At Gymshark we are encouraged to truly be ourselves. This is the latest post from the brand.
How many other businesses walk this talk?
Gymshark is the brain child of Ben Francis; Founder and Owner.
"Be a visionary change the world" is Ben's statement on LinkedIN. Ben does not overcomplicate or get trodden down in the complexities of taking a product to market. Ben did not stop when things became challenging. In fact, he leaned into the wild ride of startup life and invested all his savings into a fitness expo held in Birmingham called BodyPower where his business rapidly took off! The acceleration from that point has been breathtaking to see!
BodyPower is where I briefly met Ben in 2015. The stand that year was magnificent, a prime spot and all the big influencers were there for meet and greets with fans. The photo above is me behind the scenes, holding in my excitement at that expo!
The queues were wild! I said to Ben amongst all the chaos "your brand is going to take over the world" he smiled humbly and said "can you imagine"
It was one of those moments where I felt so completely inspired and had this deep sense of hope for this guy and his brand.
I love to see people succeed.
2 years prior to that, at the same event one of the tracksuits went viral on social media generating 30k in sales in under an hour!
The fitness apparel and accessories brand is one of the fastest growing and most recognisable in the industry with millions of highly engaged brand fans across socials.
Did you know that in the early days, Ben stitched each piece on a sewing machine himself at home? He packaged each order, filled his car and got his product to market in the most manual, scrappy kind of way.
He is proof that when there is desire, hunger and vision anything can be achieved!
You see, if you are new to Gymshark you may just think cool 'another' fitness brand.
But it so much more than that.
It was born from passion, it was created literally by the founders hands, the events empowered men and women fitness communities and encouraged people to get fitter and look after their health to carve out a version of aesthetics that felt great for them.
2018 saw the opening of a mega £5million headquarters in Solihull. The HQ is like nothing I've ever seen in the industry!
You'll find 'real' sayings up on the walls - the things that the Gymshark teams truly resonate with and use in their everyday life. The HQ has the most epic 'Lifting Club' combining a fitness centre and studio. How is that for focusing on employee wellbeing and brand innovation!?
The power of brand is massive, but the power of people is explosive!
On LinkedIn, Gymshark has 135k followers, but Ben has almost 165k. Maybe because that platform is more favourable to members than companies. One thing is certain though, the team are highly engaged in their work.
They post about projects, photoshoots, lifting club activities, joining the brand, work anniversaries and more. When the team members post about the brand, there is always a positive and uplifting tone. There is often excitement and energy.
How many other brands enjoy such a vast engaged and enthusiastic workforce to this level?
What will the future hold for this brand?
Growth? Without a doubt!
Retail stores? I hope so!
Global domination? It is in the making!
Gymshark, thank you for being real, for showing up authentically, for encouraging your teams to be them best selves.
Not talented. Obsessed.