In 2012, 19-year-old Ben Francis founded Gymshark out of his mom’s garage. Now worth an estimated $1.45 billion, the brand with humble dropshipping beginnings reached unicorn status and made Ben Francis the youngest billionaire on the Forbes list. 

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We’ll uncover how the disruptive fitness brand created a whole new market for millennial fitness and built a cult following through social media and influencer marketing.

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The Rise of Gymfluencers: Fitness Influencer Marketing in Action

The fitness industry really saw a spike in the 1980s, with the introduction of home workout tapes. Visual media have always been popular for this sector, so it’s no surprise that influencers have a part to play in promoting gyms, workouts, sporting events, and apparel. There are more than 510 million people following the hashtag #fitness in 2025, and Fitness and Gym is the 8th most popular variety of influencers. (This figure is potentially higher, as Lifestyle and Fitness categories often overlap). It’s no surprise that the Gymshark marketing strategy focused on leveraging the power of gyminfluencers to scale their business. 

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“Gymfluencers” is a portmanteau of the words “influencers” and “gym”, referencing content creators that focus on fitness and workouts. It’s a hugely influential group; as of 2024, the top 3 fitness influencers in the world had a combined following of over 70 million. 

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Back in 2012, when Gymshark was first starting out, Instagram was only two years old and the concept of influencer marketing was yet to exist. During the early 2010s YouTubers were the ‘influencers’ of the time, building audiences and communities through their channel subscribers and Francis saw this as an opportunity to leverage his brand.

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“At the time, no one else was doing [influencer marketing]. It came totally naturally to us because we were just fans of the guys.” - Ben Francis

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The business began to scale its network of influencers partnering with only the top fitness influencers with the highest engagement rates and follower counts bringing in a large number of fans.

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What started off as a few natural endorsements quickly blossomed into the hugely successful Gymshark Ambassador program. While the brand is tight-lipped about how many Gymshark athletes are on the books, there are at least  80-100 that regularly collaborate with the brand, including mixed martial artist Francis Ngannou, boxer Katie Taylor, and bodybuilder Steve Cook. 

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The Gymshark influencer marketing strategy

‍Since the beginning, Gymshark’s influencer partners were an extension of the brand, only pairing up with people who ensured the brand’s credibility and authenticity which made them so powerful. The focus of these partnerships were to build long-term relationships and forge meaningful connections with them as brand ambassadors.

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Did you know that 49% of consumers depend on influencer recommendations?

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Here’s how they did it: 

Product seeding Gymshark brand gifts 

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In the early days, founder Ben Francis began watching YouTube videos about gym culture. He built a list of influencers he liked, and sent them apparel to wear while filming their videos. This sparked natural interest in their subscribers and eventually led to formal partnerships with YouTubers Nikki Blackletter and Lex Griffin. The exposure inspired Francis to make Gymshark influencers a core part of his marketing strategy. 

Social media marketing

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From the start, Francis knew the power of influencer marketing and understood that as an e-commerce brand having a strong social presence and social media strategy is everything. The company is well tapped into the social media game and understand that different platforms require different strategies.

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Gymsharks’ individual social channels publish various different types of content, carefully adapted to align with the interests of their followers on each platform. Through this, Gymshark has managed to keep multiple audiences engaged from all sides, accelerating business growth and continuing to maintain brand awareness.

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40% of consumers have made purchases due to influencer posts on Twitter, YouTube or Instagram.

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Gymshark has now built huge followings across all the major social networks, including Pinterest which we’ll get on to, but most recently TikTok.

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For many e-commerce brands, TikTok is a great opportunity for product marketing - if you’re able to cut through the noise. With 1 billion daily active users worldwide and the #TikTokMadeMeBuyIt hashtag garnering over 8.9 billion users, the app is a simple and effective way to get your product out there - with the right strategy. Partnering with TikTok fitness influencers, Gymshark launched the #Gymshark66challenge where users would embark on a 66-day fitness journey and show the results from before and after.

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The hashtag amassed over 700k views and encouraged people to try something new, many of those who participated saw results. This further increased brand affinity and awareness for the Gymsharks as they became a brand strongly associated with a positive change. Besides the challenges, their account focuses on relatable gym content as well as try-on product videos using trending sounds from both ambassadors and Gymshark fans.

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Gymshark utilise Pinterest as a social media platform and SEO tool, which can sometimes be a platform that is overlooked. Creating set Pinterest boards and grouping their product offerings and ranges together, the brand receives almost 10 million views a month and receives most of its social media shares through the platform.

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There are over 335 million people who use Pinterest every month.  

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On their account, they share fitness recipes, workout videos, gym humour content and motivational quotes in addition to their product offerings. As a marketing tactic, Pinterest is great for discoverability as most of its users are seeking aspirational and inspirational content. As an SEO tool, Gymshark leverages its brand presence on Pinterest by further interrupting its audience’s customer journeys through the use of content marketing.  

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Creating community and identity for Gymshark influencers

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Gymshark influencers are known as “Gymshark Athletes”, and not by a generic title like “brand ambassadors” or “partners”. This gives them a sense of belonging and community. While the bar is high, there aren’t many barriers to becoming a Gymshark Athlete. As head of PR Stephanie O’Neill explains, “It’s all about the vision and what they stand for. We are more interested in how social influencers engage their followers rather than how many they have.”

