本集简介
双语字幕
仅展示文本字幕，不包含中文音频；想边听边看，请使用 Bayt 播客 App。
所以你参加了这个体能大会。
So you get to this conference, this body power conference.
大会。
Conference.
那里发生了什么？
How or what happened there?
我的意思是，人们很好奇吗？
I mean, was there were people curious?
比如，这个Gymshark是什么？
Like, what is this Gymshark thing?
比如，什么
Like, what
人们是怎么回应的？
how do people respond?
嗯，那可能是我人生中最不真实的一个周末了，因为在活动之前，我们每天的销售额只有200到250英镑。
Well, that that was probably the most surreal weekend of my life because prior to the event, we were selling around 200 to £250 a day in revenue.
但我只记得整个时间都在拿产品、卖产品。
But I just remember spending the whole time just grabbing products, selling products.
在活动期间，我们带去的所有东西都卖光了。
And we in the event, we we completely sold out of everything that we took.
哇。
Wow.
活动结束后，我记得我们累坏了。
And after the event, I remember we were so tired.
我们所有人都直接躺在展位的地板上。
We just we all just laid down on the floor in the stand.
有个在其他展位工作的人走过来对我们说，你们是怎么做到的？
And there was a guy who had worked at a different stand, and he walked over to us, and he said, how did you do that?
我记得看着他，说：我真的不知道。
And I remember looking at him and saying, I've got no idea.
欢迎收听《我是如何打造的》，这是一档讲述创新者、企业家、理想主义者以及他们所创建的事业背后故事的节目。
Welcome to How I Built This, a show about innovators, entrepreneurs, idealists, and the stories behind the movements they built.
我是盖伊·拉兹，今天节目中讲述的是，一个在线销售T恤的网店如何让本·弗朗西斯从大学辍学生一跃成为英国最年轻的亿万富翁。
I'm Guy Raz, and on the show today, how an online shop selling t shirts took Ben Francis from college dropout to being the youngest billionaire in The UK.
在2010年代初期，健身领域开始发生一些微妙的变化。
There's a moment in the early two thousand tens when something subtle starts to shift in fitness.
人们开始录制自己的锻炼视频，发布自己的进步，并在线上塑造健美身份。
People start filming their workouts and posting their progress and crafting a bodybuilding identity online.
锻炼实际上变得公开化了，而本·弗朗西斯这个青少年正好身处这一转变的中心。
Workouts effectively become public, and right in the middle of that shift was a teenager named Ben Francis.
当时，本还不是一个创业者。
Now at the time, Ben wasn't a founder.
他仍在上大学。
He was still in college.
他晚上送披萨，下午去健身房，晚上在卧室里捣鼓网站。
He was delivering pizzas at night, going to the gym in the afternoon, and tinkering on websites in his bedroom.
但本察觉到了正在发生的变化。
But Ben saw what was changing.
他意识到健身文化正变成一个任何人都能参与的社群，因此他想为这个社群打造一套统一的着装。
He saw that gym culture was becoming a community you could join from anywhere, and he wanted to build a uniform for that community.
于是他和几位朋友开始专门为举重爱好者设计服装。
So he and a few friends started making clothing specifically for weight lifters.
他们不懂服装行业，但他们知道衣服该是什么手感、该如何活动、当人举起杠铃站上举重台时，衣服该怎样衬托出身材。
They didn't know apparel, but they knew how the clothes should feel, how they should move, how they should make you look when you loaded the bar and stepped up to lift.
接着，还有第二个洞察，也许是更重要的那个。
And then there was the second insight, maybe the bigger one.
如果你想打造一个品牌，别花钱买广告，去建立关系。
If you wanna build a brand, don't buy ads, build relationships.
本直接联系了那些在YouTube上塑造这种新网络文化的力量举运动员和健美运动员。
Ben reached out directly to the power lifters and bodybuilders who were shaping this new online culture on YouTube.
不是明星，也不是有经纪人代理的运动员，而是那些拥有小规模受众但深受信任的普通人。
Not celebrities, not athletes with agents, real people with small audiences who trusted them.
当这些运动员开始穿上本的新品牌Gymshark时，品牌不是缓慢增长，而是迅速爆发。
And when those lifters started wearing Ben's new brand, Gymshark, it didn't grow, it exploded.
但这里有一件不寻常的事。
But here's what's unusual.
随着公司规模扩大，本并没有假装自己无所不知。
As the company scaled, Ben didn't pretend to know everything.
他向自己雇佣的更有经验的人学习领导力。
He learned leadership from the more experienced people he hired.
他实际上在自己的公司内部建立了一种学徒制。
He effectively built an apprenticeship inside his own company.
他研究了物流、设计、营销、供应链和技术，直到最终能够自信地担任首席执行官的角色。
He studied logistics, design, marketing, supply chain, tech, until he could eventually step into the role of CEO with total confidence.
如今，Gymshark 是全球最具影响力的健身品牌之一，年收入接近10亿美元，并拥有全球性的粉丝、健身者和创作者社群。
Today, Gymshark is one of the most influential fitness brands in the world with nearly $1,000,000,000 in revenue and a global community of fans, lifters, and creators.
但要理解本是如何建立这一切的，你必须回到它最初开始的地方。
But to understand how Ben built all of this, you have to go back to where it started.
他成长于20世纪90年代至21世纪初的英国米德兰兹地区，靠近伯明翰。
He grew up in the nineteen nineties and early two thousands near Birmingham in England's Midlands.
作为青少年，他最喜欢两件事：去健身房和在学校学习信息技术。
As a teenager, there were two things he loved, going to the gym and at school, studying IT.
说实话，这改变了我的人生，因为正是在那里我学会了如何学习。
It changed my life, to be frank, because it's where I learned how to learn.
我们真是太幸运了。
We were so fortunate.
我上的那所学校，不知为何特别推动了科技发展，因为我能接触到创意套件。
It was the school that I went to was, for whatever reason that obviously accelerated tech, because I had access to the creative suite.
我记得有Dreamweaver、Adobe Illustrator和Photoshop。
So I had I remember Dreamweaver, Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop.
我记不清里面还有别的什么了。
I can't remember what else was in there.
但当我18岁、懂得如何使用这些软件时，感觉就像掌握了魔法一样。
But then being 18, knowing how to use that software, it was like it was like, you know, knowing how to use magic.
这简直太棒了。
It was absolutely brilliant.
是的。
Yeah.
这就像一种语言。
It's like an it's language.
当你那么年轻的时候，你的大脑就在吸收所有这些东西。
And and when you're that young, like, your brain is just absorbing all this stuff.
如果你喜欢，你就能弄明白。
And if you love it, you can figure it out.
所以你当时正在尝试做这件事。
So you were being trying to do this.
同时，准备上大学。
Meantime, getting ready for university.
嗯。
Mhmm.
等你上大学的时候，你去了一个叫艾斯顿大学的学校。
And by the time you got to university, you went to to school called Astin University.
是的。
Yeah.
你在学校学到了这些技能，我读到过，比如搭建一个网站，我可以理解，你知道的，我能懂。
You learned these skills at school, and I read that, okay, building a website, I can, you know, I can understand it.
而且你开始经营一些小生意。
And and you started to build sort of small businesses.
对吧？
Right?
比如，我读到过，你曾尝试搭建一个销售个性化车牌的网站。
Like, I've I read, for example, that you tried building a website that, like, sold personalized car license plates.
是的。
Yes.
是的。
Yeah.
所以那件事是第一个。
So that was the first thing.
那实际上是我还在上学的时候。
That was actually when I was at school.
所以那时我大概是17岁，算是年纪最大的了。
So I would have been, I don't know, 17 maybe, the oldest.
顺便问一下，你是怎么做到的？因为在英国，个性化车牌非常昂贵。
By the way, how did you how do because personalized license plates in The UK are, I think, are very expensive.
不像在美国，你只需要去车管所登记就行。
It's not like in The US where you just go to the DMV and register.
有时候，人们为了个性化车牌甚至会花几十万美元。
Like, it's some sometimes people pay, like, hundreds of thousands of dollars for personalized license.
那你17岁的时候，是怎么在网站上卖这些车牌的？
How are you able to sell those on a website at 17?
哦，我们只是卖便宜的那些。
Oh, well, we we just sold cheap ones.
但是
But
哦哦，你们是去买现成的车牌。
Oh oh, you would buy you would buy existing ones.
买现成的。
Buy them.
所以这并不特别复杂。
So it wasn't particularly sophisticated.
我们就是直接买，它们会陆续出来，大概300英镑就能买到。
We would literally they they would come through, you could buy them for £300 or something.
但你可以卖到两三千英镑。
Can but you could sell them for 2 or 3,000.
所以我们通常会留意即将发布的车牌，挑那些看起来可能值钱的买下来，放到网站上出售。
So what we do is we'd sort of see what was coming up for release, buy the ones that looked like they could be valuable, put them on the website and then sell them.
所以你们得囤货或者备库存，我想是这样。
So you'd have to sort of hold stock or inventory, I guess.
这就像
It was like a
基本上就是倒卖它们。
few flip them basically.
基本上，是的，是的。
Basically, yeah, yeah.
这纯粹是早期阶段的事情。
And it's just sort of that early days sort of thing.
所以那是第一件事。
And so that was the first thing.
然后我的第一台iPhone，我想我大概是18岁的时候买的。
And then my first iPhone, I think I got when I was about it must have been 18.
我记得我刚拿到它的时候还在上学，差不多是上大学的时候。
So I remember I was at school when I first got it university sort of time.
正是拥有或看到那部初代iPhone，才让我对应用程序开发产生了浓厚兴趣，而不仅仅是网页开发。
And it was having that or seeing that first iPhone that then made me really interested in the idea of not just web development, but app development.
我记得拿到那部初代iPhone时就想，我真想学会怎么做出这样的东西。
I remember having that first iPhone and thinking, I would love to learn how to do this.
所以从建网站到开发应用，这个转变并没有那么难以跨越。
So the leap from building websites to to developing apps, like, wasn't, like, it wasn't an insurmountable leap.
你基本上可以买到现成的软件来开始开发应用，然后自己摸索如何做出一个应用。
You could basically buy the off the shelf software you needed to start building the apps, and you could figure out how to build an app on your own.
是的。
Yeah.
对。
Yeah.
完全是通过YouTube学会的。
Just through YouTube.
