Leeds ex-military entrepreneur talks Primal Gym’s success six months on

Last December, a Leeds ex-military fitness entrepreneur Philip Wright launched a new independent “results-driven” gym after investing £500k in a 10,500 sq ft Leeds Dock site, which created 30 new jobs in the process.

Primal Gym became the first gym of its kind in the UK where the more its members exercise the less they pay due to a unique results-based reward scheme.

Members are given upto £10 off each month when they achieve their fitness targets via a clear goal-setting points system.

Philip Wright, who previously served 7 years in the British Army as an Arabic interpreter serving in Afghanistan and Iraq, recently spoke with Bdaily about how the first six months of running Primal Gym has been, and if this new business strategy has been a success.

1.Before opening Primal Gym, you served 7 years in the British Army. Did you have any experience running a business, or previous work in a business environment before joining the armed forces?

“Prior to my time in the forces I had zero experience running a business shortly after leaving (2008) I set up a bootcamp and fitness training provider company (training the trainers) which has since evolved and become part of what now is the gym.”

2. When did you first start thinking about running your own gym and when did the idea start becoming a very strong possibility?

“The opportunity for creating a gym arrived back in 2013 when I was invited into the vision by co-directors Darren Faulkner and Craig Megretton. It was an absolute dream to be invited into the concept and merging my existing businesses into the vision allowed me to commit wholly. The initial concepts evolved from a small personal training studio into a larger facility as we realised the opportunity and vision of the landlords; Allied London down at Leeds Dock.”

3. So now you’ve been a gym owner for the past six months, how is the business now?

“The business is going well. We’ve got a fantastic team who run the facility and an incredibly loyal membership who have both helped us shape how it runs.”

4. What have your biggest trials and learning curves been since opening primal gym?

“The greatest learning curves have been understanding how best to communicate what we do in a meaningful way. It sounds like such a simple thing but with our concept being very different to a standard gym or fitness facility, learning how best to explain this has been really interesting and is very much evolving. That said and despite the big differences between standard gym models and ourselves, people seem to understand it very quickly.”

5.What does the future hold for Primal Gym?

“The future is really exciting! Firstly, it’s very much building on the great foundation we’ve made within the first 6 months. Our membership is a community and whilst we do have a limit on how many members we want, our community is very much welcoming in more like minded people at the minute. We’ve got so many exciting projects coming up, the next big one being Primal Stampede which is Leeds’ First Urban Obstacle Race down at Leeds Dock which we’re doing in partnership and support of The Jane Tomlinson Appeal and Cash For Kids. Beyond the immediate future, who knows…maybe a couple more Primal Gyms further in the future.”

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