — and that’s what community is all about for me.

Photo Credit: Magnus Trolle

Alla Zhdan: In your opinion, what are the top three soft skills a Community Manager should possess to do that? 

Magnus Trolle: I would say the top three are positivity, empathy, and creativity. I really enjoy it when people come to me with new ideas for what we could do. I love listening to others’ opinions, and they inspire me. I also encourage everyone to share their thoughts, because I don’t want to do everything alone — it should be a shared effort. That’s why we involve the committee and also ask the rest of the team: What could be fun? What would you like to do? For me, those are the soft skills that really make a difference.

Alla Zhdan: Yeah, if you understand that you need some things to be done in time and properly, and everyone should get some benefits from these activities that you are doing. In terms of hard skills, what is a must?

Magnus Trolle: I’d say the most important hard skills are structure and organisation. For example, last fall we organised a trip to Spain, which required a lot of planning — booking flights, arranging accommodation, and managing all the logistics. It was our first time doing something abroad, and that definitely tested our organisational skills. Personally, structure doesn’t always come naturally to me, so it’s probably the most challenging part of the role. Luckily, we’re really good at helping each other out. In our committee, we’re two men and one woman, which is a great balance — it keeps things from being just guys going a little too crazy with ideas.

Alla Zhdan: And what about the milestone, the latest remarkable thing that you did for the community, which they enjoyed a lot. 

Photo Credit: Magnus Trolle

Magnus Trolle: I already mentioned the social run, but another big milestone was in January, when we bought the CrossFit box. We wanted to create an event that would bring together our family, friends, the CrossFit members, and our football club. A friend of mine plays in a band, so we decided to support them as part of the event as well.

It turned into a really special evening. We spent two days building a stage in the CrossFit box, teamed up with our regular house DJ, and hosted a concert. Around 200 people came, there was food, great energy, and lots of community spirit. All the profit from the night was split 50/50 between the band and the CrossFit box, which made it both meaningful and memorable.

Alla Zhdan: Are the activities and things that you are doing influencing this image of your company outside? We’re fantastic, and you’re welcome to join us.

Magnus Trolle: Yes, definitely. For example, two years ago we won the Best Team Award at the Randers Business Awards. More recently, our CrossFit box was nominated for Best Training Centre in Randers. And this year, we’re actually nominated again for Best Team. So all the effort we put into our community really pays off.

We actually receive unsolicited applications every week. People just email us saying: “Are you hiring? I’d love to join your team, and I think it would be a great opportunity.” That shows how proud people are to work here, and how much they share their positive experiences with friends and family. You can really feel that people are genuinely happy here.

In September, we’re also hosting a major padel tournament for all our real estate customers. We call it the Conmedia Open — it’s returning this year — and it’s another way for people outside the company to experience the Conmedia energy firsthand.

Photo Credit: Magnus Trolle

Alla Zhdan: Magnus, I want your community to grow in a good way. I wish you to attract more clever minds and create many cool activities. This is truly amazing and an example of a community that truly matters. A community of people who are working with each other and who are doing extraordinary things like running, playing football or playing paddle together. This is a great community, and I wish you all the best.

Magnus Trolle: Thank you so much!

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Learn more about my Community Managers' Strories project to gather insights from Community people from 42 European countries here. 

Do you have a story, and I haven't "visited" your country yet [check the map of countries here]? Drop me a line on LinkedIn, then!