对我来说，这些应用主要集中在健身领域，比如我不知道怎么塑形，还有各种不同的锻炼方式，教你如何正确做动作。
And for me, those apps were were were in fitness, so it was I don't know how to get in shape, and, you know, it was like different areas where you'd look at different exercises, learn how to do them.
所有内容都只是文字、图片和视频。
It would all just be text imagery and and video.
好的。
Okay.
对。
Right.
而且它们都是健身应用。
And they were fitness apps.
让我们稍微深入聊聊这个话题。
So let's let's dive into that for a moment.
我的意思是，你什么时候开始去健身房的？
I mean, you got in to to go into the gym at what age?
大概16、17岁。
About 16, 17.
而且是的。
And Yeah.
健身房对我来说非常重要，因为那是我人生中第一次意识到，你付出多少就会收获多少。
And that the gym was really important to me because it was that first time in my life where I realized that I'll get out of it what I put in.
是的。
Yeah.
所以，如果我每周去五次健身房，坚持一年，到年底时我的状态一定会比年初更好。
So if I go to the gym five days a week for a year, I will be in a better position at the end of that year than I was at the start of it.
这对我来说是一个根本而重要的教训。
And that that was a fundamental and really important lesson for me.
你真的能亲眼看到变化。
You could literally see the changes.
没错。
Exactly.
是的。
Yeah.
那你刚开始去健身房的时候，比如16岁就去，那时候你比大多数人都年轻，环境可能会让人感到紧张，你是怎么养成每天去的习惯的呢？
And so how did you when you started to go to the gym, I mean, going at 16, you know, you're younger than most people in there and can be intimidating and, you know, like, did you how did you just, like, get into the habit of going every day?
找一家附近的健身房。
You find the local gym.
最好能和朋友一起去。
Sort You of go with friends.
我觉得在那个年纪，当你还是青少年时，放学后你会和一群男生结伴而行。
I think at that age when you're a teenager, you go after school, you sort of travel in a pack of of of lads, basically.
我们都会做同样的训练，周一练胸，周二练背，周三练肩，周四练腿，周五练手臂，诸如此类。
We all do the same workout, chest Monday, back Tuesday, shoulders Wednesday, legs Thursday, arms Friday sort of thing.
但你说得对。
But you're right.
因为我会走进健身房，然后看到那些壮硕的健身爱好者。
It was because I would go into the gym and and you'd see all these big hipsters.
对吧？
Right?
是的。
Yeah.
对。
Yeah.
尤其是当你还是个瘦弱的青少年时，你会觉得他们都在盯着你看。
Especially when you're a young teenager and you're very thin, you'd assume that they all you think that they're all looking at you.
你觉得你什么都做错了。
You think you're doing everything wrong.
实际上，他们可能更关注自己，而不是你，你知道，没人太在意别人在做什么。
In in reality, they're probably more interested in themselves than they are you, and, you know, no one really cares that much about what other people are doing.
但那确实让人感到害怕。
But it was intimidating.
所以我总是和朋友一起去，我们举重、玩得开心，放学后就去。
So I'd I'd just go with friends, and we'd lift weights, and we'd have fun, and we'd we'd go after school.
好的。
Alright.
所以这逐渐成为你生活中越来越重要的一部分。
So that's a that that's becoming an increasingly important part of your life.
但同时，你也在尝试这些生意和网站。
But also on side, like, you're trying out these businesses and websites.
你通过这些生意赚到钱了吗？比如个性化车牌之类的？
And did you ever make any money doing these businesses, like personalized car license plates or no?
没有。
No.
它们都惨败了。
They all failed miserably.
它们都惨败了。
They all failed miserably.
它们都没赚到任何钱。
None of them made any money.
大多数应用都是免费的。
Most of the apps were free.
那些不是免费的，下载量也极少。
The ones that weren't you know, the downloads were so tiny.
就几英镑而已。
It was like a few quid.
所以那时候根本没赚到任何钱。
So it was nothing made any money at that point.
但看起来你那时候已经在脑子里构思商业点子了，比如你能做什么、如何通过数字方式赚钱，你知道的。
But it seems like already you you were I mean, you were generating these ideas in your head about businesses, like things you could do and and ways you could make money, you know, digitally.
对吗？
Is that right?
我的意思是，那时候你才那么大，你的想法就已经朝那个方向发展了吗？
I mean, was your sort of head moving in that direction already at that at that age?
是的。
Yeah.
对我来说，当事情所谓的‘失败’时，我从不觉得那是失败。
The the the thing for me was when things, quote, failed, it never felt like a failure.
所以当我14岁的时候，这里每个人都得参加工作实习。
So when I was about 14, everyone here does work experience.
你会离开一段时间，去做一段时间的工作实习，从而了解真正去办公室、工厂之类地方是什么感觉。
So you go away, you do work experience for a little bit and you find out what it's like to actually go into an office or a factory or something like that.
所以当我14岁的时候，我去和我爷爷一起参加工作实习。
So when I was 14, I went and did work experience with my granddad.
他基本上自己做生意，或者现在还在做生意。
He basically had his own business or he has his own business.
所以他负责砌炉子。
So he'd line furnaces.
所以我们去米德兰兹地区的各种工厂，直接进到炉子里，工作内容就是用砖块或陶瓷纤维衬里。
So we'd go into factories around the Midlands and we'd literally go into the furnaces and the job would be you either line them with brick or ceramic fiber.
这本质上就像在内部做隔热层。
So it's basically like an insulation around the inside.
我在那里学到了很多东西。
And there's a lot of things I learned there.
首先，我学会了努力工作。
So one, I learned hard work.
但让我印象最深的是，他跟我讲了他创业时不得不承担的各种风险。
But the thing that really stuck with me was he told me about all the risks he had to take when he started his business.
他有两个孩子。
He had two kids.
他有房贷。
He had a mortgage.
他有妻子。
He had a wife.
在他创业的时候，他不得不承担巨大的财务风险，甚至可能失去家园，让孩子们无家可归。
And when he was building his business, he had to take massive financial risks that risked the house and, you know, the the roof over the the head of his kids.
所以四年之后，我十七八岁的时候，开始尝试创办自己的企业。
So fast forward four years later, I'm 17, 18, and I'm trying to start my own business.
我真觉得我没有任何风险。
I genuinely felt like I had no risk.
那时我在必胜客工作，每小时挣4.05英镑。
Was at the time I was working at Pizza Hut, I was earning £4.05 pound an hour.
当时我花3.5英镑就能买一个域名。
I could buy domain names for £3.50 at the time.
我从小就被教导，创业是真正有风险的。
My risk was zero and I'd always been brought up to know that there was genuine risk in starting a business.
这让我意识到，当时我所承担的风险根本无法和他所承担的相比。
And then that allowed me to recognize that at the time, I didn't really have any risk compared to what he had.
所以好吧。
So alright.
所以你上了大学，同时还在必胜客工作，就像你提到的那样。
So you get to university, and you're working at Pizza Hut, as you mentioned.
你上大学的时候，是否已经开始考虑新的商业点子了？
And when you got to university, had you already started to think about a new business idea?
其实那并不是一个明确的商业点子。
So it wasn't actually an idea necessarily for a business.
回到之前我说的，我就是喜欢尝试新事物，喜欢学习新东西。
Going back to the whole I the whole thing was I loved doing new things, and I loved learning new things.
那时的目标很简单，就是在网上卖出一样东西。
At that point, the aim was simply to sell one thing online.
我记得我们当时开通了Shopify网站。
And I remember we sort of opened up Shopify website.
所有东西都在那里。
It was all there.
你知道，我们买了域名，然后就有点儿说，好吧。
You know, we bought the domain name, and then it was a bit like, okay.
现在我们没什么东西可以卖。
Now we haven't got anything to sell.
我们现在到了这一步。
Now we're at this point.
我们根本没想到要卖服装。
We hadn't thought to sell apparel.
当时我们真的很想卖保健品，因为我们会去健身房，喝蛋白粉之类的。
At this point, we really wanted to sell supplements because we'd, you know, get into the gym, taking your protein shakes, and all that sort of stuff.
我有个朋友在一家本地的保健品店工作。
And, there was a friend of mine who worked at a local supplement shop.
我记得我给他打了电话。
And I remember calling him up.
他叫丹。
His name was Dan.
我对他说：听好了，丹。
And I said, listen, Dan.
我有个网站。
I've got this website.
我想在线销售保健品。
I wanna sell supplements online.
你能帮我个忙吗？
Can you do me a deal?
我想从你这儿买些保健品，然后我来卖。
I wanna buy some supplements off you, and I'll I'll sell them.
他回答：好。
And he went, yeah.
对。
Yeah.
我可以跟你做个交易吗？
I can I can do you a deal?
我会跟你做个交易。
I'll I'll do you a deal.
第二天他回来找我，说：好吧。
And, he came back to me the next day, he said, right.
你知道吗，我已经把我们所有的最低订购量都取消了，但我能给的最低价格大概是1万英镑。
I've, you know, I've got rid of all of our minimum order quantities, but the lowest I can go is I think it was £10,000.
这时，我不仅没听说过1万英镑，连见都没见过这么多钱。
Now at this point, I've never heard of £10,000, let alone seen £10,000.
这相当于我在披萨店好几年的收入。
That would have been years worth of income for me at Pizza
hut。
Hut.
好的。
Right.
所以这显然是一扇关闭的门。
So that was obviously a door close.
没有任何新进入者。
There was no new entrants.
去进货。
To to buy stock.
不。
No.
你不可能做到。
You wouldn't be able
买一堆保健品囤着。
to buy a bunch of supplements and hold them.
不。
No.
没错。
Exactly.
在那个时候，这几乎成了一个好问题，因为我们开始思考：如何才能做到呢？请记住，我们的目标就是卖出东西。
So at that point, it was almost like a a good problem because then we started thinking, well, how can we because remember, the aim was literally to sell something.
那时我们发现了代发货模式，我们可以把数百种补剂上架到网站上，定价略高于代发货商卖给我们的价格。
And that's when we found out about drop shipping, where we could literally load up the website with hundreds of supplements, have them slightly more expensive than what the drop shipper would obviously sell them to us for.
当顾客下单后，订单就会通过代发货商直接发给客户。
And then when people order them, it would then ship through the drop shipper to the customer.
你们从一开始就叫它Gymshark吗？
And you called it you called it Gymshark from the beginning?
是的。
Yeah.
对。
Yeah.
网站是用gymshark.co.uk运行的。
It was run on gymshark.co.uk.
