‘I was chatting to the future king of England about the Aston Villa game. It was very cool’

Ben Francis is showing The Athletic a photograph on his phone, but he can’t quite pinpoint when it was taken, so pings off a text to his father seeking clarification.

It turns out the picture dates from the early 2000s with a young Francis standing next to his brother Joe, both clad in Aston Villa replica training gear, and the club’s former European Cup-winning striker Gary Shaw with an arm round each.

Satisfied, the 32-year-old scrolls further through his camera roll.

“This one’s from Wembley when we got promoted,” he says, showing a video of him and his Canadian wife, Robin, jumping up and down after Villa secured promotion to the Premier League against Derby Country in 2019. “That was an amazing day. My wife didn’t know what was going on, but she has to be a Villa fan now.

“Our boys are 18 months old now. This season might be a little bit early for them, but as soon as they’re old enough to take it in, I’ll get season tickets and take them to Villa Park all the time.”

It is Monday afternoon and The Athletic has been invited to Gymshark, the exercise apparel company Francis founded in 2012.

Its origin story is well-known but still remarkable. Francis began Gymshark as a teenager in his parent’s garage, armed with a sewing machine and a screen printer. Now, 13 years on, he sits in his company’s chief headquarters in Solihull, just off the M42, with more than 900 employees working across offices in five regions, including Denver.

The Solihull buildings are sweeping and impressive. There is a state-of-the-art gymnasium, work areas, benches, a coffee shop and an open-plan vibrant space from which the company oversees its global operation. Gymshark has amassed a total social media following of over 18million, with its apparel sold in 230 countries.

In August 2020, Francis sold a 21 per cent stake to U.S. private equity firm General Atlantic in a $300million deal (£235m), valuing the company’s total worth at $1.45billion, according to Forbes. It has been widely reported Francis, who received an MBE in 2023 for services to the business sector, still owns 70 per cent of the company. As of April 2023, he ranked 2,259th in Forbes’ list of the world’s richest people, with an estimated net worth of $1.3bn.

Today, however, Francis is here to talk about Villa.

“My dad and grandparents wouldn’t let me be anything else,” he says. “My grandparents would tell me stories about going down to the Villa even before every stand had been built; back in the day when it was literally just a hill.”

The swift escalation of Gymshark has brought notoriety to the brand as well as Francis, who increasingly sits in the bracket of Villa’s many well-known supporters. His “dream”, he smiles, is to feature in a club promotional campaign, akin to Black Sabbath’s involvement in this year’s viral kit launch.

He talks about meeting fellow supporter William, Prince of Wales, upon collecting his MBE and speaking for a few minutes about Villa. Francis’ nerves eased when the discussion centred on their mutual love.

“It made me realise he’s genuinely a massive Villa fan,” he says. “I was stood getting my MBE with my mum, dad and wife behind me, chatting to the future king of England about the Villa game on the weekend; it was very cool.”

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Serving as the CEO of a billion-pound-plus company while bringing up two young boys — with a third child on the way — means time is a precious commodity.

Increased working demands have reduced Francis’ presence at Villa Park, having had a season ticket during the Martin O’Neill era. From his viewpoint in the Trinity Road Stand, before moving to the Doug Ellis alongside his dad and brother, Francis wistfully recalls his favourite days.

“You always had the characters where we sat,” he says. “You would have the quiet people or the bloke that would constantly be moaning.

“My dad would tell me about those times in the 1980s when we won in Europe. My nan worked at Safeway and David James went through her till. I remember her telling me and it was the coolest thing ever to think that my nan had served David James at Safeway. 

“My early Villa memories would be John Gregory as manager. I remember the LDV logos on shirts and Dion Dublin was my favourite player. The point where I was properly immersed was under O’Neill.”

Football has never solely been about what transpires on the pitch. It evokes other intangibles, be it the people you sit with, your matchday routine or, in Francis’ case, where his father would park.

“We would just leg it through the church after the game to get to the car park on the other side,” Francis adds. “We would be chasing Dad because it was chaos. The car park was an industrial estate they closed off on the weekend. We’d walk past the bloke shouting ‘Heroes and Villains!’ and he’d have the magazines out.

