Heaton founded 247 in 2020 as a small capsule of performance tops and track pants under the Represent brand (sold on Represent’s website), just as consumers shifted spend to performance wear and athleisure. Building his own fitness alongside the brand, Heaton has run ultramarathons, competed in cult fitness tournament Hyrox and appeared on the cover of Men’s Health in the last few years, regularly posting fitness content to his 256,000 followers in head-to-toe 247.
“At Nike and Adidas, I spent a long time trying to really tap into fitness and sports communities authentically. It’s actually really tough when you’re part of a massive global corporation,” Shotton says. “Which is what at Represent we do very naturally and organically, through the lens of George and our athletes, we tap into these communities in an organic way.”
Heaton says 247’s recent growth spurt is down to its alignment with Hyrox, the functional fitness and running competition that’s become a global phenomenon. While mainstream sportswear players continue to tap athletes, and challengers like Alo and On go for celebrities such as the Jenners or Zendaya, 247 has focused on Hyrox champions like Michael Sandbach as brand ambassadors, alongside Heaton.
“Hyrox is so transitional, it’s not just running and it’s not just lifting. You’re getting athletes coming in from CrossFit, you’re getting athletes coming in from bodybuilding, you’re getting runners coming in. So we’re able to cross all those different sports and not have to get pigeonholed into one thing,” says Heaton. “We’ve got some of the best guys in Hyrox and they’re doing it ‘247’. We’re so genuine and authentic to that sport that it really catapults us into all types of markets as well.”
“We’ve done so well to connect to Hyrox, via George’s [participation] and working with Hyrox athletes. If you attend now, you see so much 247 on the floor,” Shotton says. “Also, with ultramarathons, the bigger brands, they’re sort of putting teams in place to really try and tap into communities like that. Whereas we’ve done it organically.”
247 also launched a free fitness app during the pandemic, featuring Heaton’s workouts, alongside ambassadors like Sandbach and famous trainer Jake Dearden. This mirrors the brand’s work culture: Represent HQ, located just outside of Manchester, has a gym and holds optional daily workouts, morning and evening for staff.
