The story your brand’s already telling (whether you know it or not)
TL;DR
Gymshark built a billion-dollar empire by unintentionally defining its story before writing a single product description. Your transformation narrative - locked down first - becomes the moat AI can amplify, but never replicate. Here's how to build it...
What Gymshark got right before the billion-dollar valuation
In 2012, a 19-year-old Aston University student named Ben Francis was delivering pizzas by night and building Gymshark by day from his parents' garage in Bromsgrove, England.
He wasn't a designer or an athlete... just a student frustrated that the gym wear he wanted he couldn't afford. So he decided to make it himself.
With help from his grandma - who taught him to sew - he used a small sewing machine to create early prototypes. And within that same year, he and his friend Lewis Morgan launched Gymshark.
Ben Francis, Early Days of Gymshark
No investors. No agencies. No fancy campaigns. No LinkedIn thought leadership posts about 'disrupting the activewear paradigm'
Just ambition and a story people could resonate with.
8 years later, the company was valued at over $1B after investment from General Atlantic.
How? Not because of better fabric or clever ads. Because it embodied something familiar and aspirational -
→ The pursuit of progress → The pride in starting small → The idea that anyone, anywhere, could belong in that story.
The Real Lesson
Ben Francis didn't sit down and write a "brand story" before stitching his first hoodie.
He built a product that solved his own problem - and that problem revealed the story that would define Gymshark.
Gymshark worked because every decision - the community-first marketing, the self-made tone, the underdog energy, all stemmed from its founding frustration.
It's not a manufactured story. (Looking at you, brands with the 'heritage since 2021' in your bio. 👀)
That's the deeper principle for modern brands (especially in the AI era):
Recognize the story that's been there since day one - and build around it relentlessly.
How to Find Your Story
1 / The Spark: The Founding Frustration
What was happening when you started your business? What itch were you trying to scratch? Why did you start?
→ That origin moment often hides your emotional through-line
2 / The Belief: The Transformation Promise
What shift do you help people make - in identity, confidence, or outcome?
→ This is the heartbeat that powers every piece of content
3 / The Alignment: The Proof in Practice
How does your brand show that belief today - in your messaging, design, and decisions?
→ Consistency here turns a story into a moat
Using AI to Help Uncover Your Story
Your story isn't something AI can invent. (I mean, it will try - probably with something about 'passionate entrepreneurs on a mission to revolutionize...')
Your story is likely something you already know, buried beneath years of doing the work, writing proposals at midnight, and explaining to your mom what you actually do for a living.
So instead of asking AI to create, ask it to interview you.
Let it help you uncover the narrative that's been driving your business all along.
Try this prompt:
You are an expert brand strategist and storytelling coach. Your role is to interview me to uncover the authentic story behind my business using this 3-layer framework: 1. The Spark (Origin & Frustration) 2. The Belief (Transformation Promise) 3. The Alignment (Proof in Practice)
Please:
Ask me 5–7 open-ended questions about each layer, one at a time.
Wait for my response after each question.
Help me articulate what inspired my business, what belief drives it, and how that belief shows up in what we do today.
After I’ve answered everything:
1. Identify recurring patterns or emotional themes in my answers.
2. Write a short Brand Core Narrative (3–5 sentences) that summarizes:
The problem or spark that started it all
The transformation or belief at the heart of what we do
How we now express that belief in our actions and message.
3. Ask me follow-up questions to refine it, like:
“Does this feel true to your experience?”
“What’s missing or overstated?”
“How would you say this in your own words?”
Help me surface the story I can later shape into marketing and messaging.
In Closing
Your story already exists.
It's in the frustration that started everything, the belief that's kept you going, and the way that belief shows up each day in what you build.
This week, consider carving out some time to run the prompt above, answer honestly (no corporate speak allowed), and then read your words back and ask: Does this sound like the brand I'm actually building? Or does it sound like everyone else's About page?
Clarity = your most profitable strategy. Also your cheapest. Also the one that actually works.
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That's all for this week :)
Dani
Your competitive edge isn't better AI prompts - it's having a brand strategy your AI can actually execute.
Most companies are throwing random prompts at generic tools - feeding them scattered docs and hoping for something "on brand."
We do it differently: we build your brand foundation first - codifying your positioning, messaging, story, and voice into a living system your AI understands.
The result? Your AI stops acting like an intern and starts performing like your most reliable marketing teammate.
Your team creates content that sounds more like you, moves 3x faster, and never needs another "does this feel on-brand?" review.
Because when AI knows your brand as well as you do, consistency stops being a struggle - and starts becoming your unfair advantage.