Founder, Owner, Trainer, and Nutritionist

PrimalX Fitness founder and owner Stephen McDonald was born and bred in Sallynoggin. Passionate about sports and martial arts from an early age he always dreamt about opening his own gym. Coming from a disadvantaged area, life steered him away from fitness education and active lifestyle towards an early employment in the bar industry. His life took a dangerous turn. Unhealthy food choices led by convenience and a prolonged party lifestyle resulted in serious health problems. Stephen was diagnosed with a cancerous tumour in his colon in 2012. The procedure albeit successful did not give an ‘all-clear’. It was the final wake-up call.  Stephen quit the bar job in pursuit of his calling- the fitness career. He pledged to help others avoid his fate. Driven by this strong purpose he applied himself to extensive education and training and in 2014, together with his partner Dora, launched PrimalX Fitness Community Club with just a handful of members. His first ever client was his own sister who lost 3 stone in just 3 months and successfully maintained her healthier weight to this day.

 ‘The secret is to listen’ says Stephen. ‘To achieve tangible and lasting results you must be willing to dig deep to uncover the real emotional motivation for change. People understand that bad food and lifestyle choices lead to weight gain, but it is the emotions and impulses behind these bad choices that drive it. From my own experience I knew that real results can only come from an honest look at oneself and the circumstances that led to weight gain. Therefore, it was always our number one priority to develop a culture that nurtured vulnerability. I wanted to create an environment where our members felt comfortable to share their story and allow us to get to the root of their problems. We have captured it in our first ever culture statement: no egos, no fears, no excuses.’

SIX YEARS ON

With the word of Stephen’s successful approach to sustainable results spreading fast in the local area his business grew from a handful of members in 2014 to over a 100 in 2017. That year Stephen’s childhood dream has come true and he finally opened his own boutique style gym in Sallynoggin. He surrounded himself with talented coaches and PrimalX
Fitness went from strength to strength.

Thanks to hard work, effective fitness programmes and strong fitness community the team built, the gym won The Best Fitness Programme Award at the Irish Fitness Industry Award in 2018, and in 2019. 

‘We have always been and always will be a result-driven gym. It is a truly rewarding experience to get a recognition for the work and the commitment to getting local community fitter, healthier and happier. When people ask me ‘How we do we it? I reply: ‘one-by-one!’ We have some amazing success stories with Sinead who lost 7 stone, Tom and Shauna who lost 2 stone each. They are inspiration to us all. Their secret is PERFORMANCE GOALS. We focus on getting them fitter, stronger, faster, and more resilient and the weight loss is just a side effect. Our members obsess about personal bests and not weighing scales!’ 

YEAR 2020

As Sallynoggin reached its full capacity in 2019, Stephen opened a second boutique style facility in Monkstown in early 2020.

 Despite the challenging 2020 year the PrimalX Fitness team led the gyms to win multiple awards.

 The incredibly special South Dublin Business All-Star Community Gym 2021 Accreditation elevated Primalx Fitness to industry leaders. This independently verified standard mark for businesses is rewarded based on rigorous selection criteria to include performance, trust, and customer centricity.

 For the highest standards and our unique offering, we are also proud recipients of the EU Business News’ Irish Enterprise Award for Best Fitness Training Centre in Dublin.

 Our ongoing commitment to effective fitness programming has also been recognised and PrimalX Fitness was awarded Best Fitness Programme Award at the Irish Fitness Industry Awards 2020 for the third year running.

 THE MEANING BEHIND THE PRIMALX FITNESS CULTURE STATEMENT

NO EGOS- we embrace a culture of utmost respect, humility, and vulnerability where coaches and members can always be open and honest without a fear of hurting each other’s feelings. This creates a nourishing
environment for self-improvement. NO FEARS- we empower our members with confidence and brazenness necessary to realise their full potential. NO EXCUSES- there is no room for excuses in PrimalX Fitness culture that embraces full ownership of our results and lifestyle choices.

 PRIMALX FITNESS BRAND PURPOSE
To improve the quality of life in local communities.

Our story

PrimalX Fitness founder and owner Stephen McDonald was born and bred in Sallynoggin. Passionate about sports and martial arts from an early age he always dreamt about opening his own gym. Coming from a disadvantaged area, life steered him away from fitness education and active lifestyle towards an early employment in the bar industry. His life took a dangerous turn. Unhealthy food choices led by convenience and a prolonged party lifestyle resulted in serious health problems. Stephen was diagnosed with a cancerous tumour in his colon in 2012. The procedure albeit successful did not give an ‘all-clear’. It was the final wake-up call.  Stephen quit the bar job in pursuit of his calling- the fitness career. He pledged to help others avoid his fate. Driven by this strong purpose he applied himself to extensive education and training and in 2014 launched PrimalX Fitness Community Club with just a handful of members. His first ever client was his own sister who lost 3 stone in just 3 months and successfully maintained her healthier weight to this day.

‘The secret is to listen’ says Stephen. ‘To achieve tangible and lasting results you must be willing to dig deep to uncover the real emotional motivation for change. People understand that bad food and lifestyle choices lead to weight gain but it’ the emotions and impulses behind these bad choices that drive it. From my own experience I knew that real results can only come from an honest look at oneself and the circumstances that led to weight gain. Therefore, it was always our number one priority to develop a culture that nurtured vulnerability. I wanted to create an environment where our members felt comfortable to
share their story and allow us to get to the root of their problems. We have captured it in our first ever culture statement: no egos, no fears, no excuses.’

The meaning behind the PrimalX Fitness culture statement- NO EGOS- we embrace a culture of utmost respect, humility and vulnerability where coaches and members can always be open and honest without a fear of hurting each other’s feelings. This creates a nourishing
environment for self-improvement. NO FEARS- we empower our members with confidence and brazenness necessary to realise their full potential. NO EXCUSES- there is no room for excuses in PrimalX Fitness culture that embraces full ownership of our results and lifestyle choices.

Six years on

With the word of Stephen's successful approach to sustainable results spreading fast in the local area his business grew from a handful of members in 2014 to over a 100 in 2017. That year Stephen’s childhood dream has come true and he finally opened his own boutique style gym in Sallynoggin. He surrounded himself with talented coaches and PrimalX
Fitness went from strength to strength.

Thanks to hard work, effective fitness programmes and strong fitness community the team built, the gym won The Best Fitness Programme Award at the Irish Fitness Industry Award in 2018 and again in 2019.

‘We have always been and always will be a result-driven gym. It’s a truly rewarding experience to get a recognition for the work and the commitment to getting Sallynoggin fitter, healthier and happier. When people ask me ‘How? I reply: ‘one-by-one!’ We have some amazing success stories with Sinead who lost 7 stone, Tom and Shauna who lost 2 stone each. They are inspiration to us all. Their secret is PERFORMANCE GOALS. We focus on getting them fitter, stronger, faster and more resilient and the weight loss is just a side effect. Our members obsess about personal bests and not weighing scales!’

PrimalX Fitness Brand Purpose

Mission
To improve the quality of life in local communities

Commitment
To empower our members to realise their full potential, and then some

Guarantee
Fitness for life