Ben Francis has been named as one of the biggest taxpayers in the UK - and is the youngest of the top 100 list.
The chief executive of athletics and leisure brand, Gymshark, appeared in 93rd place in the Sunday Times Tax List, released on Friday, thanks to his contribution to the public finances standing at £11.6 million.
The 30-year-old came from humble beginnings, starting his £1.25billon empire sewing his own gym clothes from his parents' garage in Bromsgrove, near Birmingham.
Just last month he was awarded an MBE in the New Year Honours List for services to commerce and economy - and again was the youngest of those recognised.
The university drop-out owns 70 per cent of Gymshark, which was valued at £1.25bn by the Sunday Times last year, giving him an estimated fortune of about £875m.
This makes him the 191st richest person in the UK and the third richest person aged 30 or under. But how did it all begin?
Ben was just 19 when he asked his parents if he could set up shop in their garage designing clothes he'd sketched up in his bedroom.
The young entrepreneur asked his grandmother - a curtain maker - to teach him how to sew, before investing in his own machine to create his clothes, while studying full-time.
Whilst at Aston University, where he was an international business and management student, he teamed up with school friend, Lewis Morgan, and Gymshark was born.
He said the idea was founded from his own frustrations over gym clothes that were uncomfortable, and ill-fitting with seams that caused irritation.
When he was a student, he worked nights at Pizza Hut, and built two iPhone fitness apps - Fat Loss Abs Guide and iPhysique - and started selling supplements as a side hustle.
He used his £5 an hour salary at Pizza Hut and the £1,000 profit from his supplements business to invest in a screen printer and sewing machine.
Together with co-founder Lewis, the duo started attending body building exhibitions to help raise their profile.
They started using social media influencers, teaming up with YouTube body builders, Nikki Blackketter and Lex Griffin, to increase exposure.
Ben dropped out of university in 2012 and quit his job at Pizza Hut to focus on the company full-time.
He later admitted his time in education gave him "a strong foundation on which to build a business".
In 2013, Ben exhibited Gymshark's products at the BodyPower fitness trade show in Birmingham.
After the trade show ended, a tracksuit went viral on Facebook, generating £30,000 in sales within 30 minutes.
As sales took off, Gymshark moved to a unit in Moons Moat Industrial Estate, Redditch, before relocating to its current headquarters in Blythe Valley Park, Solihull.
In 2015, Ben stepped down as CEO of the company and is now the chief executive officer.
Speaking in his own blog, he admitted the work was often overwhelming and said it was important for him to set his ego aside to "put the business first".
The company reached new heights when in 2020, Gymshark secured investment from the US private equity firm General Atlantic, raising the brand’s value to £1bn and attaining the prized status of being a 'unicorn' startup.
Ben was named in the list of the UK's biggest taxpayers alongside Wetherspoon boss Tim Martin and Sports Direct founder Mike Ashley.
Russian-born billionaire Alex Gerko took the top spot from betting tycoon Denise Coates.
Gerko, 42, who founded trading company XTX Markets in 2015, paid an estimated £487.4million in tax. This is up from the £117.4million he paid the previous year, when he ranked in tenth place.
The Coates family were the second biggest taxpayers this year, down from first place in 2022, having forked out £460.2million.
In third place was Stephen Rubin and family, owners of sport and fashion brands Speedo, Kickers and Berghaus, who paid £392.3million in tax.
