Gymshark seeds free stringers to YouTube lifters ahead of its Luxe launch

What they ran

With no ad budget, Ben Francis sent free gear to early YouTube lifters he admired. Gymshark's own story names Lex Griffin, Matt Ogus and Chris Lavado, who were sent early stringers in 2012, much like fan mail, in the hope they would like them. The company calls them some of the biggest names in lifting then, so these were not tiny accounts. All three signed as the first Gymshark athletes.

What happened

Gymshark emptied its bank account to book a small floor space at BodyPower 2013. The Luxe tracksuit launched there in May 2013, worn by the athletes and sold in small batches to the community. Gymshark says the site went from £300 a day to £30,000 in 30 minutes. A Substack breakdown of Gymshark's rise repeats that figure.

What the account does not show

The sales numbers are self-reported, and the later piece repeats them without new data. The spike came at an expo launch, so the source does not separate seeding from the event, the new product and the booth. The source gives no reach or sales figures for the athletes' own posts. The move also carried a cost, since the booth took all the cash in the bank. The story covers lifters who said yes, not any who ignored the gear.