Revive: How Naked Revival Is Building a Brand Through Raw Documentary Storytelling

Naked Revival, led by founder Joel Primus, is betting on documentary-grade storytelling as its primary growth channel. A short film, Prelude, now on YouTube, tees up Revive, a 13-episode series slated for 2026. Alongside new leadership in filmmaker Adam Besse and marketer-producer Geoff Plewes, the company is designing a content-to-commerce model where transparency is not a tactic but the product itself. This momentum is especially well-timed, as Naked Revival just secured over $600,000 in bridge financing.

By pulling back the curtain on its most vulnerable moments, Naked Revival reinforces its commitment to authenticity. Revive opens the doors to the workshop and lets the camera linger when things get uncomfortable: the unglamorous logistics of building supply chains, the awkward calls with potential investors, the emotional cost on a family that's already lived through the challenges of success.

The narrative threads back to the genesis of Naked in 2009, a fabric discovery in Peru, a pitch on CBC's Dragons' Den, and then the sprint through luxury retail and a NASDAQ listing. When retail-trader euphoria swept markets in early 2021, Naked Brand Group became part of that tide, and later exited the category through a merger as the froth faded. It's a plot twist most founders would bury, and Revive insists on unpacking.

Primus states, "It's an entrepreneurial case study and a deeply human story. Viewers looking only for victory laps won't find them here. But those who want honest insight will discover a story of resilience, reinvention, and the hard truths about growth. Most importantly, it's a story about the valuable lessons learned from the people around you, who make all of it possible." To illustrate this, Primus invites the camera into his life coaching sessions. In doing so, he exposes the raw, unvarnished reality of entrepreneurship, not just the ambition and drive, but also the doubt, discomfort, and the process of becoming.

The authenticity of that lens depends on who's behind it, which is why the hires matter. Producer-director Besse was trained in Capilano's Motion Picture Arts program. Known for his works Eyes of a Beginner and Driven Golf Show, Besse has built a reputation for producing high-caliber feature films, documentaries, commercials, corporate videos, and television shows. He shot early content for Naked and collaborated with Primus on Raising Global Citizens, bringing a kinetic, in-the-room style that's critical for unscripted credibility.

Plewes brings the other half of the equation. With over 15 years of experience in digital and integrated ad agency account direction, he has shaped campaigns from both the agency and production sides. He founded Lemonade Pictures to produce commercials and feature documentaries, and later drove content innovation at Kidoodle.TV through short-form series and branded storytelling for global clients. Together, Besse and Plewes are fusing film and TV grammar into the brand's DNA, so every product launch, investor update, or behind-the-scenes beat can be cut as a story, not sizzle.

Adam Besse

To understand why that matters, it's vital to step back from the brand and look at the landscape. Brand-funded content has long been a driver of growth. In the personal care sector, a groundbreaking campaign launched in 2004 focused on redefining beauty standards. It sparked widespread conversation and earned unpaid media coverage valued at 30 times the campaign's original budget. The campaign's website attracted 1.5 million visitors, showing that audiences were actively engaged and eager to learn more.

Partnerships and sponsored content have grown significantly year over year, and the creator economy is projected to approach half a trillion dollars within a few years. In recent years, long-form branded entertainment has been more recognized as a distinct and strategic category in major industry awards.

Docutainment, a fusion of documentary and entertainment that brings real-life stories to audiences with cinematic flair, has emerged as a powerful growth engine. For instance, Formula 1 saw dramatic audience growth after launching Drive to Survive, a behind-the-scenes docuseries in 2018. U.S. viewership soared by 2022, with an average of one million viewers per race. The share of female fans rose to 41%, believed to be driven by character-driven storytelling.

Naked Revival's Revive is designed as an operating system for that shift in the landscape. Spanning 13 episodes filmed in Vancouver, Tokyo, New York, Montreal, Las Vegas, and beyond, the series blends intimate founder portraits with in-depth explorations of the mechanics of modern commerce. Topics include ethical sourcing and manufacturing, the challenges of raising capital, the unpredictable nature of public markets, and the personal toll of life as a founder.

Behind this venture is Primus's long-standing "nothing to hide" ethos. Primus has written openly about the discipline and doubt of entrepreneurship in his book, Getting Naked. Revive keeps that thread taut. The cameo in Prelude by Alex McAulay, Primus's longtime collaborator and co-founder of Naked, is a statement about loyalty and institutional memory.

Andrew Kaplan, a former Naked director, investor, and seasoned Wall Street veteran, also appears in Prelude. His silent meeting with Primus, left deliberately unspoken, adds a layer of intrigue. It suggests a shared reckoning, a buried chapter, or perhaps a pivotal conversation still waiting to unfold.

Now, after a decade of pivots, Primus and his team are choosing continuity over performative pivots. Naked Revival's promise to its audience is the same promise it makes internally: show up, tell the truth, do the work.

In a market where advertising is ignored and performative "authenticity" is instantly detected, the brand that blends documentary rigor with creator-economy speed will own the conversation. Naked Revival intends to be that brand. It aims to turn the most volatile resource in business, trust, into a repeatable model for community, revenue, and long-term enterprise value.