Gymshark founder urges Elon Musk style government adviser for UK

Tesla and X boss played huge role in Donald Trump’s election success

The founder of British athleisure-wear brand Gymshark has urged the government to take a US-style approach and allow business leaders like to Elon Musk to influence UK policy.

At just 32-years-old Ben Francis is one of the UK’s youngest entrepreneurial millionaires having started his brand from his parent’s garage at just 19.

Valued at £725 million in the Sunday Times Rich List, Francis is number five on the 40 under 40 list and has said he has a “long list” of ideas to make Britain more business-friendly.

When asked if the UK should adopt a US-style approach in which Donald Trump has included business tycoons such as billionaire Elon Musk into his administration, Mr Francis told The Telegraph: “Oh god, yeah, 100 per cent. I mean, I feel like it’s fairly obvious, isn’t it?

“If the question is, ‘do you think [we should be] bringing in competent business people to support the Government in their policies?’, then of course my answer would be ‘yes’.”

Mr Musk’s involvement with both Trump’s election campaign and his influence on his future policy has sparked concern among critics on both sides of the Atlantic.

The Tesla boss, who bought social media platform X in 2022, was a key factor in the president elect’s successful bid to return to the White House. (AP)

The Tesla boss, who bought social media platform X in 2022, was a key factor in the president elect’s successful bid to return to the White House with many believing the right-winger’s control over public discourse has had too much influence in the political sphere.

In recent months, he has also waded in on affairs in British politics, namely when he called the prime minister “two-tier Keir” during riots last summer, and in more recent days as he criticised the government’s handling of grooming gangs.

He has been brought into US government by Trump, who has tasked him with cutting government spending. Mr Francis previously sat on Theresa May’s small business council in 2019 during her tenure as prime minister but said operating as a business in Britain is becoming more difficult.

Talking about Rachel Reeves’s Autumn Budget, he said: “[It] doesn’t change our plans, but it certainly doesn’t make it easier.”

He added: “Probably there is a point where it might be the logical solution [to move out to the US]. But I just love the UK. I know that it’s not in a great place at the moment but I don’t think I would leave.”

Ben Francis, Gymshark founder (@benfrancis/instagram)

Mr Francis has come a long way from sewing gym gear himself in his parent’s garage after dropping out of university to pursue his dream.

He set up Gymshark in 2012 with his school friend Lewis Morgan at the age of 19 while working as a Pizza Hut delivery driver in Bromsgrove, Worcestershire.

Tired of scratchy synthetic materials, he began making his own garments with ultra-soft fabrics after his mother taught him to sew. He then recruited influencers to wear his products to drive up sales – a marketing technique now widely adopted.

While studying at Aston University, Francis took the bold decision to drop out to run Gymshark full time as the business began to take off.

He said he wants the company to become a “really iconic British brand” akin to Cadbury or Jaguar Land Rover.

Though the brand has been trading soley online for most of its existence, the company is now opening up bricks and mortar shops, with a permanent storefronts on Regent Street, in Westfield Stratford and another in Bicester - with plans to open up more locations in London, Manchester, Dubai and New York.