Gymshark: How a Teenager's Garage Business Became a Billion-Pound Brand Through Influencers

In 2012, Ben Francis was a 19-year-old student in Birmingham, delivering pizzas part-time and spending his spare hours at the gym. With a group of school friends, including Lewis Morgan, he started an online business selling fitness supplements. Soon, they began making their own clothes, sewing and screen-printing in his parents’ garage.

That business became Gymshark. By 2020, it was valued at more than £1 billion.

The Context

The fitness industry was changing in the early 2010s. Gym culture was growing among young people, and YouTube was becoming a major platform for fitness content. Creators posted workouts, diet tips and progress videos, building large, loyal audiences.

Mainstream sportswear brands such as Nike and Adidas dominated the market, but their gym clothes were often designed for general sport rather than for weightlifting and bodybuilding. Young gym-goers wanted clothes that fitted well and showed off their training.

Francis was part of this community. He watched fitness YouTubers, trained regularly and understood what his customers wanted because he was one of them.

The Campaign

Gymshark’s big breakthrough came in 2013 at BodyPower, a fitness expo in Birmingham. The brand showcased its new Fit range of tight, stretchy gym clothes. Francis and his team also invited fitness YouTubers to wear Gymshark clothes at the stand. Fans queued to meet the creators, and the clothes sold out.

That experience shaped the brand’s strategy. Rather than spending on traditional advertising, Gymshark sent free clothing to fitness creators and built relationships with them. Many were not yet famous. As their audiences grew, so did Gymshark’s visibility.

The brand formalised these relationships into a team of sponsored “Gymshark athletes,” creators and athletes who wore the brand, represented it at events and promoted it to their audiences. The partnerships were long-term, and many creators stayed with Gymshark for years.

Gymshark also invested in live events. It held meet-ups and pop-up tours in cities around the world, where fans could train with Gymshark athletes and buy clothes. The events turned online followers into real-world communities.

The brand built its own social media presence, posting workouts, memes and behind-the-scenes content. It also launched challenges, such as the “Gymshark 66” challenge, encouraging people to build a habit over 66 days.

The business was not without problems. Rapid growth led to website crashes during big sales events and delays in deliveries. Gymshark had to invest heavily in technology and logistics to keep up.

Why It Worked

Influencers were genuine fans. Many early Gymshark creators wore the clothes because they liked them. Their recommendations felt authentic to their audiences.

The relationships were long-term. Gymshark treated creators as partners, not one-off ad placements. Long relationships built trust and deep association with the brand.

The founder understood the customer. Francis was part of the gym community. He knew what his customers wanted and how they spoke.

The product fitted the need. Gymshark’s clothes were designed for gym-goers who wanted to look good while training. They filled a gap that bigger brands had ignored.

Community was the strategy. Events, challenges and social content made customers feel part of something bigger than a clothing brand.

The Results

Gymshark grew rapidly through the 2010s, selling mainly online to customers in many countries. In 2020, US investment firm General Atlantic bought a 21% stake, valuing the company at more than £1 billion.

Francis became one of the UK’s best-known young entrepreneurs. The brand opened its first flagship store on London’s Regent Street in 2022, a sign of its shift from online start-up to established brand.

Gymshark’s growth also showed the power, and limits, of influencer marketing. As more brands copied the approach, influencer marketing became crowded and expensive. Gymshark adjusted by focusing on community, product and its own content, not just on sponsored creators.

Gymshark’s story also shows how brands must evolve as they grow. In its early years, the company relied almost entirely on influencer partnerships and social media. As it became larger, it invested in its own content, product design, technology and physical retail. It also had to address criticism that its early marketing focused too narrowly on certain body types, and it broadened the range of athletes and customers it featured.

The brand’s journey from a garage to a global business made Francis a role model for young entrepreneurs in the UK. He often spoke publicly about mistakes the company made, including stepping back from the CEO role for a period before returning. That openness became part of Gymshark’s brand story, reinforcing the idea that it was built by and for people in the fitness community.

The Lesson for Today’s Marketers

Treat influencers as partners, not media. Gymshark’s long-term relationships with creators built credibility that one-off sponsored posts could not match.

Start with people who already love your product. Authentic enthusiasm is more persuasive than paid promotion.

And build community, not just reach. Gymshark’s events and challenges turned customers into members of a movement, which kept them loyal as the brand grew.