Gymshark这个名字是你们想出来的。
And Gymshark was the name that you came up with.
我的意思是，你拿到了域名，但能说说这个名字的由来吗？
I mean, you got the domain, but it was tell me about that name.
是的。
Yeah.
说实话，我当时根本没想过它会变得多大，所以取这个名字完全是随意决定的，甚至我都快不记得为什么叫它Gymshark了。
I to be honest, it because I'd never thought it would be anything big, it was a real arbitrary decision to the point where I can I can hardly remember why we called it Gymshark?
我知道这个域名很便宜。
I know the domain was cheap.
我知道大概花了3.5英镑。
I know it was about £3.50.
我知道它当时是可注册的。
I know it was available.
所以，不，我真说不上来，当时就是凭直觉随便选的。
So, no, I don't it was just it just was just like, guess, an instinctive decision at the time.
明白了。
Got it.
我能倒回去说一下吗？因为我想稍微往前追溯一点，首先，你提到‘我们’，我想深入了解一下，因为在大学时，你认识了一个叫刘易斯·摩根的人吗？
Can I can I rewind for a sec just because I wanna go slightly back a little bit, which is, first of all, you're you're talking about we, and I wanna I wanna kinda dig into this because I guess at university, you met a a guy named Lewis Morgan?
是的。
Yeah.
他后来和你一起创办了Gymshark。
And he would eventually work with you on Gymshark.
刘易斯是谁？
Who who is Lewis?
你们是怎么认识的？
How'd you meet him?
这背后有什么故事？
What what's the story?
我从学校就认识刘易斯。
I knew Lewis from school.
我们不是朋友，但彼此都认识。
We weren't friends, but we knew of each other.
我们是在健身房里成为朋友的。
We we became friends through the gym.
当时我们好像在比赛，看谁最快能练出最大的手臂之类的。
So and it was a case of, like, I think we were racing who could have the biggest arms, quickest, or something like that.
后来，正是通过健身房，我们不断向对方抛出各种想法。
And then it was through the gym that we would then be bouncing all these ideas off each other.
所以，正是在那里，我们发现了Shopify和代发货模式，并从那里开始发展。
So that's obviously where then we found Shopify and drop shipping and and built from there.
好的。
Alright.
我还想了解另一个背景信息，我想伯明翰大概是英国健美文化的一个中心，我不知道对不对。
There's one other bit of context that I wanna I'm curious about, which is Birmingham, I think, and maybe I'm wrong about this, is sort of is sort of like the center of bodybuilding culture in The UK a little bit.
比如，我觉得伯明翰会举办一些健美会议和展会。
Like, I guess there are, like, bodybuilding conferences and conventions in Birmingham.
是这样吗？
Is that is that right?
是的
Yeah.
所以有几件事。
So there's a couple of things.
首先，多里安·耶茨，有史以来最伟大的健美运动员之一，就来自伯明翰。
So one, Dorian Yates, one of the best bodybuilders of all time is from Birmingham.
但你说得对。
But you're right.
据我所知，英国乃至欧洲最大、最顶尖的健美和举重赛事实际上是在伯明翰举办的，叫做Body Power赛事。
The biggest and the best bodybuilding and lifting event, as far as I was aware, certainly in The UK, possibly Europe, was actually run out of Birmingham and it was called the Body Power event.
我们都会以粉丝的身份去那里。
And we'd all go there just as as fans.
那真的很棒，因为所有最伟大、最顶尖的健美运动员都来自美国。
And it was it was really cool because all of the biggest and the best bodybuilders were always from The US.
作为一个16、17、18岁的少年，能去伯明翰亲眼见到他们、看到品牌、见到那些顶级健美运动员，简直太令人兴奋了。
So to be able to go and see them, see the brands, see the big bodybuilders in Birmingham was just an amazing thing as a 16, 17, 18 year old.
当你最初决定开始这个代发货的Shopify网站时，是你和刘易斯一起，还是……
And when you when you first decided to start this sort of drop ship Shopify website, it was it was you and and Lewis or or
一开始只有我和刘易斯，至少前十八个月，甚至可能前两年都是这样。
anyone just me and Lewis for at least eighteen months, probably even the first two years.
是的。
Right.
好的。
Okay.
所以你们上线了一个网站，效果怎么样？
So you you launched a site, and how did it do?
我们有了一个Shopify网站。
Well, we had the Shopify website.
它看起来非常棒。
It looked amazing.
上面全是补剂。
It was full of supplements.
它看起来极其专业。
It looked incredibly professional.
我们上线后，好几个星期都毫无动静。
We sent it live, and absolutely nothing happened for weeks.
一点动静都没有。
Nothing.
我当时其实没意识到，因为网站看起来那样，我以为人们会自然找到它。
Like, I I sort of didn't realize that because the website was like I assumed that people would just come across it and find it.
根本没人找到这个网站。
No one found the website.
我们完全得想办法吸引流量过去，结果其实是通过Facebook。
We completely had to try and work out how to get traffic there, and it was actually Facebook.
我们开始创建Facebook页面。
We've started Facebook pages.
当然，当时已经有Gymshark的Facebook页面和举重相关的页面。
Obviously, there was a Gymshark Facebook page and lifting pages.
这些只是你刚开始创建的页面。
And this is just pages that you were starting.
你们没有钱来做广告吗？
You you didn't have cash to to to put ads out?
没有。
No.
我们一分钱都没有，没有广告，什么都没有。
We had we we had no money, no ads, no nothing.
纯粹就是一些有机的Facebook页面，上面发布一些举重者和健美新闻之类的图片。
It was literally just organic Facebook pages with pictures of lifters and bodybuilding news and things like that.
我想这大概花了几个月的时间。
And I think it probably took it probably took a couple of months.
然后，我们有了第一笔销售。
And, we had our first sale.
那是52英镑。
It was £52.
对我们来说，成本是50英镑给代发货商。
The cost to us was 50 to the drop shipper.
所以我们赚了2英镑的利润。
So we had a £2 profit.
花了我们大约两个月，我不确定，就说两个月吧。
It took us about, I don't know, call it two months.
所以我们每个月的利润只有一英镑。
So we were earning a profit of a pound a month.
但这并不重要，因为如果你想想两个月前，我们所有的目标只是在线卖出一件东西，而那种在线卖出东西的感觉简直太棒了。
But it didn't matter that because if you think about that two months prior, the whole ambition was just to sell something online, and that feeling of selling something online was just absolutely brilliant.
我真心地说，我简直震惊了。
And I was I honestly, I was just absolutely blown away.
我当时18、19岁左右，在卧室里高兴得又跳又转，仅仅因为我们卖出了东西，就开心得不得了。
I was dancing around my bedroom at, like, 19 years old, whatever it was, 18, 19 years old, just so pleased that we'd sold something.
所以，我的意思是，收到订单确实令人兴奋，但你提到我们的利润率低得惊人。
So, I mean, getting an order is exciting, but, I mean, you mentioned your margins were were, like Incredibly low.
每单1到2英镑
1 to £2 per,
你知道，订单。
you know Order.
是的。
Yeah.
你们把这当作副业维持了多久，才开始考虑也许该找找别的产品？
So how long did you keep it as a supplement business before you start to think, you know, maybe maybe we should look around for a different product?
对。
Yeah.
大概在六个月到十二个月之间，差不多吧。
It would be somewhere between six to twelve months, maybe, something like that.
我们确实卖出了东西，也慢慢积累起来了。
And and we did sell, and we managed to build up.
也许每周能卖出一两单。
Maybe we're getting a sale or two a week.
但由于利润率太低，我们曾经认真讨论过是否还值得继续做下去。
But because the the the the margin was so low, there was a point where we were genuinely debating as to whether or not this is even worth carrying on.
然后我奶奶参加了一个窗帘制作课程。
And then my so my nan had done a curtain making course.
你的意思是你的奶奶？
Your that's your grandma?
是的。
Yeah.
对。
Yeah.
没错。
Yeah.
她家里有一台缝纫机，就放在餐厅的桌子上。
She and she had a sewing machine on the on the dining table in her in her house.
这让我开始想，也许我们现在可以自己做衣服。
And it sort of made me think, well, I wonder if we could actually make our own clothing at this point.
到了那时，我们买了一台缝纫机。
And, now at that point, we then bought a sewing machine.
我们买了一台丝网印刷机。
We brought a screen printer.
我们存钱买了它，然后开始尝试亲手制作、手工印制我们自己的服装。
We'd save the money for it, and we started to basically to to try to hand make, hand print our own clothing, basically.
正是从那时起，一切真正开始起步了。
And that that that was where it all really started to kick off.
但同样，当时我们只是想试试在这个网站上卖衣服。
But, again, this was like, let's just try selling clothing on this site.
是的。
Yeah.
就是这样。
Exactly that.
确实没人专门为健美运动员和举重者制作服装。
And it was, there was definitely a thing of no one made clothing specific to bodybuilders and lifters.
而且这甚至更少，重点更多在品牌上。
And it's less even, it was more around the branding.
没有人销售专门针对我们这个群体的产品。
No one sold product that was dedicated to that sort of that group that we were very much a part of.
所以到了那个时候，我们买了一大批空白服装，这在我看来是一种相当普遍的做法，我想现在很多人都在这么做。
So we ended up at that point, we sort of bought a load of blanks and again, it's a fairly standard thing that I guess a lot of people do today.
我们开始进行丝网印刷，也在一些地方自己缝制产品。
We started screen printing and in some some areas as well, sewing our own product.
好的。
Alright.
那我们来分解一下这个过程。
So let let's kinda break this down.
你买了一台缝纫机和一台丝网印刷机。
You buy a sewing machine and a screen printer.
然后呢，嗯。
And what it Mhmm.
这些东西要花多少钱？
And how how much does that stuff cost?
印刷机大约是一千英镑。
The screen printer was about a thousand pounds.
缝纫机要几百英镑左右。
Sewing machine would have been a few £100.
所以那时候，总共刚超过一千英镑。
So at that point, it would have been all in just over £1,000.
但我们可以用同样的空白衣物制作很多不同款式、不同图案的产品。
But we could make lots of different product, different logos, all on the same blanks.
空白衣物就是没图案的T恤吗？
And blanks are just blank T shirts?
是的。
Yeah.
就是没图案的T恤、背心和连帽衫。
Blank T shirts, blank tanks, hoodies.