“Going to Villa was just a really nice thing that I, my dad and brother could do every other weekend together.”

Francis was raised in Bromsgrove, 13 miles outside Birmingham’s city centre. His own playing days started and ended at Bromsgrove Town, where he played as a right-back or right-winger, depending on the manager.

Living on the outskirts of the city caused footballing schisms among school friends with a general split, he reckons, between “Villa and Blues”. 

“There were a few Wolves and (West Bromwich) Albion supporters, but not many of them,” he says. “You always get the oddballs that supported Manchester United, despite living nowhere near. When I was older, I started to go to games on my own. Gabby Agbonlahor was a legend. We played Blues at St Andrew’s and Gabby scored right at the end and I was there.

“I couldn’t celebrate because I’d gone in in the Blues end. My dad told me before: ‘Whatever happens, do not let anyone know that you’re a Villa fan’. So when Gabby scored I just stood there like this (he puts his hands straight to his side). All the Blues fans were going wild but I was sat there laughing under my breath.”

Francis recalls those Midlands derby days, far more frequent then than now, with fondness.

Brother Joe remains a season ticket holder in The Holte End, while the 32-year-old, due to work and family commitments, was unable to witness last season’s eye-catching campaign. “From the age of 21 to 27, I would travel non-stop,” he says. “In our busiest year, I did 53 long-haul flights. But wherever I am, I’ll always watch the Villa.

“Last year, me and Noel (Mack, Gymshark’s chief brand manager) were working in Florida and we set a time in the day when we’d go to a sports bar and watch Villa. They didn’t actually play the game on TV in the end! I don’t get to go as much, but because I’m sat on a plane, I’ll just be there watching Villa YouTube videos or reading about them.” 

Unlike Prince William, Francis has only met Villa’s players once and briefly, dating back to a Peaky Blinders premiere. On the subject, the conversation pivots towards Ollie Watkins’ glorious finish in the Euro 2024 semi-final against The Netherlands.

“When Ollie scored that goal, I dropped him a message afterwards and said well done,” he says. “It was late so our kids had gone to bed. When he scored I wanted to scream, but I just couldn’t, so I sat there and, honestly, I could have been in tears.

“Ollie comes across as such a good bloke and it’s great to have watched him come to Villa, find his confidence and with Unai (Emery) coming in, he’s just gone to another level.”

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Francis’ nous in business cannot be understated.

In 2010, he dropped out of Aston University — where he was studying business and management — to focus solely on Gymshark. The company’s growth has been built on creativity, high-quality apparel and, pertinently, innovative brand awareness. This has contributed to Francis paying particular attention to Villa’s commercial growth knowing its success is holistic with what happens on the pitch.

“At Villa it seems like there are two separate businesses,” he says. “You’ve got the football side where you have to deliver results and it feels like the second half of the business — the commercial side — cannot succeed if the football doesn’t.

“But what the owners seem to have done is invest simultaneously in the football and commercially. Villa have always punched above their weight in kit sales and brand awareness. It is a massive club and it’s nice to see the results on the pitch are backing up Villa’s size.”

Would Francis have some involvement with Villa? Romantically, having a stake in your boyhood club or having a part to play carries an inherent attraction.

“I’m a lifelong fan. I would love to do more and be involved with Villa,” he says. “I don’t know what that means or what it may be, but I just love Villa. Unfortunately, some of my mates are still Blues fans, but we all make mistakes.

“My brother got married the other week and we had his stag a few months earlier, with 15 people there; 13 were Villa fans, one didn’t follow football and the other was a Blues fan. All 13 of us are so optimistic about how the club is under the manager and owners.”

Despite his hectic schedule, Francis hopes for a European trip this year so that he can “listen live” to the Champions League’s anthem. The Athletic suggests it is a great era for his children to grow up in, helping to resist the temptation of supporting anyone else.

He shakes his head.

“They wouldn’t be allowed to support anyone else anyway. My dad bought them Villa kits for the day they were born — they’ll absolutely be Villa fans.”

(Top photo: Ben Francis)