Simon Watson

Simon Watson is the Founder and CEO of Watson Gym Equipment.

He turned his ‘hobby’ of building strength training machines and benches from a small garage into the global brand that Watson is today and is still heavily involved in product design and innovation. After leaving school, Simon went into aircraft engineering on military jets including Tornado, Harrier GR5 and the last flying Phantom. Engineering was always a passion as was weight training. He made his first gym equipment when he was 20 years old and set up a small gym in the ‘Tyre Bay’ of the aircraft hanger he was working in. After 2 years of travelling, Simon discovered his love for welding and fabricating and it was through this that the first ideas of manufacturing gym equipment were born.

The company has grown and expanded over the past 25 years and currently employs around 85 people from it’s factories in Frome, Somerset, UK. With a global customer base, Watson Gym Equipment is known for it’s amazing biomechanics, bulletproof designs and industry leading customisation. In 2021 the company won the Queens Award for Enterprise and is proud to manufacture a product that is 100% Made in Britain, backed by a lifetime guarantee.

Simon is also a speaker at Beyond Activ World in Singapore.