Collaboration as part of the Gymshark marketing strategy

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Nikki Blackketter was the first female Gymshark Athlete on the books. When she teamed up with Gymshark to create a workout line, it sold out in minutes online. The pre-release launch at their pop-up store in New York had queues lasting 6-8 hours. They repeated the success of the launch when they worked with TikTokker @whitneyysimmons to create her line. Simmons not only influenced the designs but provided them with plenty of content to use. Having a famous name associated with a product gives influencers all the more of an incentive to promote it. 

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User-generated content

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‍Influencers and  a 10/10 social media strategy have created a flywheel effect, generating an influx of user-generated content (UGC) from fans.

Users see their favourite fitness influencer in Gymshark apparel, buy it and post themselves wearing it. #gymshark has 13.3 million hits on Instagram & 11.5 billion hits on TikTok. 

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Part of Gymshark marketing strategy’s success is that whenever it restocks or launches products, Gymshark ambassadors do a count down on their channels to generate buzz and encourage fans to buy. Gymshark does a brilliant job of repurposing this content which showcases social proof in a really authentic and powerful way.

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Content marketing

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Aside from social media marketing, Gymshark also runs a native blog called Gymshark Central which helps drive organic traffic to their shop. Their blog offers a range of content from editor’s choice, product & style to health and fitness tips. The blog has the look and feel of an e-magazine and fits the dynamic style of the brand as well as offering more value to their community.

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Gymshark further meets their audience where they are by being active on Spotify. They offer a range of playlists to help motivate their listeners to power through their gym sessions. Each playlist is branded with the Gymshark name and varies depending on the type of fitness mood or workout type - even creating playlists curated by athletes. This is a unique way Gymshark is able to maintain an intimate relationship with their users, keep their brand top of mind and continue to be associated with the positive actions of their users.

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Symbiotic relationships with Gymshark ambassadors

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Gymshark doesn’t hire models for their billboards or ads; they use their athletes, tapping into their impressive follower lists. They also tag their athletes when they celebrate milestones or achievements in their fields, giving them access to new followers. This creates a symbiotic relationship where influencers go above and beyond to promote the brand and post links to Gymshark content  in their bios, while earning anywhere between $500 to $10,000 for their efforts (according to Forbes, in 2020). 

Offline marketing

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For e-commerce brands it’s important to think about offline marketing strategies, you want your brand to scale and exist beyond social media likes. Once Gymshark had built a name for itself, Francis started to roll out pop up stores in major cities, the most popular being the “everything £5” market stall stunt in London ahead of their flagship store opening on Regent Street.  

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Noel Mack, Chief Brand Officer said, “We’ve always called ourselves a community brand & lately lots of other brands seemed to have followed suit. But you can’t just say the word community & that makes it true, you have to be out here, with them. It’s no secret that we are coming to London later this year with our flagship on Regent Street, but that’s going to take a while and we’re not into standing still.”

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This stunt got them billions of social media hits, queues bending down the streets of London & countless media appearances. Especially considering founder, Ben Francis, was there himself selling popular Gymshark apparel for £5 a pop.

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In September 2021, under Covid-19 safety rules, Gymshark hosted a community event in LA where influencers could come and experience their exclusive collections and mingle with others who enjoyed the brand. People could take photos with various different backgrounds and attendees could write down their fitness goals and habits and be paired with professionals to advise them on how to get started. Again, this is another example of how Gymshark positions themselves as a community-driven brand that’s committed to the positive experiences of their customers.

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Key Takeaways to scale your influencer marketing strategy

• Understand your audience and their culture - Part of the brand's appeal was its cultural relevancy, they understood the culture their audience live in and created a brand that enhances their lifestyle.  Look for real influence, not just influencers. 

• Create a long-term influencer partnership strategy - This means creating meaningful, mutually-beneficial relationships with influencers that will help enhance your brand. Be sure to partner with people who represent the values of your brand and align with your audience, at the end of the day you want to turn them into brand ambassadors and elevate the reputation of your brand.

• In-person events - As an e-commerce brand it’s very easy to get sucked into the echo chamber of the internet, so inviting your community to in-person events is a great way to connect with them. Use offline events as an opportunity for your customers to see and feel your product for themselves in person and meet the people behind the product.

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Want to learn more about successful brand strategies? Click here to read Monzo’s brand strategy and how they built a community-driven brand.

Frequently asked questions about  the Gymshark marketing strategy

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What are the key elements of a successful fitness apparel marketing strategy?

Knowing your audience. Do you cater to yogis, HYROX champs, or homebodies that want to get fit at home. Then, use the right channels: influencer marketing, social media, and content. Fitness is all about the visuals, so make sure you show your audience exactly what your brand is about with unique logos, brand visuals and other cues. 

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How do leading sportswear brands use social media to grow their audience?

By partnering with influencers that your target audience is interested in. Start by seeing your products to influencers that represent your brand (even if their follower count isn’t the biggest). Then move onto formal collaborations, endorsements, and offline events. 

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What marketing strategies do successful fitness brands use to engage Gen Z?

Gen Z likes to feel as though they are part of a community or tribe. Don’t treat your influencers like a number; provide them with an identity their followers relate to. Make sure all of your content is authentic - Gen Z can spot a paid promotion that influencers don’t believe in a mile way. 

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