它们有白色、黑色、灰色，差不多就像水果之恋那种标准T恤，只是上面印了图案。
And you get them in white, black, gray, almost like a a similar sort of thing to, like, a fruit of the loom standard T shirt with logos on.
而且它
And it
都是按订单制作的。
was all made to order.
比如，有人下单买一件衬衫，你就直接丝网印刷出来。
Like, if somebody ordered a shirt, then you would you would screen print it, basically.
是的。
Yeah.
真的就是这样。
Literally.
我们每天早上醒来，
It literally we wake up.
看看有没有新订单，有的话就印刷，然后送去邮局寄出，就这样完了。
We'd see if there was an order, screen print it, take it to the post office, send it, and and then that was it.
展开剩余字幕（还有 480 条）
而且这 presumably，这并没有花你太多钱，因为你完全可以去那种我们称之为罗斯或者TJ马克斯之类的商店，批量购买T恤吗？
And this presumably, this didn't really cost you that much money because you could just go to, like, a I mean, were you literally, like, just going to, we would call it, like, Ross or, you know, or TJ Maxx type stores and just buying bulk t shirts?
比如
Like
不。
No.
我们是从一家英国批发商那里买的。
We bought them from a UK wholesaler.
所以你可以再次购买，最低起订量很低。
So you could buy again, the minimums were low.
比如，每种尺码的最低起订量可能只有10件左右。
Like, the minimums might have been 10 per size or something.
然后回到之前提到的补充剂问题，因为当时我们的网站上还在销售补充剂。
So and then going back to the the versus the supplement, because we still had supplements on the website at this point as well.
我们可以卖50英镑的补充剂，只赚2英镑的利润，或者卖30英镑的服装，就能赚15英镑。
We could sell £50 worth of supplements, make £2 in in margin, or we could sell £30 worth of clothing and make £15.
所以这对我们来说彻底改变了局面，因为突然间，我们开始建立起一种可以将收益再投资于自己业务的模式，也正是从那时起，我们真正开始发展壮大。
So it was that that to us completely changed the game because all of a sudden, we were sort of starting to build a model where we could reinvest in our own business, and and that's when we could really start to grow it.
但最初，我们只卖T恤、背心和连帽衫。
But initially, it was it was just T shirts, tanks, and Hoodies.
还有连帽衫。
And hoodies.
好的。
Okay.
那么，至少在你心里，当时有没有一个宏大的愿景，还是只是想先试试看，会发生什么？
And, mean, was there, in your mind at least, like, a big vision at that point, or was it just, let's just do this and see what happens?
没有。
No.
这是一个非常渐进的过程。
It was really gradual.
第一个阶段就是，我们做一个能在线销售东西的网站。
So the first moment was, let's make a website that sells something online.
然后我们完成了第一笔销售。
Then it was we got the first sale.
接着我们几乎只想促成第二笔销售。
Then it was almost let's get our second sale.
然后我们尝试每周完成一笔销售，接着每月完成一笔销售。
Then it was let's try and get a sale a week and then a sale a month.
而那时的目标一直非常低。
And then the the bar was always incredibly low.
在很多年里，我们都没有真正开始考虑未来。
There wasn't it it wasn't for many, many years until we really started to think ahead.
你几乎只关注下一件事，并全心投入。
You almost just think about the next thing and dedicate.
我们发现，全心全意地投入到下一件事上至关重要。
We found dedicating ourselves wholeheartedly to just what that next thing was.
所以，再次说说补充剂，你们当时觉得也许人们会偶然发现并购买补充剂。
So, again, like, with the supplements, you were thinking maybe people would would stumble on it and order supplements.
我是说，我无法想象突然间洪水闸门大开，人们发现他们有了T恤和连帽衫。
Like, I can't imagine all of a sudden the floodgates open and people are like, oh, they have T shirts and hoodies now.
我的意思是，当时还是静悄悄的吗？
I mean, was it still was it still like crickets?
不是。
No.
情况就是完全那样。
It was it was exactly exactly that.
这一切都是通过Facebook页面完成的。
And we it was all done through Facebook pages.
但对我们来说，关键的时刻是第二年，我们去参加了那个Body Power展会，像往常一样以顾客身份前去参观。
But the big moment for us was then the next year when we went to that body power event, and we we visited as customers as we always did.
我们去了展会办公室，那里可以预订下一年的展位。
And we went up to the show office where you can book for the next year.
他们通常会提前一年预订。
They would generally book a year in advance.
我们走过去，我记得跟他们说：请给我们一个展位吧？
And we went up there and I remember saying to them, please, can we have a stand?
我们想预订明年的展位。
We wanna book a stand for next year.
我想最低是3000英镑。
And I I I think it was a minimum of 3,000.
所以对我们来说，这又是一大笔钱。
So again, it was a lot of money to us.
但那时，我们已经逐渐开始卖出足够多的产品，这让我们有信心——通过网站销售加上我们接的订单，大概在十二个月内就能凑够这笔钱。
But at that point, we'd sort of started to sell enough to give us the confidence that between the sales on the website plus the jobs that we had, we could probably within twelve months, we could get the money together.
可以凑到。
Can can make
三万三千英镑。
£33,000.
是的。
Yeah.
是的。
Yeah.
然后你们决定要去参加这个展会。
And and you decide that you're gonna go to this this conference.
你们打算在那里做什么？
And what were you gonna do there?
我的意思是，仅靠T恤、连帽衫和背心，怎么才能激起足够的热情？
I mean, how how were t just T shirts and hoodies and tank tops gonna be enough to generate excitement?
所以我们提前一年预订了展位，而整个那一年，它给了我们一个明确而重大的目标。
So we booked the space the year before, and then that whole year, it it it sort of gave us something really big to work towards.
于是我们心想，好吧，那就围绕这个活动来打造我们的业务。
We were then like, right, let's build our business to this event.
因为这个活动是在五月举行。
So it was for the the event was in May.
当时，我们所有关于健身的信息，从早期的网页开发阶段开始，都是通过YouTube学习的。
And we at the time, all of our fitness information going back to sort of that web development era, all of the information that we learned was through YouTube.
所以我们只是通过观看YouTube博主，我们最喜欢的健身达人也都出现在YouTube上。
So it was just through watching YouTubers and all our favorite fitness people were on YouTube.
因此，我们最终与几位YouTube博主建立了关系。
So we ended up just sort of building relationships with a handful of YouTubers.
我记得当时马特·奥格斯和克里斯·洛瓦多住在加利福尼亚。
And I actually remember Matt Oguess and Chris Lovado, live in California at the time.
我记得通过Skype联系他们，和他们讨论我们正在制作的产品。
Remember jumping on Skype to them and just talking about the products that we were making.
他们给了我们反馈。
They gave us feedback.
我们会把产品寄给他们。
We'd send them the product.
他们会把产品放进他们的YouTube视频里。
They would put them in their YouTube videos.
那产品是什么？
And what was the product?
那不只是T恤吗？
It was it was something beyond T shirts?
不是。
No.
不是。
No.
就只是T恤和背心。
It was just the T shirts and tanks.
而且因为这是早期的YouTube，所以直接联系他们并说‘嘿’并不难。
And and and because this is kind of early ish YouTube, it wasn't that hard to just connect with them and say, hey.
我看过你的YouTube视频。
I watch your YouTube videos.
我可以寄一些东西给你吗？
Can I send you some stuff?
是的。
Yeah.
他们真的非常兴奋。
And they were really just excited.
我想他们之前可能从未跟来自英国的人说过话。
They I I don't think they'd probably spoke to anyone from The UK before.
在那一年里，我们不仅赚到了足够的销售额来支付3000英镑的展位费用。
And we through that year, we then not only built enough sales to cover the £3,000 for the stand.
我想我们还升级了展位的大小。
I think we actually upgraded the size of the stand.
我想这又花了我们大约3000英镑。
I think it probably cost us another 3,000.
但在接下来的五月，也就是活动之前，我们甚至已经攒够了钱，可以邀请那些YouTuber们飞到英国参加活动。
But we even had enough money by the the following May before the event to fly those YouTubers out to The UK to come to the event.
我记得当我们邀请他们时，他们激动得不得了。
And we I remember we called them when we asked them if they wanted to come, and they were just over the moon.
他们显然立刻就答应了。
They obviously, they just immediately said yes.
所以他们飞过来参加了活动，而我们当时甚至没意识到这一点。
So they flew out to the event, and that that was a we didn't even realize it at the time.
这对我们来说是一个转折点。
That was a game changer for us.
那你们当时向他们提出了什么建议？
And the idea was, like, what did you propose to them?
就是穿Gymshark的衣服，然后在我们的展台待着？
Just wear Gymshark stuff and and be at our booth?
是的。
Yeah.
就是来参加活动而已。
Literally, come to the event.
我们负责给你们订机票。
We'll fly you out.
当然，还会给你们安排酒店住宿。
Obviously, put put you up in a hotel.
来展台吧。
Come to the booth.
我们会去健身房，然后就只是和你们一起放松，好好享受这次活动。
We'll go to the gym, and we'll we'll just, I guess, chill together and have a good time at the event.
好的。
Alright.
所以你们快接近这个会议了，能跟我讲讲你们是怎么开始考虑要在会上展示什么的吗？
So you so you're getting close to this conference, and tell me a little bit about how you start to think about what you were gonna feature there.
说实话，除了和YouTuber们在一起、展示产品之外，我们没怎么深入想过其他事情。
Honestly, we didn't beyond having the like, being there with the YouTubers and having the product, we didn't think too much about it.
对我们来说，最重要的是我们首款运动套装的发布。
We the the big thing for us, it was the launch of our first ever tracksuit.
所以我们举办了活动，发布了我们的首款运动套装，当时我们在Facebook页面上为此做了预热，当然，YouTubers们也都在现场。
So we had the event, our first ever tracksuit, which we we built up to on on our Facebook page at the time, and and, obviously, the YouTube, YouTubers were there as well.
那就是一切，我们只是满怀兴奋地参加了活动。
That was everything, and we we would just sort of go in excited to be there.
好的。
Alright.
我们来聊聊这件运动套装吧。
Let's talk about the tracksuit.
你们是怎么设计它的？
How did you design it?
我的意思是，你们显然懂得如何设计网站，但你们懂如何设计服装吗？
I mean, you obviously knew how to design a website and but did you know how to design clothing?
哦，不。
Oh, no.
不。
No.
我们真的是边做边学。
We we we just had to learn as we went, really.
