Build a fitness business from strength to strength

For Steven Rinaldi, the path to becoming CEO of a multimillion-pound company has not been easy, and it certainly hasn’t been traditional.

From moving out of his home at just 15 to rent a bedsit above a Chinese karaoke restaurant in Glasgow, and working as an underage doorman, he tried many other jobs before finding his true calling as the founder and CEO of PRIMAL STRENGTH, which designs and manufactures high-end and innovative weight training equipment for both commercial and residential gyms.

Founded in 2016, PRIMAL is one of the fastest-growing strength and fitness brands in the UK and has already embarked on an expansion drive across Europe, the Middle East, and South Africa. In 2022, PRIMAL sold 36,500 pairs of dumbbells, nearly 50,000 weight plates, and kitted out more than 700 gyms. Annual turnover surpassed £20m.

The company has designed and fitted state-of-the-art facilities for leading athletes, including two-time World’s Strongest Man Tom Stoltman and newly crowned Olympia Men’s Physique champion Ryan Terry, and for major sports teams, including Scottish Premier League sides Rangers and Celtic (as you can see from the shirts hanging in the background of Rinaldi’s office, he would have almost certainly fitted the Bhoys for free!), and has worked with gym chains including JD Gyms and UFC Gyms.

In an in-depth conversation with Unfiltered editor-in-chief Joe Warner, Rinaldi opens up on PRIMAL’s origin story and how – in just seven years – it has become one of the UK’s most respected fitness brands. He also details the company’s aggressive growth plans for the coming years, with acquisitions being a key part of the expansion picture, reveals how PRIMAL plans to stay innovative and nimble as it becomes an established global player in the gym equipment game, and explains why the people you choose to work with on ambitious projects are as important as any other element to the ongoing success of your business. PRIMALSTRENGTH.COM