At 17, Joel Primus looked like one of Canada’s next great middle-distance runners in the 1500 and 3000 meters. He had represented his country at the World Youth Championshipsearned a full college scholarship and qualified for the World Cross Country Championships. But behind the accolades, his health was declining. The obsessive pursuit of peak performance left him weak, only 117 pounds, anorexic and often injured. “I won races, but lost my health,” Primus reflects. “On paper it seemed like a success, but inside I was falling apart.”
Years later, the same story repeated itself in another arena. This time it was as a startup founder, who put everything into building Naked, the brand that was eventually made public on the website NASDAQ. The relentless grind caught up with him, landing him in the hospital twice. That chapter became the basis of his memoirs, Getting naked: The basic necessities of entrepreneurship and start-ups.
Now that he is almost forty, Primus is in a different place, stronger, healthier and more balanced than he has ever been. He lives on a farm with his wife and three daughters and has created a life rooted in discipline, wellness and purpose. His new venture, Naked revivalreflects that journey: a brand committed not only to premium essentials, but also to helping men regain vitality through conscious living.
Primus’ training approach is simple but uncompromising: always be prepared to climb a mountain with weight on your back, both physically and mentally. The training is not about chasing an aesthetic ideal or even preparing for a specific competition. Instead, they are about building durability, strength and resilience. “My training is not about being ready for a specific event,” he explains. “It’s about being prepared for anything.”
His routine combines functional strength, conditioning and mental toughness, often blending natural elements into the mix. He runs in the hottest part of the day, endures battle rope sessions in the rain and does hill sprints in freezing weather. “Nature has a way of training you better than a gym ever could,” he says. This philosophy extends beyond the training itself. He often exercises barefoot, avoids distractions such as music or podcasts, and values consistency over constant novelty. It’s not about enjoying themselves; it is to build resilience.
His weekly structure is simple but demanding. On Monday the emphasis is on pulling and sled pushing, building strength and explosive conditioning. Tuesdays combine Norwegian-style VO₂ max intervals with high-rep deadlifts, combining endurance and endurance. Wednesdays focus on agility and arms through heavy jumping rope and circuits.
Thursdays shift to sprinting and plyometrics, while Fridays emphasize rowing, push-ups and high-volume lunges. Saturdays bring what he calls “Farm Strongman” days, where he drags, carries and hauls anything heavy, from sandbags to logs, before ending the week with a steady long run on Sunday.
The benefits go beyond just muscle and endurance. Each training strengthens his mental framework, strengthening discipline and perseverance. “It keeps me consistent,” he says. “While I vary the weight, intensity and duration, I don’t have to reinvent my training every season. It’s about showing up, doing the work, and progress is made from there.”
Just as important as training is recovery. Supplementation and nutrition, cold dips, sauna sessions, breathwork and mobility will keep him resilient while reducing stress. It is a methodology designed to preserve the body, not break it. “Maximizing my performance on any given day, especially as I get older, is the real goal,” says Primus. “The body is a vessel. Now that I’ve seen what happens when the body doesn’t get what it needs, I know that as an entrepreneur, parent or athlete, you have to take care of it holistically.”
That nutritional philosophy extends to the way Primus and his family live off the land. He eats a diet rich in wild game, much of which is harvested with his cousin Ryan, with whom he also co-hosts a rewilding show. “He’s a much better hunter than I am,” Primus admits. Seasonal eating is central to their household, with fresh vegetables from the family garden and free-range eggs from their flock of chickens, both managed by his wife. “She’s a much better farmer than I am,” he adds. The result is a lifestyle where training, recovery and nutrition all flow naturally from the rhythms of the land and the seasons.
This mentality carries over into Naked Revival. The brand is built on the same principles that guide its routine: simplicity, integrity and sustainability. It rejects gimmicks in favor of substance, just as its workouts avoid flash in favor of consistency. Farm life, mountains and discipline all determine the culture behind the company.
Primus has experienced extremes: from forcing his body to collapse as an athlete, to slowly rebuilding it through conscious living. Are workout routine is not just exercise; it is a philosophy that comes from those experiences. For him, discipline is not punishment; it is freedom.
For those who want to experience his philosophy firsthand, Primus now offers his complete training program online. Designed with the same balance of functional strength, endurance and resilience that guides his own life, the program makes his disciplined approach accessible to anyone, anywhere. Whether you’re an athlete, entrepreneur, or simply looking for vitality, his online training provides a practical framework for building strength and balance from the ground up.
That lesson is now at the heart of Naked Revival, where the mission extends far beyond products. It’s about creating a blueprint for men to build strength, vitality and balance in every area of life.
M&F and the editorial staff were not involved in the creation of this content.
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