A fashion tycoon, 30, who said he asked his grandmother to teach him how to sew so he could make his own gym clothes, has become Britain‘s youngest billionaire.
Ben Francis, ex-pizza delivery driver dropped out of Aston University in 2012 to focus on his business full time, while initially keeping his job as a Pizza Hut driver to pay the bills.
The father-of-two is now enjoying a slice of the good life, with photos from his social media showing stunning breaks to Australia and Dubai with his model wife and an enviable collection of souped-up motorbikes.
It has not been plain sailing for the businessman, however, who had to publicly apologise when a video surfaced of him snorting cocaine with friends in 2020.
He later said: ‘I got caught up in a moment and made a stupid mistake that I massively regret.’
Francis originally started his company alongside friend Lewis Morgan.
Morgan, himself worth £125m, stepped back in 2014 after selling his shares because ‘money isn’t everything’, adding that ‘helping his family is the most important thing’.
Gymshark, headquartered in Solihull, England, is worn by some of the world’s biggest celebrities and influencers from Rita Ora to Nicole Scherzinger.
The brand – which now sells in 230 countries – has had a couple of hiccups along the way, including when it was accused of ‘virtue-signalling’ in 2020 after it used pictures of a model with her love handles on show.
Francis was awarded the EY UK Entrepreneur of the Year Award in 2020, married Robin Gallant, from Canada, in September 2021.
The pair welcomed twin sons on December 24 last year after announcing publicly that Robin was pregnant three months prior.
They initially met after Francis asked her to promote his brand on her social media.
Since then, she moved from her home in Canada to live in the UK with him.
Francis recently opened up about his daily habits and morning routines, telling the Insider how every morning he wakes up at 6am and makes eggs or bacon for breakfast before heading into the office – which he is in five days a week.
Often the first one in, Francis then answers his emails, goes through the week’s objectives and has lunch around 12.30pm.
He also makes sure to fit a workout at the gym later on in the evening at 6.30pm. He said having consistent checkpoints throughout the day grounds him and keeps him productive.
