Rules & Integrity

You must be 18 or older. You register with a display name, email, date of birth, sex, and country, and you accept the waiver below. Your date of birth sets your age division and is never displayed to anyone.

Passing and ranking are two different things. Meeting every component standard means you passed the level and earned the title. The board ranks everyone who submitted, whether they passed or not.

Within a level and division, each component is ranked on its own, and your overall score is the sum of those placements — lowest total wins. Ties break by your best single-component placement. Levels 4 through 6 are a single time, so they rank directly.

One rule matters more than the rest: any Rx score ranks above every Scaled score at the same level. A single Rx rep beats a perfect Scaled performance. That is deliberate — attempting Rx is always rank-safe, so nobody is punished for reaching.

Unlimited. Your best score per level and category is what counts, and your full attempt history stays public on your profile. Retests of the same level are limited to one per hour, and submissions to ten per day.

Free athletes self-report. You may name a witness, which is displayed on your expanded leaderboard row — social verification is free and surprisingly effective.

If you film an attempt: keep the clock and the athlete in frame, show the load being weighed where a load is specified, and do not cut the recording mid-effort. Edited video is the one thing that ends an account rather than a score.

$100 per athlete per season (one fee per team for MAG). It buys human video review of your submissions that season, plus 1 free re-submission per rejected video, and the Verified shield on approved submissions.

The fee buys review, not a badge. If the video does not meet the published standard, you get feedback and a re-submission, not a shield.

• Approved — the shield is granted; reviewer and date appear on your expanded row.
• Minor penalty — a small deduction for a technical fault.
• Major penalty — at least 15% deduction for a standard violation.
• Zero score — the submission does not count.
• Malicious — edited video or a falsified identity. This is a sanction, published, with no refund.

Nobody polices row 80,000. Scrutiny concentrates where it matters, at the top, and it works three ways:

• Automatic outlier flags. A score that beats the best verified score in its division on every component is flagged automatically and held off the top of the board until evidence is added.
• Report a score. Any signed-in athlete can report a submission, once, with a reason.
• Public history. Every athlete's full submission history is visible. Sudden impossible jumps are obvious.

Falsified scores, edited video, and falsified dates of birth result in account sanctions, which are published. Sanctioned athletes are removed from the boards for the duration.

You may appeal any sanction to steven.barrow@patronusenergy.com within 30 days. Appeals are read by a person.

We use at least 25% of every Verified Athlete pass to purchase freeze-dried meal pouches, which we donate in support of hunger relief.

Currently that means at least 25% of every Verified Athlete pass goes toward meal pouches donated in support of Conquer Hunger by MTN OPS. This is a purchase-and-donate program run by Patronus Energy LLC — not a charity partnership or endorsement. Your purchase is not a charitable contribution and is not tax-deductible.

Accepted at registration and reaffirmed at every submission. In consideration of being permitted to participate in the Primal Defender Challenge, including all benchmark workouts, fitness tests, MAG team events, Primal Defender Day, and related activities:

I am voluntarily participating. The Challenge is a self-administered fitness program. Patronus Energy LLC does not supervise, host, or conduct my workouts. I choose when, where, whether, and how to attempt any Challenge Activity, and I am solely responsible for my own safety, my training environment, my equipment, and the supervision of any activity I organize with others.

I understand the risks. Challenge Activities involve strenuous physical exercise, including running, rucking with weighted packs, lifting heavy objects, jumping, carrying other persons, and sustained exertion, sometimes while wearing weighted vests. I understand these activities carry inherent risks that cannot be eliminated, including but not limited to: muscle and joint injury, broken bones, heat illness, cardiac events, permanent disability, paralysis, and death. I KNOWINGLY AND FREELY ASSUME ALL SUCH RISKS, BOTH KNOWN AND UNKNOWN, EVEN IF ARISING FROM THE NEGLIGENCE OF THE RELEASEES NAMED BELOW, and I assume full responsibility for my participation.

I am physically able to participate. I represent that I am at least 18 years of age; that I am in good health and physically capable of strenuous exercise; that I have no medical condition that would make participation unsafe; and that I have consulted, or had the opportunity to consult, a physician before attempting any Challenge Activity. I agree to stop immediately and seek medical attention if I experience signs of distress. THE COMPANY DOES NOT PROVIDE MEDICAL ADVICE; PUBLISHED STANDARDS AND TRAINING CONTENT ARE FOR INFORMATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY.

Release and covenant not to sue. I, for myself and on behalf of my heirs, assigns, personal representatives, and next of kin, HEREBY RELEASE, INDEMNIFY, AND HOLD HARMLESS PATRONUS ENERGY LLC, its owners, officers, employees, contractors, agents, reviewers, sponsors, and affiliates (“Releasees”), WITH RESPECT TO ANY AND ALL INJURY, DISABILITY, DEATH, OR LOSS OR DAMAGE TO PERSON OR PROPERTY arising out of or related to my participation in Challenge Activities, WHETHER ARISING FROM THE NEGLIGENCE OF THE RELEASEES OR OTHERWISE, to the fullest extent permitted by law. I agree not to sue any Releasee for any claim released herein.

Team activities. If I participate in a MAG (team) event, I understand it includes physically carrying and being carried by other participants, and I accept those additional risks. I am responsible for confirming that anyone I invite to participate has registered and accepted this waiver; I will not permit minors to participate in my team.

Third parties and venues. I am responsible for complying with the rules of any gym, park, or facility where I perform Challenge Activities. The Company is not responsible for the condition of any venue or equipment I use.

Severability; governing law. If any provision of this agreement is held invalid, the remainder shall continue in full force. This agreement is governed by the laws of the State of Arkansas.

When you submit content — videos, photos, scores, times, your display name, profile photo, city/state/country, and band/level achievements — you grant Patronus Energy LLC a worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free, sublicensable, transferable license to host, store, reproduce, adapt, publicly display, and distribute it in connection with the Challenge and the Primal Defender brand, including on the public leaderboard, athlete profiles, auto-generated share cards, and marketing materials.

You keep ownership. This is a license, not a transfer. Anyone else appearing in your videos must have consented. Verification videos may be marked “review only” at upload, in which case they are used for review and retained as an integrity record but never displayed publicly.

You may delete your content or your account at any time. Deletion does not recall marketing uses already published while the license was in effect, and we may retain copies as needed for integrity records and legal compliance.

The complete Terms of Use and Privacy Policy govern your use of the Challenge. Questions: steven.barrow@patronusenergy.com.