The Freetrain vest started as an idea by two former professional footballers as a way of solving that perennial problem of what to do with your mobile phone while playing sport.
But what launched as just a single-product company is now eyeing a slice of the multibillion-pound fitness apparel market by creating a brand new range of clothing.
Co-founders James Wren and Jack Dyer, who first met in 2011 while playing for Burton Albion FC, have spent the past two years working on the products and have now brought them to the UK market.
Called ‘The Emergence’ as a nod to the company’s “emergence as a brand”, according to Mr Wren, it features 22 different items for men and women including leggings, sports bras, gilets, T-shirts and shorts.
They will be sold online alongside the firm’s core vest product and other items Freetrain has developed in recent years including hats, gloves and a recently launched hydro vest which has room to carry both a mobile phone and water bottle.
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Speaking exclusively to BusinessLive, Mr Wren said the plan had always been for the firm to diversify into other areas, with the new collection aimed at all different types of sports.
“We knew that one product wasn’t going to keep the company going forever and it was always the plan to make our mark with a single product and then diversify into other areas,” he said.
“But with covid and a few other hiccoughs here and there, this has taken us a lot longer than we wanted it to.
“We have had a bit of a backlog in terms of products and it feels like an exciting time now where we have one thing releasing after another. This new collection comprises all the essential training gear.
“The design process has been a collaborative effort and reflects mine and Jack’s inspirations. It’s always been important to us that the products we put out are a representation of what we like and believe in.
“The one thing we tried to do and which has probably slowed us down is the range being around 73 per cent sustainable so it contains recycled or organic materials.”
The design of the company’s original product, the Freetrain vest, is based on the GPS trackers which footballers wear to monitor their movements during training and is aimed predominantly at runners.
It has pockets on the shoulders for small items while the mobile phone sits centrally on the chest, solving the ‘unbalanced’ feel of carrying it in an arm band or bouncing around in a bum bag.
The co-founders used their own savings to develop designs while also working as personal trainers and football coaches, with Mr Dyer’s grandmother knitting the first prototype cut out of an old T-shirt.
The first iteration was launched to market in 2017 since when it has garnered fans around the world, including being seen on the likes of Premier League footballers Paul Pogba and Virgil van Dijk and Coronation Street actor Colson Smith.
The company has grown from just four staff 18 months ago, all based remotely, to now employing ten, including a social media manager and in-house designer, and has even opened its own office in Aldridge, affectionately nicknamed The Bunker.
Revenue is climbing steadily from £4.1 million in 2020, boosted by a spike in people taking up running because of the covid lockdowns, to a projected £5.7 million for 2022.
But until now more than 90 per cent of that turnover has come solely from vest sales, around 300,000 units to be precise, sold both domestically and in countries such as Australia, Germany and the US.
Mr Wren said all profits had been put back into the business to fund development of the Emergence range, meaning they have staved off having to take on external funding or bring in new shareholders.
He added: “For the minute, we are keeping the new collection solely for the UK. It’s still a learning curve for us at this point so we really wanted to understand this market first and get this absolutely spot on.
“Maybe in a couple of years we can start looking further afield. We are actually planning at least two more collection drops of apparel this year.
“Trainers and footwear is something that could be on the horizon but we want to get this right first and then we will assess this later on
“Any sports brand worth their salt has to expand across all manner of sports and sporting items.”