Ben Francis

“There weren't that many people who were working with them, so we were early pioneers of influencer marketing in 2012.”

“CEO was not the right role for me when I was in my early twenties.”

“In the early days, I would wake up and look at all the orders that had come in, and generally, there weren't too many. It might have been five or 10. Then I would basically print the product for the order and package it.”

“Gymshark is bringing in investors. People have said - Is Ben selling out? Is this going to change the business. Absolutely not. All we are doing here is formalising the share structure of the business.”

“I want to know what the opportunities are for Gymshark, what the options are as we continue to grow.”

“After a stint making fitness iPhone apps and websites, I wanted to make a website that would actually transact and sell product.”

“You need to constantly be around people who give you a reality check, people who are better than you.”

“Just because I'd started a business that had grown very quickly didn't mean I was the most competent chief exec.”

“This wasn't the big baggy type of clothing bodybuilders wear. I wanted to make handmade, fitted clothing that younger people wanted to wear to the gym.”

“I think I was really good at certain things and really, really bad at others.”

“I've been really fortunate to meet some incredibly talented people in sport and in business. The common theme of every single one of them is that they're all winging it.”

“I almost always start my mornings between 5:30 A.M. and 5:45 A.M. It's my sweet spot when I've got the most energy, which my wife isn't particularly happy about.”

“I was going to the gym and basically was interested in, and wanted to be involved in, the fitness industry. I wanted to combine that with making a transactional website.”

“I was hand-sewing and hand-making and hand-printing products and hand-packaging them and sticking it in a bag. And carrying it down to the post office and standing there while each one was stamped and sent out across the world.”

“We have literally come from hand-stitching a product to being a billion-dollar brand.”

“I'll continue to dedicate myself to learning from the people around me and work towards becoming the best version of myself.”

“I want us to create the greatest community, and I want us to be the greatest fitness brand on the planet.”

“Starting a business, it's so easy to put yourself in a position where everyone agrees with you and tells you how great you are.”

“When Gymshark started, we ended up sending product to a few of my heroes at the time that were on YouTube.”

“I like to be in the office five days a week.”