我们只是在网上到处查找资料。
We we we were just searching around online.
我们找到了制造商。
We found manufacturers.
这个过程并不特别复杂，但我们只是想亲手做出一件当时没人做、而我们自己又非常想要的运动套装。
It wasn't a particularly sophisticated process, but it was just us trying to build the tracksuit that as in at the time, no one else was making and and that we really wanted.
我猜你们去中国了，对吧？
And I'm I'm assuming you went to, like, to China.
对吧？
Right?
因为所有制造都发生在中国，而且至今在某种程度上仍然如此。
Because that's where all the manufacturing happened and still happens to some extent.
是的。
Yeah.
对。
Yeah.
第一套运动套装是在中国生产的，我记不清我们是怎么找到那个厂家的了，可能是在阿里巴巴之类的平台上找到的。
So the first tracksuit was made in China, and I can't remember how we found the mani it would have been on, you know, on Alibaba or something like that.
我想是的。
I think it was.
我想我们就是在那儿找到他们的。
I think that's where we found them.
关键是版型。
And it was all around the the fit.
腰部非常收身。
It was very tapered at the waist.
裤子也是收身的。
The the the trousers were tapered.
当时一切都围绕着这种收身的版型。
It it was very much around that tapered fit at the time.
这种收身的版型，我想，穿起来会更好看。
And the tapered fit, presumably, you, you know, you look better in it.
对吧？
Right?
尤其是如果你身材好，因为它能凸显你的肌肉之类的。
If especially if you're because it it shows off your muscles or whatever.
我的意思是，即使是身材偏瘦的人，如果衣服更合身，也能更好地展现你的体型。
I mean, even even for sort of skinnier guys, right, if it's more fitted, it you can it can sort of enhance your the way your body looks.
是的。
Yeah.
而那正是它真正起源的地方，也是我们今天试图做到的。
And that that's where it was really born, and that that's what we tried to do today.
对吧？
Right?
我们努力打造了一些非常能突出身材的服装。
We've tried and build some really physique accentuating clothing.
这一切都始于那套第一套运动服和那些早期产品。
That's where that all that began through that first track suit and through that that that early product.
甚至在那之前，只是采购所有库存，你估计为了进货和囤货花了多少钱？
Even before that, just buying all the inventory, how how much do you estimate you had to spend just to just to order the inventory to hold it?
成本会低于一万英镑，但也会在数千英镑的范围内。
It would have been less than £10,000, but it would have been in the thousands.
那这笔钱你是从哪儿来的？
And how did you have that that cash?
这来自于必胜客的收入、业务的积累，以及我们把每一分钱都重新投入进去，因为我们没有任何成本。
That was through a combination of Pizza Hut, building the business, and just basically reinvesting every single penny that we had because we had no cost.
每一分钱的利润都直接用于下订单。
Every single pound of profit would literally just go into that order.
好的。
Alright.
你参加了这个Body Power展会，带了一套运动服，现场有很多大块头，对吧？
So you get to this conference, this body power conference, and you have, like, a bunch of big guys at the And and what I mean, you've got a tracksuit there.
是的。
Yeah.
我试着想象一下，当时到底发生了什么？
And I'm trying to imagine, like, what I mean, how or what happened there?
我的意思是，有人很好奇吗？
I mean, was there were people curious?
比如，这个Gymshark是什么东西？
Like, what is this Gymshark thing?
人们是怎么反应的？
Like, what how do people respond?
那可能是我一生中最不真实的一个周末，因为我们连展台都没完全布置好。
Well, that that was probably the most surreal weekend of my life because we hadn't even finished setting up the stand.
我记得我当时还在从货车里跑来跑去搬货。
I remember I was still running from the van to bring the product in.
在那之前几天，所有YouTuber都在Facebook和YouTube上发帖，告诉大家他们会到场。
In the days before this, all the YouTubers had been posted on Facebook, on YouTube, letting everyone know that they would be there.
我们其实不太清楚他们到底有多大的影响力或有多出名，但他们确实通知了所有人他们会来。
And we didn't really know how, I guess, how big or how famous they were, but they they'd let everyone know that they would be in there.
一旦活动大门打开，人们就立刻涌向我们的展台。
And as soon as they opened the doors to that event, it just felt like people flooded to the stand.
人们来这儿就是为了见他们的偶像，说白了就是。
And people were there to see, you know, their heroes, basically.
因为他们之前从未见过他们。
They because they'd never seen them before.
这很有趣，因为这些家伙平时走在伯明翰的街头，或者任何地方，都没人知道他们是谁。
So it this it's interesting because most of these guys would walk down the streets of Birmingham or wherever, and nobody would have any idea who they were.
但在那个会议上，这些人简直就是摇滚明星。
But at that conference, these guys were rock stars.
在健身圈里，他们非常有名。
In in the world of lifting, they were huge.
年轻一代，十几岁到二十出头的观众都认识他们，但当时三十多岁、四十多岁的年长者却完全不知道，因为那时候YouTube还非常新。
The younger sort of late teens, early twenties audience knew them, but then the older people maybe at the time in their thirties or their forties just had no idea because YouTube was very much a it was just so new at the time.
但来我们展台的人最终也都买了产品。
But then the people that visited our stand also ended up buying product.
从周六早上开幕一直到周日晚上闭幕，我只记得一整段时间都在不停地拿产品、卖产品，我们在活动中把带去的所有货都卖光了。
And from whenever it opened on that Saturday morning all the way through to close on Sunday night, I just remembered spending the whole time just grabbing products, selling products, and we in the event, we we completely sold out of everything that we took.
我在努力弄清楚为什么。
And I'm trying to figure out why.
就像你描述的那样，这是一件非常普通的运动服。
Like, again, as you describe it, it's a really basic tracksuit.
对吧？
Right?
它并不是嗯。
It's not Mhmm.
我的意思是，它收腰了，所以可能有些不同。
I mean, it's tapered, so it's it's probably differentiated.
但确实如此。
But Yeah.
Gymshark 当时是一个不为人知的品牌。
Gymshark is was an unknown brand.
嗯。
Mhmm.
但当时很有激情。
But there was excitement.
人们会来到你的展台，好奇地查看。
People were, like, kinda coming to your booth and checking it out.
你觉得这是什么原因呢？
What do you think explains it?
你觉得是因为版型吗？
Do you think it was the fit?
是的。
Yeah.
我觉得这件运动套装的剪裁确实是一种相当独特的设计。
I think the the fit of the tracksuit, it was definitely a fairly unique design.
但正如你所说，这并不算革命性的。
But to your point, it wasn't revolutionary.
我认为关键是YouTube上的那些网红在穿它。
I think the fact that the the the heroes on YouTube were wearing it.
所以展位上大部分都是年轻孩子。
So this was most of the people at the stand were young kids.
基本上就是我们自己。
It was it was it was us, basically.
都是十几岁的男生。
It was teenage guys.
那这套运动服的零售价是多少？
And what was the retail price of the of the gym suit?
我觉得那个周末我们只能收现金。
I think we had to do everything cash that weekend.
所以我们腰上 literally 挂着一堆包，纯粹就是现场现卖。
So we literally just had sort of bags around our waist, and we were literally just selling everything.
我觉得价格都是整数。
I think it was round numbers.
我觉得是30块，我们全都按现金卖出去了。
I think we it was 30, and we were just selling it all for cash.
活动结束后，我记得我们累得不行。
And after the event, I remember we were so tired.
我们就全都躺在摊位的地板上。
We just we all just lay down on the floor in the stand.
有个在其他摊位工作的人走过来找我们。
And there was a guy who had worked a stand a different stand, and he walked over to us.
他年纪大一点，根本没听说过那些YouTuber。
He was a bit older, and he hadn't even heard of the YouTubers.
他问我们，你们是怎么做到的？
And he said, he said, how did you do that?
我记得看着他，说：我也不知道。
And I remember looking at him and saying, I've got no idea.
稍后回来，Gymshark进军美国市场，本在十二月抵达俄亥俄州，却没先查天气。
When we come back in just a moment, Gymshark breaks into The US market, and Ben lands in Ohio in December without checking the weather first.
请继续关注。
Stay with us.
我是盖伊·拉兹，您正在收听《我是如何打造的》。
I'm Guy Raj, and you're listening to How I Built This.
嘿。
Hey.
欢迎回到《我是如何打造的》。
Welcome back to How I Built This.
我是盖伊·拉兹。
I'm Guy Raz.
那是2013年，在一些YouTube网红的帮助下，Gymshark在年度Body Power博览会上卖出了大量运动服和T恤。
So it's 2013, and with the help of some YouTube influencers, Gymshark sells a ton of track suits and T shirts at the annual Body Power Expo.
在活动之前，我们每天的销售额大约在200到250英镑左右。
Prior to the event, we were selling around 200 to £250 a day in revenue.
因为我们当时在现场，无法从网站发货，所以那个周末把网站关了。
Because we couldn't because we were at the event and we couldn't ship from the website, we turned the website off the weekend.
那时公司规模小到简直就像一个项目。
That's how small the business was going back to it being a project.
到了接下来的一周，当我们重新上线网站并在线宣布恢复营业时，三十分钟内就实现了三万英镑的销售额。
And we the following week, when we turned the website back on and we posted online that we were back live, we did £30,000 in revenue in thirty minutes.
所有商品全部售罄。
Sold out of everything.
那个周末至关重要，因为就在那周，我同时退出了大学和必胜客，全身心投入Gymshark的事业。
And that weekend was really important because it was the weekend I both quit university and Pizza Hut to pursue Gymshark.
所以我要告诉你，我当时特别开心，因为在此之前我非常紧张，毕竟我是家里第一个上大学的人。
So I'll you, I was so happy because going into it, I was so nervous because, I mean, I was the first person in my family to go to university.
我记得打电话给爸妈，告诉他们我要退学，因为他们为我努力考上大学感到无比自豪。
And I remember calling my mom and dad and saying, I'm gonna drop out because they were so proud of the fact that I'd worked I worked so hard to get into university.
对我来说，上大学根本不是理所当然的事。
That was not a given for me whatsoever.
我给他们打了电话，说我要离开大学了。
And I called them and I said, I'm I'm gonna leave university.
你知道，当你还是个孩子的时候，你总以为自己会被责骂。
And I you know, when you sort of expect you're like a kid, you sort of expect to get told off.
他们非常支持我。
And they were so supportive.
