A true entrepreneur from a young age, always keeping busy. Whether he was creating websites, social communities or iPhone app’s, it’s clear that Ben was hungry for more than the ordinary life.
There was one creation that helped Ben to achieve more than many others his age...Gymshark!
In 2012, Whilst studying at Aston University, 19 year old Ben started the online store which originally sold health supplements. The brand soon switched to selling gym apparel as Ben struggled to find gym clothes that he actually wanted to wear, so he created his own. With just a sewing machine, a screen printer and a vision, Gymshark began its journey.
Amazingly, within only 5 years of operation, annual sales hit over £40m!
However, it wasn’t as simple as Ben makes it look. Whilst in the early stages, Ben had to juggle the pressures of studying, working, socialising and everything else a young adult has to deal with.
"I could answer emails in between deliveries. Then I'd go home and sort out the website, and design new products"
Today, Gymshark is estimated to be worth around £300-400m (it was around £100k in 2013) and they have just invested over £5m in the Gymshark Lifting Club - a 55,000 SQ ft studio and fitness centre focused on employeee wellbeing and brand innovation. The building will include amazing facilities such as a 100-person auditorium, R&D factory and multiple photography studios.
This shows that Gymshark has yet again evolved, living up to their innovative brand image.
A huge part of Gymshark’s success was not only Ben’s vision and determination, but also the use of influencers to leverage the brand’s awareness.
Online, Gymshark's main Instagram page alone has almost 3.5m followers and fans of the company as a whole are heavily devoted to the brand. Gymshark has effectively leverage social media to depict it as a strong lifestyle brand, appealing to influencers both in and out of the sports industry - which is worth billions of pounds, proving to be a great industry to be apart of if you can do it right.
There is never a perfect time to start something, it may be that you’re studying or have other commitments, but Ben is proof that you CAN work around this - he is now estimated to be worth around $10m. The best time to start is now!
You can keep up with Ben and Gymshark via their social media platforms:
Ben Francis:
Gymshark: - Instagram
- Website
If Only They Knew:
- Website