His spirit lives on in gym workouts around the world
Les Mills, a New Zealand Olympian who carried the discus and shot put across four Games between 1960 and 1972, has died at 91 — leaving behind not only a shelf of Commonwealth medals but a global fitness culture that bears his name. The gym he and his wife Colleen opened in Auckland in 1968 grew, through his son Phillip's vision, into a worldwide phenomenon of choreographed, music-driven exercise that introduced millions to the discipline of movement. His life traced an arc from the throwing circle to the mayor's office to the coaching track, each chapter animated by the same instinct: that strength is most meaningful when it is shared.
- A four-time Olympian and five-time Commonwealth Games medallist, Mills was among New Zealand's most durable track-and-field competitors across more than a decade of international competition.
- The modest Auckland gym he opened in 1968 carried within it an idea that would eventually disrupt how the world thinks about group exercise.
- When his son Phillip married barbell training with music and choreography, the Les Mills brand became a global template for accessible, energetic fitness culture.
- Beyond sport and business, Mills served as Auckland's mayor for eight years and coached discus thrower Beatrice Faumuina to a world title and Commonwealth gold.
- His death at 91 closes a life of uncommon range, but the classes taught daily in gyms across the world ensure his name remains in motion.
Les Mills, born in Auckland in 1934, first distinguished himself as an athlete of rare staying power. Competing in shot put and discus across four Olympic Games from 1960 to 1972, he accumulated five Commonwealth Games medals — among them a gold at the 1966 Games in Kingston, Jamaica. His consistency on the field spoke to a character that would define everything he did afterward.
In 1968, he and his wife Colleen opened a gym on Victoria Street in central Auckland. It began as a straightforward place to lift weights. The transformation came when their son Phillip joined the business in 1980 and, working with his partner Jackie, developed something genuinely new: choreographed group-fitness classes set to music, combining moderate weights with high repetitions in a format that felt less like discipline and more like celebration. The model proved elegantly scalable, and within decades Les Mills workouts were being taught in fitness clubs around the world.
Mills himself never confined his energies to a single arena. He served as mayor of Auckland from 1990 to 1998, and continued coaching well into later life — guiding discus thrower Beatrice Faumuina to a world title in 1997 and Commonwealth gold the following year. Honoured with an MBE in 1973 and a Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit in 2002, he was recognised for contributions that spanned sport, civic life, and athletics mentorship.
"His spirit lives on in gym workouts around the world, continuing to help people fall in love with fitness," his son Phillip said. The classes bearing his name, taught daily across the globe, stand as a living monument to a man who understood that strength, at its best, is something you pass on.
Les Mills, the New Zealand shot putter and discus thrower who represented his country at four Olympic Games and later built a fitness empire that would reshape how millions of people exercise, has died at 91.
Born Leslie Roy Mills in Auckland in 1934, he first made his mark as an athlete of uncommon durability and skill. Between 1960 and 1972, he competed across four Olympic cycles, a span that speaks to both his physical resilience and his commitment to the sport. His medal haul at the Commonwealth Games—five medals in total, including a gold in the discus at the 1966 British Empire and Commonwealth Games in Kingston, Jamaica—established him as one of New Zealand's serious track-and-field competitors. The consistency was remarkable. He was the kind of athlete who showed up, trained hard, and delivered year after year.
But Mills' most enduring contribution to the world came not from the athletic field but from a gym he and his wife Colleen opened on Victoria Street in central Auckland in 1968. At the time, it was simply a place to lift weights. What it became was something far larger. Their son Phillip joined the business full-time in 1980, and working alongside his partner Jackie, he transformed the operation into something unprecedented: choreographed group-fitness classes set to music, using moderate weights and high repetitions to build strength and tone. The model was elegant and scalable. Within decades, Les Mills workouts had spread across the globe, becoming synonymous with a particular kind of accessible, energetic fitness culture.
The business remained a family enterprise, run by later generations of the Mills clan, but it was Phillip's vision—the marriage of barbell training with music and choreography—that gave the brand its distinctive character and global reach. More than fifty years after that first gym opened, Les Mills classes were being taught in fitness clubs around the world, introducing countless people to structured strength training in a format that felt less like punishment and more like participation.
Mills' life extended well beyond the gym. He served as mayor of Auckland from 1990 to 1998, bringing the same sense of purpose to civic leadership that had defined his athletic career. He also remained active in coaching, mentoring New Zealand discus thrower Beatrice Faumuina to a world title in 1997 and Commonwealth Games gold the following year. The thread running through all of it—athletics, business, politics, coaching—was a desire to help others, according to his son. "Dad was immensely strong, driven, and always cared deeply for the less advantaged," Phillip Mills said in a statement. "He left a lasting impression on everyone he met, and his spirit lives on in gym workouts around the world, continuing to help people fall in love with fitness."
The New Zealand Olympic Committee acknowledged his place in the nation's sporting history. "Les Mills set a standard for what it takes to represent New Zealand at the Olympic and Commonwealth Games," said Nicki Nicol, the committee's CEO. "He competed at four Olympic Games and is a five-time Commonwealth Games medallist, exemplifying the consistency and commitment he showed to athletics throughout his career." He was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire in 1973 for his contributions to sport, and later received a Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit in 2002 for his work in local government and athletics.
What Mills built—both as an athlete and as an entrepreneur—outlasted him. The fitness classes bearing his name continue to operate in gyms across the world, a living monument to a man who understood that strength, whether physical or organizational, is best shared.
Citações Notáveis
Dad was immensely strong, driven, and always cared deeply for the less advantaged. His spirit lives on in gym workouts around the world, continuing to help people fall in love with fitness.— Phillip Mills, his son
Les Mills set a standard for what it takes to represent New Zealand at the Olympic and Commonwealth Games. His place in New Zealand's Olympic history is firmly established.— Nicki Nicol, NZ Olympic Committee CEO
A Conversa do Hearth Outra perspectiva sobre a história
What made Les Mills different from other Olympic athletes who tried to build businesses after their careers ended?
Most athletes fade into commentary or coaching. Mills actually understood that fitness could be democratized—that you didn't need to be an elite competitor to benefit from serious strength training. He and his family figured out how to make that accessible and fun.
The music and choreography element seems crucial. Why was that the breakthrough?
It transformed the experience from solitary grinding into something communal and rhythmic. You're lifting weights, yes, but you're doing it in sync with other people, to a beat. That's psychology as much as physiology. It made the work feel less like work.
He was mayor of Auckland for eight years while the business was expanding globally. How did he manage both?
By then his son Phillip was running the day-to-day operations. Mills had built something that didn't depend entirely on him being in the room. That's the mark of a real founder—knowing when to step back and let the next generation lead.
What do you think he'd make of fitness culture today—all the apps, the home workouts, the influencers?
He'd probably see it as a continuation of what he started: making fitness accessible to ordinary people. The medium changes, but the mission stays the same. Help people fall in love with moving their bodies.
Five Commonwealth medals, four Olympics, a global business, a city to run. That's a lot of lives lived in one.
And he did it all with the same philosophy—show up, work hard, help others. No reinvention between chapters. Just consistency.