他们只是说：听着。
They just said, listen.
如果你真的想这么做，那就去干吧。
If this is what you wanna do, then go for it.
所以你现在有了一个真正的生意。
So now you've got a real business.
那时候那些网红，他们是拿报酬的，还是只是因为能免费拿到东西就很高兴？
And and these influencers at that time, were they getting paid, or were they were just happy to get free stuff and to be No.
不是。
No.
那个年代就是这样，你得花上百万美元才能买一条推广帖之类的。
This is the way we were that that era where you have to pay, like, a million dollars for a post or whatever.
是的。
Yeah.
没错。
Exactly.
但当时的优势是，如果你在2013年有两万名粉丝，算法是不一样的。
But also, the advantage back then was, if you had 20,000 followers in 2013, the algorithm was different.
那两万名粉丝真的会观看你的视频。
Like, those 20,000 followers would literally watch the videos.
而今天，即使你有两百万粉丝，可能也只有1%的人会注意到你发布了新视频。
Whereas today, if you have 2,000,000, maybe only 1% of those people are even gonna be aware that you have a new video out.
是的。
Yeah.
对。
Yeah.
我真希望可以说，这是我们精心策划的策略。
I I wish I could say it was some wonderful strategy that we built.
但实际上根本不是。
It it literally wasn't.
我们建了一个网站，因为觉得这很有趣。
We made a website because it felt it was interesting.
我们制作了自己想穿的产品。
We made the product that we wanted to wear.
我们参加了想参加的活动，并把衣服寄给了我们喜欢关注的人。
We went to the event we wanted to go to and we sent clothes to the people that we love to follow.
这正如你所说，是一个非常自然的过程，根本没有什么策略。
It was literally to your point, a really natural process, and there was in no way a strategy.
我们没有想得太远。
We didn't think too far ahead.
我们只是做了感觉对且直觉上该做的事。
We just did what felt right and instinctive.
但你知道，一旦你在网站上卖出了三万美元的运动服，半小时内就售罄，你就意识到你真的抓住了什么，这件事有可能持续发展下去。
But you knew that once that you sold $30,000 and a half hour of of tracksuits on your website, you knew that this was the you had something here, that this could actually have legs.
是的。
Yeah.
我记得当时坐在那里。
I remember being sat there.
那是半夜，在我爸妈的家里。
It was the middle of the night in my mom and dad's house.
网站上，我不得不逐个检查每一件商品，因为所有库存都被设置成了无限。
The website, I had to literally go through every single because all the stock was set to like infinite inventory.
所以根本没有库存数量的概念，但我知道我们已经卖光了。
So you would just, there was no stock levels, but I knew we'd sold out.
所以我必须逐个商品把库存数量清零。
So I had to go through every product and zero the inventory.
所有商品都卖光了，我盯着电脑屏幕忙活了一通，等处理完这一切，只是坐在那里想：天啊，我们真搞出点特别的东西了。
So everything was sold out sort of chlorine across my laptop to get it all sorted and sat there when once that was done, just thinking, wow, we've got something special here.
而这，再次说明，一切就是从这里开始的。
And that's, again, that's just where it all began.
那时，我们已经开始报名参加下一个活动——下一场Body Power，我们还报名了另一个活动。
And at that point, we were signing up to the next event, the next Body Power, we were signing up to another event.
我们显然又进了更多货，并且加大了对所有之前奏效的举措的投入，尤其是那几个月里表现好的部分。
We obviously just bought more inventory and we doubled down on everything that had worked for us, particularly in that of couple of months.
我们就只是全力投入了进去。
We we just doubled down on it.
你当时是和你爸妈住在一起吗？
And you were living with your mom and dad?
是的。
Mhmm.
你那时候二十岁、二十一岁，或者差不多吧。
You were 20, 21, or whatever.
对。
Yeah.
我的意思是，你还年轻。
I mean, you're a young guy.
那库存，你都放在哪儿了？
So and and the inventory, where were you keeping it?
当时，库存就放在爸妈家里， basically 就是他们房子里，但东西实在太多，放不下了。
So at the time, it was just in my mom and dad's, basically, like, in their house, and they were it was just too much to keep in there.
但在活动前，我们意识到必须找个仓库。
But in the run up to the event, we we thought we have to find a unit.
于是我们找到了一个位于乡村的本地仓库。
So we found a it was a local unit in the in the countryside.
那地方叫多伊奇维奇，你肯定没听说过，是个运河边的老棚子。
It was a play a place called Droitwich, which you won't have heard of, and it was an old shed on a canal.
它是由石棉建成的，每月租金300英镑。
And it was made out of asbestos, and it cost us £300 a month.
但那是我们的空间，所有东西都存放在那里。
But it was our space, and that's where we stored everything.
但在2013、2014、2015年这些最初几年，卖的还是运动套装、T恤、背心和运动衫。
And and but still, in those first, like, twenty thirteen, twenty fourteen, twenty fifteen, it was still tracksuits and T shirts, tanks, sweatshirts.
就这些吗？
That that was it?
是的
Yeah.
那就是
That was
你们在卖的
what you
东西。
were selling.
对。
Yeah.
那段时间就是这样。
And it was in that period then.
所以第二年，我们开始举办活动。
So the following year, we then started to do the events.
我们第一次在国外的活动是在德国举办的。
We did our first event abroad in Germany.
那就是我们正式引进了第一批Gymshark员工的时候。
That's when we brought brought in our first essentially, first Gymshark staff.
所以第一个加入的人其实是我的兄弟，他在我们外出参加活动期间负责打包订单。
So the the the first person that joined, was actually my brother, and he joined to package the orders whilst we were away at the event.
从那时起，我们才开始逐步组建团队。
So that's when we sort of started to build out the team.
但当时真的是，一有订单进来，
But it was literally, like, an order would come in.
他就把订单打包好，抱着一堆箱子走到邮局，寄出去——用的是邮政、DHL还是UPS，你们当时用的是哪个？
He would package it up, walk to the post office with a bunch of boxes, and mail them out or or or DHL or u UPS or whatever you you were using?
是的。
Yeah.
就是这么回事。
Exactly that.
每天结束时，我们最后一件事就是坐在电脑前，处理所有客户咨询，直到每一条消息都回复完毕，才会离开；当然，之后我们就去健身了。
And then at the end of the day, the last thing we would always do is sit on our laptops, and we would go through all of the customer queries, and we wouldn't leave until everything was sent out, every query was responded to, and then, obviously, we go to the gym.
好的。
Alright.
所以我读到，2014年年底时，你们的销售额达到了大约25万英镑。
So I read that in 2014, you you're you've end end of that year with about £250,000 in sales.
太棒了。
So great.
惊人。
Amazing.
但还是很小。
But still tiny.
对吧？
Right?
大概在这个时候，你们遇到了两位商人，他们最终在帮助Gymshark成长的过程中发挥了关键作用。
And and around this time, I guess you meet two guys, two businessmen who who will eventually play a pivotal role in helping Jim Sharpe grow.
一位叫史蒂夫·休伊特，我猜他在服装行业有些经验，另一位叫保罗·理查德森。
One is a guy named Steve Hewitt, who I I guess had some experience in the apparel industry, and the other was a guy named Paul Paul Richardson.
那么，这些人是怎么开始帮助你的？
So how did these guys start to help you?
顺便问一下，你是怎么认识他们的？
And and by the way, how did you meet them?
我们去健身房的时候，会遇到一些本地的商人，他们经营着自己的生意，你大概也知道他们是哪些人。
So we'd go to the gym, and there'd be local, you know, business people that had run businesses, and you sort of knew who they were.
我觉得，如果你经常去健身房，就会慢慢认识每个人，也会跟他们聊天。
I think When you go to the gym all the time, you sort of end up knowing who's who and chatting to people.
所以，我们渐渐和保罗成了朋友。
So again, we sort of befriended Paul.
保罗给我们提了一些关于几个方面的建议，然后他把我们介绍给了史蒂夫。
Paul gave us some advice on a few, I guess a few bits and Paul then connected us with Steve.
我觉得那时候，我们才安排了这次会面。
I think at that point, that's when we sort of arranged the meeting.
我记得我们和史蒂夫坐下来谈了，保罗也在场，我们就说：听好了，我们想做几件T恤，但当时我们不认识任何欧洲的供应商，而史蒂夫认识。
And I remember we sat down with Steve and Paul was there and we just said, listen, we wanna make, I think it was at the time we actually wanted to make some t shirts and we didn't know any European suppliers and Steve did know European suppliers.
所以那时，我们通过Steve所在的公司，在欧洲生产了一些产品。
So that was then, I guess that was the relationship was we went, we worked through the business that Steve worked for to get some product made in Europe.
而Steve之前的工作其实是在锐步公司。
And then because Steve in his previous job before that he'd actually worked for Reebok.
他又用一些我们听不懂的术语来交流，比如利润，我们只是买进东西然后卖出，仅此而已。
And again, he would just talk in a language we didn't understand like margin for us, we just bought stuff and then we sold stuff and that was it.
我们根本不知道利润是什么。
We didn't know a margin was.
说实话，我觉得他们把我们介绍给了一个会计师，因为我们完全不懂如何做账、记账、报税这些事。
And I mean, being honest, I think they put us in touch with an accountant because we didn't know really about how to file accounts, bookkeeping, tax rates, all of these different things.
没人会教给你这些。
No one teaches you any of this.
我们只是边做边学。
We were just sort of picking it up as we went.
我相信每个创业者都经历过类似的事，我记得在财年结束或账目到期的前一天，会计师发来一份清单，说：好了，我们需要这些东西。
So I'm sure every entrepreneur has had this, but I remember the day before the close of our financial year or when the accounts were due, the accountant emailed a list and they were like, right, we need all of these things.
我们一样都没有。
Mean, we had none of them.
所以我们用一张旧的乒乓球桌堆满了全年的收据，试图整理所有东西。
So we had an old table tennis table with all of our receipts for the year, and we're trying to organize everything.
again，你根本没人教过你这些事。
It was every again, you you just don't you're not taught these things.
所以对我们来说，与这两个人合作并借助他们的经验非常有帮助。
So for us working with those two and their experience was incredibly helpful.
我想他们当时一定在看着我们。
It I imagine that they would they were looking at you.
那时候保罗和史蒂夫多大了？
And, like, how old was Paul and and Steve at that time?
多大
How old
这些家伙多大？
was this guys?
