What do Apple, Amazon, Google and Hewlett-Packard all have in common? Other than being highly successful technology companies they also share the trait of being started in a garage. So when now 27 year-old Ben Francis decided to start his own fitness brand he figure that if their parents garage was good enough for the likes of Steve Jobs and Bill Gates it would work for him.
At the age of 19 years old Francis dropped out of college, returned to his parents home in the United Kingdom. He bought a sewing machine, stitching machine, and screen printer then converted then converted his parents garage into his workspace. From that garage Francis built a brand that has now reached a valuation of over 1.3 billion dollars.
Ben Francis, founder of Gymshark
Francis decided to start Gymshark because of a small problem he experienced when he lifted weights. He could never find comfortable lifting clothes so he stopped wasting his money and began sewing his own. Through conversations with friends and other weightlifters Francis knew this was a common problem and he sought to solve it himself. Francis displayed a trait that is common among many entrepreneurs. Instead of letting the problems he faced discourage him he decided to tackle the problem firsthand.
Ben Francis went from college dropout to the face of the fastest growing workout apparel brand in a matter of years. Through reading about his success story I learned a lot about the types of traits that set them apart from ordinary people. The first trait that Francis clearly exemplified was a lack of fear. Dropping out of school is a big decision that Francis appeared tackled with a quiet confidence. Very few people create ideas that they believe in enough to drop out of school and pursue full time. The second trait that I noticed in my research of Francis was his ability to see the problem. He knew exactly how he wanted to solve the problems with bad workout clothing. Clearly the problems he saw with workout apparel were felt among his peers because Gymshark has become a household name in the gym apparel business.
Great post! I love the gymshark brand and never knew of its origins. It is often frowned upon dropping out of college, but he felt passionate and believed in his brand enough to make it a huge success!
This is a neat story. What struck me is this- I have the same difficulty finding clothes that are comfortable for lifting and don’t make me look like a fool, and I’ve found GymShark to be a brand that helps with that problem. I didn’t know that it was started out of that reason and just assumed that it was one of dozens of gym-oriented clothing brands. Thanks for sharing this background!
Wow! Great post! I did not know the backstory of GymShark or its creator. It’s crazy to think that Francis was 19 years old when he dropped out of college and returned to his parents home in the United Kingdom. I think it is also very impressive that he bought a sewing machine, stitching machine, and screen printer then converted his parents garage into his workspace. It just goes to show that just one spark, one idea, one issue, can turn into Francis building a brand out of his garage that has now reached a valuation of over 1.3 billion dollars. Lastly, it was awesome to hear the humanistic aspect of Francis and his fear of starting the business/its success. Have to start somewhere! Thanks for sharing!