TOWIE’s Tommy Mallet makes Forbes 30 under 30… after making millions from his footwear brand

TOWIE star Tommy Mallet has made it onto the Forbes 30 under 30 European List after making millions with his successful footwear company, Mallet London

The reality star turned fashion mogul, 28, was featured on the business magazine’s Retail & Ecommerce list which was officially announced on Thursday. 

Tommy launched his trainer brand in 2015 and has made more than £11million in sales as of 2020, with celebrity fans including Drake, Olly Murs, Will.i.am, Craig David and Eve. 

‘Honoured to be chosen’: TOWIE star Tommy Mallet has made it onto the Forbes 30 under 30 European List after making millions with his successful footwear company, Mallet London

Hailing the TOWIE star’s accomplishment on their website, Forbes shared a snap of Tommy and wrote in the accompanying bio: ‘Tommy Mallet left school due to dyslexia with no qualifications and he worked as a carpenter before becoming a reality TV star. 

‘The sneakerhead channeled his passion into his own footwear line in 2015, and the business clocked GBP 11.8 million in sales in 2020 with its shoes and apparel stocked in over 150 stores around the world.’ 

Celebrating the achievement on his own social media page, Tommy shared a screenshot from the magazine website and penned: ‘Honoured to be chosen for the Forbes 30 under 30 list!! FORBES LIST YOU KNOW [crying laughing emoji] Thank you @forbes [hands raised emoji].’ 

Sneakers: The reality star turned fashion mogul, 28, was featured on the business magazine's Retail & Ecommerce list which was officially announced on Thursday

Sneakers: The reality star turned fashion mogul, 28, was featured on the business magazine’s Retail & Ecommerce list which was officially announced on Thursday

His pregnant girlfriend and fellow TOWIE star Georgia Kousoulou congratulated him on his success. 

She said on his Instagram post: ‘How lucky is our baby, he has you teaching him & showing him the world ❤️’.

Maniere De Voir creator Reece Wabara, 29, also made it onto the list in addition to Lounge Underwear founders Daniel, 29, and Melanie Marsden, 28, whose clothing is worn by a host of celebrities including Love Island’s Molly Smith. 

Tommy was inspired to create own brand after being teased over his cheap trainers as a teenager. 

Forbes: Tommy launched his trainer brand in 2015 and has made more than £11million in sales as of 2020, with celebrity fans including Drake, Olly Murs, Will.i.am, Craig David and Eve

Forbes: Tommy launched his trainer brand in 2015 and has made more than £11million in sales as of 2020, with celebrity fans including Drake, Olly Murs, Will.i.am, Craig David and Eve

Celebration: Tommy shared a screenshot on Instagram from the magazine website and expressed gratitude while his pregnant partner Georgia Kousoulou congratulated him

Celebration: Tommy shared a screenshot on Instagram from the magazine website and expressed gratitude while his pregnant partner Georgia Kousoulou congratulated him

‘I’m not going to lie, it didn’t make me feel good at all,’ Tommy told FEMAIL in 2018. ‘But at the end of the day everyone goes through hard times. Not being able to afford them made me want to push forward and prove to not only them, but also to myself, that I could get to where I wanted to be, and be even more than that!

‘I feel like at one point in my life I definitely could have had the potential to go down the wrong path but ultimately, I knew that I wanted to do things the right way and to succeed. So staying on the right track was important to me.’ 

Tommy – who has never attended university – also turned his lack of qualifications into a positive as he knew he’d have to work hard if he wanted to be more than a carpenter – a job he did for three years.  

‘In the back of my head I’ve always known that I didn’t have anything like GCSEs and I knew that I needed to push myself harder because of this, but I wouldn’t say it got me down. It actually motivated me to become more successful,’ he explained. 

Tommy decided to put pen to paper and design his own footwear in 2015 as he wanted to create an ‘evening’ sneaker using high quality materials at an affordable price. 

‘When I was younger I never had enough money to buy a pair of trainers that I genuinely liked because they were all so expensive, so I put pen to paper and decided to design something similar,’ he recalled. 

‘At the time, I had a friend who was working in the industry and he agreed to make me the pair from my initial design. They actually came out great and it was from there that we decided to partner up and to make Mallet London 

Sizzling: Lounge Underwear founders Daniel, 29, and Melanie Marsden, 28, whose clothing is worn by a host of celebrities including Love Island's Molly Smith (pictured) also made it onto the list

Sizzling: Lounge Underwear founders Daniel, 29, and Melanie Marsden, 28, whose clothing is worn by a host of celebrities including Love Island’s Molly Smith (pictured) also made it onto the list