保罗当时可能快六十岁了。
Paul probably would have been in his late fifties.
史蒂夫当时可能在……
Steve would have been in
四十多岁。
his forties.
好的。
Okay.
所以这些人的年纪比你大得多。
So these guys are way older than you.
他们年纪大到都可以当你们的父母了。
You could be older old enough to be your parents.
然后我想，他们可能看着你们和刘易斯，觉得：哦，这些年轻人真酷。
Then I'm thinking they probably looked at you guys at at you and Lewis as like, oh, these are really cool young guys.
我想帮帮你们。
I'm I I wanna help them out.
这是一家挺酷的小企业，他们刚开始做。
Like, this is a cool little business that they're starting.
我不得不想象，他们从未想过这会变成一个庞大的事业。
I I I have to imagine that they never imagined it could be something huge.
他们可能只是因为你们年轻且充满热情，才想提供帮助。
They they were probably just wanting to be helpful because you guys were young and and enthusiastic.
是的。
Yeah.
对。
Yeah.
当时，他们都在忙自己的事情。
And at the time, they were doing their own things.
但有一件事我记得，史蒂夫在和史蒂夫交谈。
But there there was a point where I remember Steve talking to Steve.
而史蒂夫特别擅长的那件事，是我们完全没经验的。
And the thing is that that that Steve was really good at, that we had no experience of.
他非常擅长与人打交道。
He was very good with people.
所以他懂得如何经营企业。
So he understood how to run businesses.
他明白如何构建企业结构。
He he understood about how to structure businesses.
他过来帮忙，我想他每个月来一天。
And he he came in and he did I think he did a day a month.
而且，我之前根本不知道这件事。
And, again, I've never known about this.
我们是按日付他报酬的。
We were paying him a day rate.
你知道的吗？
You know?
再说一次，你并不知道
When again, you don't know
你基本上是把他聘为顾问吗？
how these things You basically hired him as a consultant?
我们聘他做顾问。
We hired him as a consultant.
他每个月为我们工作一天。
He did one day a month for us.
后来我们把他增加到每周工作一天。
And I think we upped it to a day a week.
然后有一段时间，我记得跟他说，邀请他担任管理总监，不是完全的CEO，但至少能支持公司的日常运营。
And then there was a point where I remember saying to him, I asked him to come on as, like, an MD, so not quite a CEO, but just someone that could support the day to day run into the business.
管理总监。
Managing director.
是的。
Yeah.
那时他就全职加入了。
That's when he then came on full time.
我们实际上让他负责我们所说的业务后台。
And what we essentially did was he ran what we called the back end of the business.
也就是运营、物流，你知道的，所有与品牌、产品或营销无关的事情。
So operations, logistic, what you know, the basically, everything that wasn't brand or product or marketing.
我在意的是，我得问史蒂夫这个问题，我想。
I'm care I mean, I have to ask Steve this question, I guess.
但从你的角度看，一个四十多岁、或者五十岁出头的人——不管他当时多大——是什么让他放弃原来的工作，全职加入你们？
But from your perspective, what would make a guy in his late forties or maybe early fifties, I don't however old he was at the time Mhmm.
他为什么要停止自己原来的工作，全职加入你们？
Stop doing what he was doing and join you guys full time?
我的意思是，这有点冒险。
I mean, that's kind of risky.
对吧？
Right?
我的意思是，他一定看到了这个项目有更大的潜力。
I mean, he must have seen potential for this to be bigger.
对吧？
Right?
是的。
Mhmm.
你们是怎么让他感兴趣的？
How did you make it interesting for him?
当然，他肯定会获得公司的股权。
Like, he he of course, he was gonna get equity in the business.
你们是怎么想到让这个方案可行的？
And how did you figure out how to make that work?
你们当时对股权分配又了解多少呢？
And what did you even know about, like, equity splits?
顺便说一下，我问你这些并不是想说，天啊。
By the way, I'm asking you all this not to say, oh my gosh.
你们当时太天真了。
How you know, you were so naive.
更准确地说，听这个节目的很多人都是二十多岁，对吧。
It's more like I I the people listening to this episode, because a lot of them are in their twenties Mhmm.
还有三十出头，甚至现在可能还有青少年在听。
And early thirties, maybe even teenagers listening right now.
他们都在问这个问题。
They're asking this question.
他们心想，哇。
They're like, wow.
他那时候是怎么知道该做什么的？
How did he know what to do at that time?
因为我不知道该做什么。
Because I don't know what to do.
是的。
Yeah.
我觉得我们当时确实很幸运。
I think we were we were definitely lucky.
所以当史蒂夫全职加入时，我们确实给了他股权。
So at that point, when Steve came on full time, we did we did give him equity.
我认为这对他说很重要，而且这很可能给了他一种你如果没有股权就无法获得的安心感。
So I think that that was important to him, and I think that probably gave him that that level of comfort that you wouldn't get if you didn't have any equity whatsoever.
日薪是多少就是多少，但显然他后来转为了固定工资。
The day rate would have been whatever whatever it was, but then obviously he moved on to a salary.
我记得这件事，我不会透露他的工资数额，但我记得他绝对是公司里薪酬最高的人，甚至是我听说过的最高薪者，因为他必须得到这样的待遇。
I remember this, I won't share what the salary was, but I remember he was by far the most well paid person, not only in the business, but I'd ever heard of because Was he had to be.
是的。
Yeah.
我们以前从未听说过有人赚这么多钱，但他确实值得，对吧？
Like we'd never I'd never heard of people that were earning that sort of money, but he, you know, he deserved it, right?
他为我们的业务带来的价值绝对物有所值。
The value he brought to our business was absolutely worth it.
所以从我当时的视角来看，这真是令人惊讶。
So it was funny for me to go from this perspective of, oh, wow.
我没想到有人能赚这么多钱，天啊。
I didn't realize people earned that man that much money to, oh, wow.
他能赚这么多钱，是因为他将极大地推动我们业务的发展，其价值远超他所带来的成本。
He can earn that much money because he's gonna really help grow our business in a way that is far more valuable than than than the cost that he will incur.
那时你还是CEO吗？
And you were this still the CEO, basically?
是的。
Yeah.
我当时确实是CEO，但那时基本上只有我和刘易斯在做所有事情。
I so I was the CEO, but then at that point, it was very much just me and Lewis doing everything.
感觉是的。
Felt yeah.
所以我不会真的把那称作CEO的工作。
So it I wouldn't really call it a CEO job.
我们只是在经营业务而已。
It was just we were just running the business, basically.
但听起来，我的意思是，通过聘请史蒂夫，你实际上是在聘请一位导师。
But it sounds like I mean, it sounds like by hiring Steve, you were essentially hiring a mentor.
这简直就像是你——我的意思是，你雇了自己的老板。
It's it's almost like you I mean, you kinda hired your own you hired your boss.
你 basically 说：好吧。
You basically said, okay.
这是我的生意，但我需要有人来教我这里的门道。
I'm it's my business, but I wanna hire I need somebody to kind of show me the ropes here.
我需要你帮我弄清楚这件事。
I need you to help me figure this out.
是的。
Mhmm.
他教我们的是一方面，但我认为他向我们展示的更多，因为我发现，有人坐下来对你说，本，你需要这样思考，这是一回事。
As much as he taught us, I think he showed us so much more because I found that it's one thing having someone sit down and go, Ben, you need to think about this like this.
亲眼看着某人工作，即使到今天，仍然非常有价值。
Watching someone work for me really, even to this day, it's really valuable.
我真心觉得，通过观察学到的东西比听别人说要多，因为他是如何与人互动、如何思考问题的。
I genuinely think I learn more from watching than I do from people tell him because it was the way he interacted with people, the way that he thought about things.
而对于我们这些二十出头、毫无经验的年轻人来说，这太重要了。
And that as a, you know, young 20 with zero experience was was huge for us.
史蒂夫刚加入时，最先做了些什么？
What were what were some of the first things that Steve did when he joined?
因为当时你们的产品线还非常有限。
I mean because at this point, you still have a very limited line of of products.
既然他来自锐步的服装部门，他是不是说，伙计们，
Given that he had come from Reebok in apparel, was he saying, okay, guys.
我们现在得招聘了。
We have to hire now.
我们必须雇一位设计师，得考虑我们要推出一整条服装产品线。
We have to hire a designer, and we have to think about a whole line of of apparel we wanna sell.
是的。
Yeah.
就是这样。
So exactly that.
所以我们做的第一件事是把业务一分为二，分成前端和后端。
So the first thing that we did was we split the business straight down the middle, and we had front end and back end.
一边是品牌和营销，另一边则是早期的产品开发或供应链团队。
So it was brand and marketing on the one end and then call it like a very early build of a product or a supply chain team, maybe.
那时，我们进一步加大了对活动的投入。
Now this was the period where we we doubled down on events even more.
于是我们开始频繁出差。
So we then we traveled a lot.
我们在俄亥俄州、加利福尼亚、科隆、墨尔本和英国举办了活动。
We did events in Ohio, California, Cologne, Melbourne, The UK.
那时，我们大概已经有至少十名员工了。
At that point, we probably had at least probably, like, 10 employees.
于是我们一群人会亲自前往各地，像当初在第一个Body Power活动上那样，面对面销售产品。
So there was a group of us that would go and just basically sell the product in person to in the same way that we did at that first Body Power event.
你知道，当史蒂夫加入时，考虑到他的经验，我觉得他会说：‘伙计们，’
You know, when Steve joined, I would think given his experience, I would think one of the things he would have said is, alright, guys.
咱们现在认真起来吧。
Let's get serious now.
咱们去筹一大笔钱，快速扩张吧。
Let's go and just go and just raise a bunch of money and just scale quickly.
嗯哼。
Mhmm.
因为当一家生意做得很好时，却无法跟上订单需求。
Because what happens is a business does very well, but they can't keep up with orders.
他们因为缺乏资金而无法扩张。
They can't scale because they don't have the cash.
嗯哼。
Mhmm.
这是一个大问题。
And that's a huge problem.
当你没有现金，但订单很多时，也可能让企业垮掉。
When you don't have the cash, when you've got lots of orders, you can also it can also tank a business.
那么，你们是怎么做到不需要外部资金的呢？
So how did it how did it happen that you didn't actually need outside cash?
我想是因为我们本来就是一个能产生现金的业务。
Well, I guess because we well, we were well, we we were and we are a cash generative business.
