How are career development opportunities at Gymshark?

Great benefits and chiefs try to enhance culture

Having been there for 5 years it’s changed considerably in terms of management. Culture is no longer prioritised & more corporate managers are being hired, who do not fit the culture. Lots of shouting, micromanaging and bullying from above. Staff and management who have been there for years are all brilliant as they were employed with culture in mind, but this has changed. The management can really dictate how the company values are upheld. For example, Gymshark is meant to be a flexible employer but if you are even one minute late you are shouted at and publicly reprimanded. Minimal room for progression, but lots of opportunity to move laterally.

Excellent office, hybrid working, free lunches, lots of opportunities

Sometimes a bit erratic in direction

- Benefits: great benefits package including free Pure Gym or Class Pass, 50% discount (free use of the LC too - but this is in Solihull and of no use to London based retail employees) - A very select few from management: potentially 2-3 people ONLY out of a leadership team of approx 15 strong, who show that they care and put words into actions - Good location: Regent St is the epitome of central London and is easy to get to - Generally a very diverse team: however this is where diversity ends, at a very base level. There is no representation outside of the shop floor (see below cons)

- Nepotism: every other manager is ex-Apple, ex-Microsoft, ex-VS… who runs the head of store? An ex Microsoft employee. Only the favourites are allowed to progress - we were sold a lie that there would be development opportunities for all. Out of a starting group of around 150 people, only around 5 have progressed, that’s a 3.33% progression rate. Instead, other hard workers get dismissed, with only full time employees allowed the opportunity to progress. Seems unfair, no? What is the incentive to work part time if this is the case? - Low pay: especially for such a prestigious location in London, where the standard is at least £13/hour, to only be paid £11.95 for a company which claims record breaking growth, is embarrassing. FYI, London Living Wage in 2024 is £13.15/hour. It’s no wonder they can’t afford to pay their staff properly (and seems as if it’s the same problem in HQ having read some reviews on Glassdoor) because instead, they send a very select few to events around the world in premium economy, all expenses paid - including days out to Disneyland! - Double standards: managers turn up to work hungover, make-up running down their face from the night before, stood around on their phones gossiping and sat down whilst on shift, but if we lean on a wall or go to grab water whilst on shift, then we get yelled at. The head of retail constantly complains about activities and the running of the store, yet when she walks in or visits she fails to even say hello to the team. The same applies for the “chiefs” who come in, criticise, take it out on management who then take it out on the team. - Uniform: Can make custom t-shirts and “merch” for teams going to events and give away loads of items like during a team “fashion show” but can’t give their team new uniform after service for a year when it was promised every 6 months at a minimum. As a comparison, Fabletics get new uniform every 3 months. - Favouritism: regarding event attendance and promotions, it’s the same people who are favoured every time. No one is able to put themselves forward because there is no communication or transparency as to how people get picked (other than the assumption that is just the head of store choosing his favourites, which there has been nothing to disprove this theory thus far). Others who have worked hard constantly and consistently are not rewarded, only the favourites - hence team morale is so low. What incentive do people have to work hard if they aren’t rewarded for it? A free Joe and the Juice drink once in a blue moon is not compensation enough for being told to work way above your grade (e.g there is no senior team member in today so you need to act as one and manage people but not be compensated for it). Attendance at events does not reflect the diversity of the team in store, and is always majority white. Even to point where someone who LEFT the store to work in HQ (Solihull) in a different sector, got the opportunity to go an event, over those who have stuck it out in store (again, same point regarding the fact that they have already done events before in their time in store and are white). Even those who have been told by head of retail that they can no longer go to events (as they turned up reeking of booze) are all of a sudden forgiven and allowed to go to the next event with no reprimand. So upsettingly unjust and biased and a slap in the face to those who worked hard and waited for opportunities - just for them to be given to the same people time and time again. - Accountability: when grievances are made, or complaints are filed, nothing is addressed. Management do not want the onus to be on them, and do not hold themselves accountable, so brush all accusations under the rug. Be more transparent with your team and they will trust you more. Communication is non existent. Don’t call us family when you don’t treat us like it.

1 - The people I worked with at the mid and junior levels were fantastic… talented, collaborative, and genuinely supportive. 2 - My immediate team were amazing, we had great camaraderie, which made day-to-day work more bearable despite the many wider issues across the company. 3 - They’re a strong brand externally which looks great on a CV. & can be appealing at face value.

1 - Senior leadership is dominated by a tight-knit group of friends of the CEO, leading to a boys’ club culture with little accountability. 2- A clear lack of diversity and inclusion at the leadership level, very few efforts made to change this. 3 - Employee development, learning, and progression are not priorities; growth opportunities are limited and often driven by favouritism. 4 - Constructive feedback is unwelcome, and there’s a widespread fear of criticism or making mistakes. 5 - “Executive” Level Leadership within the Retail HQ function was aggressive, inconsistent, and highly unprofessional. Consistently playing favourites while sidelining others without justification. I won’t comment on the consistent character traits that made you one of the “in” crowd. 6 - Constant late-night emails, unreasonable expectations, and a lack of psychological safety created a high-stress, low-trust environment. 7 - Overall culture feels toxic and unsustainable, the strong brand image doesn’t match the internal reality.

I feel very at home at Gymshark, this is my 4th year here and I have had continued career growth and development opportunities. I have fantastic autonomy and flexibility in my role. Everyone I interact with is very friendly, i'm able to be myself entirely. Also to mention the perks: Gym on site, free lunches, massages, discount and more!

Things do move fast here which suits me but not for everyone!

Nice working environment Employee benefits

No sure career progression Talent team is crap

The community aspect and team members

Micromanagement, lack of career progression

* Good market recognition * An inclusive environment * Satisfactory side benefits * The motivation that comes from having the opportunity to be part of a growing legend.

* Not paying the best salary in the market for the job done * Consistent changes in top management * Redundencies happening nearly once every 2 year

Young teams Great perks like the gym, brand discounts & meeting international talent in this role. Community brand which is here to stay A real mix of opportunities to take advantage of if you put yourself out there and get known around the business Great in house equipment and new studios.

Being a young company it doesn’t always have the seniority other brands might have in certain positions. So don’t be scared to lead the room and go beyond your role especially if you’re coming in with commercial experience If you’re in the office and live far, at the time of writing motorway roadworks are a factor to consider.

Honestly, reflecting on the last 2 years, I can't think of any. In 2021, when I first joined, I loved this company. Now I am desperate to leave. Enough said.

Leadership - The leadership structure at Gymshark feels heavily focused on visibility and optics. A lot of the time, I genuinely struggle to understand what some senior leaders actually contribute operationally to the business beyond representing it publicly. From my perspective, there is a huge amount of time spent attending social events, networking, travelling, speaking at company functions, or appearing at launches and activations, while the people actually delivering the work day-to-day receive very little recognition. It often feels like the business values perception more than contribution. The people lower down the structure who keep things moving are rarely acknowledged in the same way as those representing the brand externally. Culture - When I first joined Gymshark, the culture genuinely felt strong. Teams supported each other, people cared, and there was a feeling that everyone was building something together. Over time, that culture has changed significantly. - Now, the culture feels manufactured rather than real. A huge amount of money and effort goes into creating highly polished events, internal productions, social moments, and experiences that look great online, but they don’t reflect the reality many employees experience internally. The business is very good at creating content that makes it look like an incredible place to work, but behind that there is a growing disconnect internally. A lot of employees feel undervalued, disconnected, and exhausted. - Leadership talk constantly about culture, but from my experience the actual day-to-day culture within the business has deteriorated massively. Pay, Bonus & Business Priorities - One of the biggest frustrations is the contradiction between how the business spends money and what employees are told internally. - We constantly hear about how successful the business is financially, while at the same time going through redundancies and “restructures” every couple of years. From my understanding, there have been around three major restructures in five years, yet despite that, the business continues spending heavily on large-scale productions, overseas trips, events, and social-media-driven experiences designed to make the company look aspirational externally. - There are regularly situations where 30-40 staff members are flown abroad for launches, activations, or events that are presented as business-critical, when in reality a lot of people attending simply do not need to be there operationally. It feels excessive, especially when employees are simultaneously being told the business needs to save money. The same applies to athlete and influencer spending. Athletes receive huge amounts of free clothing as part of their contracts, much of which ends up being given away on social media. On top of that, events involve gifting athletes expensive products and experiences constantly. We’re talking branded tracksuits, premium apparel, shoes, AirPods Max, Apple accessories, and high-end gifts for 15-20 athletes at a time. Meanwhile internally, employees are being restricted on how they can use their own 50% staff discount. Staff fight for bonuses, basic recognition, or even small morale boosts, while the external-facing side of the business receives endless investment. -Performance Management & Micromanagement Gymshark has a bonus structure linked to performance, but there is no proper performance system behind it. Over the last three years, both old and new People & Performance teams have tried to implement performance structures, but from an employee perspective there still isn’t a clear or measurable framework that people trust. There are no consistent standards, no transparent scoring systems, and very little clarity around what genuinely leads to progression or reward. A lot of it feels subjective and opinion-based. If you are well-liked internally or aligned with the right people, you are generally fine. If you are not, it can feel almost impossible to progress regardless of output or contribution. This creates an environment where micromanagement becomes common because expectations are unclear from the start. Work gets heavily scrutinised, but there is no agreed framework defining success objectively. Bonuses are supposedly performance-based, yet performance itself feels based largely on perception and internal politics. Progression - Progression at Gymshark does not feel merit-based. The phrase “it’s who you know, not what you know” genuinely feels accurate internally. I have seen people move sideways into different director-level roles simply to create the appearance of progression, while lower-level employees struggle for years to get development opportunities or promotions. I have also seen situations where employees returning from long periods away from the business receive promotions while long-serving operational staff remain stuck in the same roles despite consistently delivering. For a company that talks heavily about development and growth, there is very little meaningful investment in helping employees actually build their skillsets or progress in their careers. If anything, it feels like people stagnate. In my opinion, Gymshark is not a strong place to work if your goal is to genuinely learn, improve your craft, and progress based on capability. It is a place where visibility, relationships, and internal perception carry far more weight than actual contribution. Overall - Gymshark is an incredible brand externally. The marketing, branding, events, and social presence are world class. But internally, the experience often feels very different from the image being projected publicly. There is a growing disconnect between what the company says it is and what many employees actually experience day-to-day. - From my perspective, the business has become far more focused on appearances, social media perception, and protecting the brand image than building a healthy internal culture that genuinely values and develops its people. I wouldn’t recommend Gymshark to someone looking for transparency, structured progression, or a people-first working environment. The external image and the internal reality feel very far apart.