- An anonymous employee review in 2015 forced Gymshark founder Ben Francis to confront his poor management. Employees described him as arrogant, hot-headed, erratic and a poor manager; he initially rejected the criticism until his future wife Robin confirmed that it accurately described him.
“that's the most you thing i have ever read” — Robin, as recalled by Francis.
- Francis voluntarily handed Gymshark's CEO position to Steve despite retaining majority ownership, then returned through a two-year succession. Steve helped grow the company from roughly 30 to 900 employees and personally proposed Francis's return, while Francis had gained experience leading brand, marketing, product and technology.
“i have to trust his judgment and opinion” — Francis, on allowing Steve to lead.
- Gymshark co-founder Lewis left around 2014–2015 after the two friends developed different ambitions. Lewis initially retained 20% of his shareholding before selling the remainder in a later transaction; Francis acknowledged that their original failure to define responsibilities may have contributed to the separation.
“i had my vision and i think he had his vision” — Francis.
- Francis identified neglecting finance, operations and data as one of Gymshark's biggest early mistakes. He had concentrated on products, branding and marketing while undervaluing operational specialists, and believed stronger business foundations would have allowed Gymshark to grow substantially faster.
“we didn't invest in the foundations of the business early enough” — Francis.
- Francis credited Gymshark's extraordinary growth partly to three favourable market developments occurring together. Rising fitness participation, growing confidence in online shopping and the emergence of social media helped a small British startup build a global direct-to-consumer brand without relying on traditional retailers.
“i was incredibly lucky” — Francis.
- A sarcastic Gymshark response to a “Blue Lives Matter” comment triggered thousands of hostile messages and death threats against Francis. Despite experiencing significant anxiety, he retained the responsible employee because the mistake was unintentional, arguing that automatically dismissing people for failures would undermine experimentation.
“they had no bad intention” — Francis.
- Francis continued earning approximately £4–£5 an hour at Pizza Hut while Gymshark was already generating hundreds of thousands of pounds in revenue. His wages covered personal expenses, allowing company earnings to be reinvested; he advised aspiring founders to retain employment rather than risk their financial stability prematurely.
“the utility of having a job whilst running the business is huge” — Francis.
- Gymshark was negotiating its first permanent London store, intended primarily as a fitness community hub. Francis said the lease remained unsigned and wanted the location to extend Gymshark's successful live events into a permanent experience, protecting the brand from competing solely on price and convenience.
“we haven't even signed a lease yet” — Francis.