我们销售的产品利润率很高，而且在发货前就已经收到了货款，当时确实如此。
We we sell products at a high margin and we have the cash come in before we distribute it and we certainly did then.
所以我们不需要现金，而且说实话，我根本不知道融资这回事。
So we didn't need the cash and being honest, again, I didn't know that raising money was a thing.
直到我二十岁出头，甚至快三十岁的时候，我才第一次听说或认识有人融资。
I'd never heard or known anyone that had raised money until probably my, well into my early, if not mid twenties.
我们来自西米德兰兹一个非常工业化的地区。
We're we're from a very industrial part of the West Midlands.
那不是伦敦，也不是纽约。
It's not London or New York.
我们根本不知道这是回事，甚至在创业多年的初期，银行账户可能连透支额度都没有。
We'd never we just didn't know that that was a thing beyond I don't even think we had an overdraft on the bank maybe in for many years into building the business.
现在当然不是了。
Now, obviously, no.
我现在知道，有很多非常聪明的人可以用不同的方式创业，但当时我们只知道这一种方法。
I now know that there are many incredibly smart people that can build businesses in different ways, but that that was the only way that we knew how at the time.
你必须从一开始就盈利，嗯。
You gotta make a profit from the start Mhmm.
基本上是这样。
Basically.
然后把所有利润再投资。
And reinvest everything.
不要提取任何资金，一心一意专注于业务增长。
Don't take any money out and just really focus on growing the business.
是的。
And Yeah.
再说一次，只是为了展现我们的天真，我们第一次和吉姆·夏普去美国，飞到了俄亥俄州哥伦布的阿诺德赛事。
Again, just, I guess, to show our naivety, we'd the first trip we ever did to The US with Jim Sharp, we flew to the Arnold event in Columbus, Ohio.
我想那是十二月。
I think it was December.
我以前从来没去过哥伦布，俄亥俄州，更别说是在冬天了。
We I'd never been to, you know, Columbus, Ohio before, let alone in the winter.
我们根本没看天气预报，我就只带了件T恤和运动服之类的衣服。
We didn't even check the weather, I just went with a T shirt and track suit sort of thing.
我记得下飞机时，透过窗户看到到处都是雪。
I remember landing, looking out the window and seeing all the snow.
我记得飞机上的广播里提到了气温。
And I remember they said on the the plane that the the the on the tannoy, the temperature.
我记得我当时完全不知道那在摄氏度下是多少，但我知道那冷得要命。
I remember I just I had no idea what that was in Celsius, but I knew it was freezing.
我们根本没有适合俄亥俄州冬天的衣物，但我们在推销产品、融入社群、走访健身房的过程中玩得非常开心。
We didn't have any clothes that were good enough for an Ohio winter, but we just had a great time selling the product and and being with the community, being with the going into the gyms, we were just having the time of our life.
所以当你开始去美国参加这些展会时，比如，你当时规模很小，跟那些可能出现在某些展会上的品牌相比简直微不足道。
So when you started to go to these trade shows in The US, for example, I mean, you were small potatoes, tiny compared to to to the brands that were probably at some of these shows.
但当时人们是怎么反应的呢？
But was it how did people respond?
我的意思是，人们会不会说，哦，你们来自英国？
I mean, were people like, oh, you're from The UK?
你们是谁啊？
Like, what are you?
还是因为这些YouTuber本身已经具有一定的全球影响力，或者当你去展会时，人们已经认识你们了？
Or or because these YouTubers already had, let's say, global appeal, or did people know who you were when you go to the shows?
最让人惊讶的就是这一点。
That was the most surprising thing.
我们刚到俄亥俄州时，你可能会觉得没人认识我们。
We we landed in Ohio, and, again, you think no one would know.
但要记住的是，这些展会里满是这个行业的真正粉丝。
But, again, I I think the thing to remember is these trade shows are and were filled with real fans of the industry.
所以这并不是像我们降落到一个《星际迷航》粉丝大会上那样。
So it wasn't like we would land in like people who goes to a Star Trek convention.
他们认识每一个角色。
Like, they know every character.
是的。
Yeah.
抱歉。
Sorry.
继续说。
Keep going.
我们抵达俄亥俄州时，你总会想，会有人认识我们吗？
So we we landed into Ohio and you you sort of think would anyone know?
你说得对。
And and you're right.
我认为这是因为当时我们在社交媒体上已经很有影响力，得益于那些YouTuber，而他们也和我们一起来了。
I think it was the it was a combination of because we were big on social media at that point through the YouTubers and the YouTubers were there with us.
所以，五个人中有三个，我想是三个，本来就是来自美国的。
So then again, three of the I think three of the five were from The States anyway.
他们在美国拥有庞大的粉丝群体，或者说是更大的美国受众。
They had big America or a bigger US following.
这让我们迅速获得了可信度，我觉得这非常好。
It gave us a legitimacy very, very quickly, which I think was great.
而且，当时没有其他人像我们这样做事，尽管我们的技术并不算特别先进，但我们所接触的受众是其他人根本没有触及的。
And again, because no one else at that point was doing what we were doing, albeit it wasn't massively technically advanced, but we were speaking to an audience that no one else was speaking to.
我想，我们在美国很快就建立了这种可信度。
I think we then had that legitimacy quite quickly in in The US.
好吧。
So alright.
我们来谈谈产品吧，因为你知道，有一件事——你可能听过这个故事——多年前，我们邀请了Lululemon的创始人奇普·威尔逊上过节目。
Let's talk about about products because, you know, one of the things, and and you may you may be familiar with this story, but years ago, we had Chip Wilson who starred Lululemon on the show.
他确实是那种他们后来所用面料的先驱。
And he really he kind of was a pioneer of this fabric that they would end up using.
这种有弹性的面料，你知道的，效果非常好。
This, like, stretchy fabric that, you know, works really well.
很多女性觉得它让她们看起来更显身材。
Many women felt like it made them look more flattering.
那时候，你知道，你们主要还在用棉质材料，就是运动套装和T恤。
At that point, you know, you were still it was, like, mainly cottons that you were using and, you know, just the the track suits and the t shirts.
你们是什么时候开始内部讨论的？
When did you start to have conversations internally?
嘿。
Like, hey.
让我们想想高性能面料，想想做一些更有创新性的东西。
Let's think about, like, performance material, and and let's think about, you know, sort of doing something a little bit more innovative.
我觉得Chip在Lululemon做的一件了不起的事是，我闭上眼睛，你给我一件产品，我都能认出是他们的。
I think one of the things that I really admire about what Chip did at Lulu was I think I could probably close my eyes and you could hand me a product, and I could tell you that it was a product of theirs.
我觉得这非常了不起，也很有启发性。
I think that's so impressive and inspiring.
是的
Yeah.
对
Yeah.
我想我们做的第一件功能性服装应该是我们的首款无缝产品，当时我们正在探索如何打造出最能凸显身材的T恤。
I would say the first piece of sort of performance apparel that we made would have been our first seamless product, and we we were trying to work out how could we make the best physique accentuating t shirt.
所以重点是让肩膀看起来更宽，腰部看起来更细。
So it was all about making your shoulders look bigger and your waist look narrower.
无缝意味着它主要由合成材料制成。
And seamless means it's it's made with synthetic mainly synthetic materials.
是的
Yeah.
对
Yeah.
但它是以管状针织而成的。
So but it and then it's it's knitted in a tube.
所以不是使用平铺的面料再缝合起来，而是直接织成管状。
So rather than having flat, I guess, flat fabric that you then sew together, it's knitted into a tube as well.
因此它能创造出非常贴合身材的剪裁效果，而且你还可以将图案直接织入产品中。
So it it creates a really, I guess, physique hooking fit, but you can also knit designs into the product itself.
当我们发现这一点时，这对我们来说是一个重要的时刻，因为我们可以用深色织在男性胸部和肩部区域，我们意识到这能让肩膀看起来更宽，腰部看起来更窄。
And that was a big moment for us when we found out about that because we could knit in, almost like a darker color over the chest, over the shoulders for a man, and then we've realized that it makes, essentially, it makes your shoulders look wider and your waist look narrower.
我想，正是这些理念奠定了Gymshark早期产品的核心原则：打造最优质的健身服饰，最终实现极致的身材修饰效果。
And that's I think that's where some of the early product principles for Gymshark really were born about building the best gym wear that we can, but ultimately, a really physique accentuating fit.
那时候，你们有专职的设计师吗？还是说还没有？
And did you have, I mean, at that point, an an on staff in, like, a a staff position who somebody who was a designer or not not yet?
你们当时主要还是依赖制造商自有设计师团队吗？
Were you still mainly basically working with the designers that the manufacturers had on their staff?
没有。
No.
其实没有。
Not really.
我们引进设计团队的那个时候，其实挺搞笑的。
The the the point where we may we brought in a design team, it was it's actually quite funny.
那会儿我穿起来效果很差，但当我们决定组建设计团队时，已经过了几年，我们想拓展业务，也开始想推出女性产品。
It looked bad on me, but we the point that we we built a design team was it was a few it was a few years and we we thought we wanted to sell, we wanted to expand and we wanted to sell women's products as well as men's.
因为早期的公司完全是根据我们自己的形象打造的。
Because again, the company in the early days was literally built in our image.
它就是为年轻男性设计的健身服饰，主要是为了让身材看起来更好。
It was lifting wear for young men make the physique look better, basically.
我们想推出女性服饰。
And we wanted to make women's wear.
我想，那就试试看吧。
And I thought, I'll give it a go.
能有多难呢？
How hard can it be?
我们推出了第一款女性系列产品，结果惨不忍睹。
We did our first women range, women's range, and it was terrible.
简直糟糕透了。
It was absolutely terrible.
根本没人想要。
No one wanted it.
看起来太差了。
It looked terrible.
穿着也不合身。
It fitted terrible.
就是完全行不通。
It just didn't work.
就在那时，我们意识到，如果我们真的要认真做这件事，就需要一个设计团队，需要真正懂得如何设计女性服装的设计师。
And it was at that point where we realized that if we're gonna build if we're gonna do this properly, we need a design team, and we need genuine designers who will, you know, think about how a women's range should look.
到2016年，你们的销售额已经接近1300万美元。
So by the 2016, you guys had done almost $13,000,000 in sales.
是的。
You've got Mhmm.
关于 Bayt 播客
Bayt 提供中文+原文双语音频和字幕，帮助你打破语言障碍，轻松听懂全球优质播客。