In the quiet industrial edges of Fairford, a small gym built over five years around a shared name now waits to learn whether that name is still its own. Across the table sits a sportswear empire that began in a family garage, and the two founders, both 34, share a birth year but little else of the path ahead. Here a dispute over words, what a name may claim and who may claim it, becomes a measure of how a modest business is weighed against a fortune. The verdict will come from the UK Intellectual Property Office, and it will say something about whether a community's name can survive being noti
Gymshark Pursues Trademark on 'The Conditioning Club', Threatening a Small Gloucestershire Gym
John Watson's small business, with nine staff and about 500 members, faces losing its name and growing legal costs funded partly by crowdfunding.
Gymshark can afford a prolonged trademark battle, says a gym owner with 500 members
Mark
Why does a trademark dispute over a gym name deserve attention?
Mimi
Because of the mismatch in resources. Watson has nine staff, three self-employed trainers and about 500 members. His legal costs are heading toward £30,000.
Mark
And Gymshark's position?
Mimi
It says The Conditioning Club is too generic to be protected, and it wants his original registration invalidated.
Luke
That's an argument Gymshark has made in the proceedings. Nobody has ruled on it yet, so it shouldn't be read as established.
Mark
The piece points out that Gymshark holds Lifting Club registrations. Does that settle anything?
Luke
No. It's a notable comparison, but each application is judged on its own, and we don't know how the UKIPO will treat it.
Mimi
It does show the company values names of that style enough to register them.
Mark
Gymshark didn't apply in Watson's fitness category, though.
Mimi
Right, but one application shares a class with his because he sells branded gear. That overlap is what drew him in.
Luke
Also, the £5,000 raised and the £30,000 in costs are Watson's figures, and we haven't heard Gymshark's side. It declined to comment.
Mark
So what are we waiting for?
Mimi
The UKIPO's decision on the opposition and the invalidity claim.
Il Polso
- Gymshark has applied to register The Conditioning Club, a name a Fairford gym has held as its own for five years.
- The gym's founder opposed the application, and Gymshark countered by arguing the name is too generic to deserve protection.
- Nearly 18 months of filings and hearings have pushed legal bills toward £30,000, with a crowdfunding appeal raising just over £5,000.
- The founder says he is willing to reach a sensible agreement, while the outcome now rests with a UK IP Office ruling that could decide whether the gym keeps its name.
- Gymshark has declined to comment, leaving the small gym's nine staff and roughly 500 members waiting on a decision.
In the quiet industrial edges of Fairford, a small gym built over five years around a shared name now waits to learn whether that name is still its own. Across the table sits a sportswear empire that began in a family garage, and the two founders, both 34, share a birth year but little else of the path ahead. Here a dispute over words, what a name may claim and who may claim it, becomes a measure of how a modest business is weighed against a fortune. The verdict will come from the UK Intellectual Property Office, and it will say something about whether a community's name can survive being noticed by someone larger.
On an industrial estate in Fairford, The Conditioning Club serves about 500 members through the work of nine staff and three self-employed trainers. Its founder, John Watson, is waiting on a ruling from the UK Intellectual Property Office that will decide whether he keeps the name he built his business on.
The other party is Gymshark, the sportswear company that began in a family garage and is now valued at around £1bn. Last March it applied to register Conditioning Club and The Conditioning Club as trademarks across clothing, retail and entertainment. Watson had registered the name for gym and fitness services five years earlier, and although Gymshark did not apply in that fitness category, one of its applications overlaps with the branded clothing Watson has sold for years. He opposed the application and tried to extend his own protection into retail, a step he had not thought to take when he began. Gymshark responded by seeking to invalidate his original registration, arguing the name is too generic to be distinctive.
The dispute has now run for almost 18 months, and the cost falls hardest on the smaller side. Watson's legal bills are nearing £30,000, and a CrowdJustice appeal has raised just over £5,000. He speaks of five years spent building members, staff, premises and relationships with local schools and sports clubs. He never expected to defend his name against a company that also started modestly, and he calls the imbalance deeply intimidating, a true David and Goliath. Still, he says he is willing to reach a sensible arrangement.
The case sits uneasily beside Gymshark's public image, including recent donations to a burned-down Redditch gym and an Olympic hopeful. Gymshark declined to comment. The decision now belongs to the UKIPO, and it will determine whether a five-year-old gym in Fairford keeps its name.
On an industrial estate in the Gloucestershire town of Fairford, a gym called The Conditioning Club serves about 500 members. It is run by nine staff and three self-employed personal trainers. Its founder, John Watson, is now waiting on a ruling from the UK Intellectual Property Office that could decide whether he gets to keep the name he built the business on.
The other party is Gymshark, the British sportswear company that started in a family garage and is now described as a £1bn firm. Its founder, Ben Francis, is 34, the same age as Watson. He dropped out of university, began sewing his own gym clothes at his parents' home, and is estimated to be worth £800m. Last March, Gymshark applied to register both Conditioning Club and The Conditioning Club as trademarks, covering classes of goods and services that include clothing, retail and entertainment.
Watson had registered the name with the UKIPO five years ago for gym and fitness services. Gymshark did not apply in that fitness category, but one of its applications falls in the same class as Watson's, because he has sold branded gear for several years. Watson opposed the application in the class he had registered. He also applied to extend his own trademark to cover classes such as retail, which Gymshark had applied for and which he had not thought to register when he set up the business.
Gymshark opposed him in turn. It also asked the UKIPO to invalidate his original registration, arguing that The Conditioning Club is descriptive, essentially too generic and not distinctive enough to qualify for trademark protection. The Guardian notes that Gymshark itself holds multiple trademark registrations for the similarly generic brand Lifting Club.
The dispute has now run for almost 18 months, and the cost is mounting for the smaller side. Watson's legal bills are approaching £30,000. He has launched a CrowdJustice campaign, which has raised just over £5,000.
"When I registered our name, I thought I had done what I needed to do to protect us," Watson says. He describes five years of building members, employees, premises, and relationships with schools and sports clubs, a local community gathered around the name. He says he never expected to defend it against a company like Gymshark, which also began humbly, and that he had once looked to Francis as proof of what a small UK fitness business could achieve. He calls the financial imbalance "deeply intimidating" and the situation "very David and Goliath", adding that Gymshark can afford a prolonged fight. He says he is willing to agree a sensible arrangement.
The case sits awkwardly beside the image Gymshark has cultivated. Francis founded the company in 2012. In 2020 the US private equity firm General Atlantic took a stake, giving the company a valuation of £1.25bn and making it a "unicorn". Francis became a multimillionaire in his twenties and received an MBE for services to commerce and the economy at 30. Earlier this week Gymshark gave £10,000 to the owner of a Redditch gym that burned down. It has also donated almost £9,000 to a British long jumper who had to work as a delivery driver to keep training for the Olympics.
Gymshark declined to comment on the trademark dispute. The outcome now rests with the UKIPO, whose decision will determine whether a five-year-old gym in Fairford keeps its name.
Citazioni salienti
It feels deeply intimidating, the financial imbalance between us is enormous. It is a very David and Goliath situation.— John Watson, founder of The Conditioning Club
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