Positive Health Online

Charles Tyrwhitt née Nick Wheeler says that ​people often ask him  why he called his business Charles Tyrwhitt. The easy answer is, it sounded better than “Nick Wheeler”. Charles Tyrwhitt are his middle names. It also seemed right to remember his forebear, poor Sir Hercules Tyrwhitt, slain in 1067 on a bridge in Northumbria. If Hercules was prepared to be slain in battle, the least he could do was to name his little shirt company after him. Born in Ludlow, Shropshire, he only ever wanted his own business. He tried his hand at many different disastrous ventures – photography (too claustrophobic in a darkroom); Christmas trees (too seasonal); and bespoke shoes (only ever fitted pixies and clowns). Nothing really worked. Until he started his shirt business in 1986 - from his room at Bristol university.

Charles dedicated the time he should have spent working on his geography degree to selling shirts - by mail. He forked out £99 on 5,000 leaflets, £199 on an Amstrad word processor and little Charles Tyrwhitt was born. Fast forward 35 years and Charles Tyrwhitt has grown from shirts and ties, to everything a man can want. From that single Bristol bedsit, there are now 38 stores and a team of 750 amazing people who make Charles Tyrwhitt what it is today. He is married to Chrissie Rucker, founder and owner of The White Company; they have four children and a menagerie of dogs, horses, sheep, and pigs. He’ll do anything to bring menswear to the fore and once cycled from Land’s End to John O’Groats in full pinstripe, brogues, and a beautiful Egyptian cotton poplin shirt. Charles Tyrwhitt has come a long way from those early days and have achieved much, but it is the next 35 years that really excite him. Charles may be contacted via https://www.charlestyrwhitt.com