Meet Chris Ackroyd | Founder of ColorCoded Workwear

Meet Chris Ackroyd

Founder of ColorCoded Workwear | Helping Businesses Buy Branded Workwear Properly

If there's one thing I've learned throughout my life, it's this:

Never let somebody else decide what you're capable of.

My name is Chris Ackroyd, founder of ColorCoded Workwear, and for most of my life I've been trying to prove that hard work, honesty and quality still matter.

Today, I spend my time helping businesses across the UK buy branded workwear properly. But the lessons that shaped how I run ColorCoded Workwear started long before I embroidered my first polo shirt.

Growing Up

I was born in Cape Town, South Africa, in 1977 to English parents who had emigrated there several years earlier.

My early childhood was spent enjoying an outdoor lifestyle in one of the most beautiful places in the world before our family returned to the UK in 1986.

Moving from the sunshine of Cape Town to the middle of a Yorkshire winter was certainly an experience. Looking back, that transition taught me one of the first lessons that has stayed with me throughout my life:

You adapt, you learn and you keep moving forward.

Learning The Value Of Hard Work

From the age of 14, I spent my school holidays working for my father's paving business.

It wasn't always easy.

I experienced criticism, pressure and challenges that would probably be described differently today than they were back then.

But those experiences taught me some invaluable lessons:

hard work matters,
resilience matters,
respect has to be earned,
and nobody else gets to decide when you give up.

After leaving school, I joined the family business full-time and eventually found myself managing teams of more than 20 people on construction sites across the UK.

Looking back, this was where I first learned something I still believe today:

People don't follow titles. They follow people they trust.

Never Let Anybody Tell You "No"

In my early twenties, I joined the oil industry and worked offshore in the North Sea.

On my first trip offshore, an experienced worker told me that I'd never progress very far and that those opportunities no longer existed.

Eighteen months later, I'd proven him wrong.

I progressed from roustabout duties to working on the drill floor, covering specialist positions and learning every aspect of the operation that I could.

The experience taught me a lesson that has stayed with me throughout my life and business career:

Never let somebody else decide what you're capable of achieving.

Looking For More

Throughout my career, I've always looked for opportunities to learn, improve and challenge myself.

I've worked in construction, manufacturing, sales, business development and specification sales, meeting architects and businesses throughout the UK.

What I learned during those years was simple:

People buy from people.

Not from websites.

Not from brochures.

Not from sales pitches.

From people they trust.

Why I Started ColorCoded

In 2016, I discovered the branded workwear industry.

After visiting trade shows, speaking with suppliers and learning more about the sector, I purchased my first embroidery machine in December 2016 and founded ColorCoded.

I quickly realised something that still frustrates me today.

Too many businesses were being sold branded workwear based on one thing:

Price.

Not quality.

Not comfort.

Not durability.

Not long-term value.

Price.

I decided from day one that ColorCoded Workwear would be different.

Quality Over Price

One of the first things I did when starting ColorCoded Workwear was order what many people considered to be one of the industry's best-selling budget polo shirts.

I hated it.

The fit was poor.

The fabric felt uncomfortable.

And I remember thinking: