His spirit lives on in gym workouts around the world
Les Mills, the New Zealand Olympian who turned personal grief into a lifelong mission of physical and civic service, died peacefully at 91 in Auckland, surrounded by family. A four-time Olympian in discus and shot put, he and his wife Colleen opened a single gym in 1968 that grew into a global network spanning more than 22,000 facilities across 100 countries. Between athletic achievement and entrepreneurial legacy, Mills also served three terms as Auckland's mayor, weaving together sport, community, and commerce into a life that quietly shaped how millions of people around the world relate to their own bodies. His passing closes a chapter, but the daily rhythm of his programs in gyms across the globe suggests the story is far from over.
- A man who began lifting weights to survive childhood grief ended up building one of the world's most recognizable fitness brands — the scale of that arc is only now coming into full view.
- His death at 91 sends ripples through the global fitness industry, where BodyPump, BodyCombat, and BodyAttack classes will continue in his name across more than 100 countries this very week.
- Family, the New Zealand Olympic Committee, and the business community are each mourning a different version of the same man — athlete, mayor, entrepreneur, mentor — underscoring how rarely one life spans so many worlds.
- His son Phillip, who helped transform the family gym into Les Mills International, now carries the weight of both grief and stewardship, tasked with honoring a legacy that is simultaneously personal and planetary.
- The New Zealand business hall of fame induction in 2022 — shared with Phillip and daughter-in-law Jackie — signals that the empire is already mid-transition, the founder's vision embedded in the next generation.
- Where the story lands is in the ordinary: the early-morning class, the stranger lifting a barbell for the first time — Mills' truest monument is not bronze or marble but muscle memory repeated daily by people who never knew his name.
Les Mills, the New Zealand Olympian whose name became synonymous with a global fitness movement, died peacefully on Monday morning at 91, surrounded by family. His son Phillip described a man driven by an almost relentless desire to help others — a quality that shaped every phase of a life that moved from the Olympic track to the mayor's office to gyms on six continents.
Born in Auckland in 1934, Mills came to athletics through loss. When his father died and he was just eleven, physical training became his way of processing grief. That discipline carried him to four Olympic Games in discus and shot put, and to gold, silver, and bronze at the Commonwealth Games — cementing his place among New Zealand's most respected athletic figures.
In 1968, he and his wife Colleen opened a single gym in Auckland. What followed was methodical and transformative: the family built Les Mills International around structured group workout programs — BodyPump, BodyAttack, BodyCombat — now taught in more than 22,000 clubs across 100 countries. A private response to childhood loss had become a system touching millions of lives.
Mills also served three consecutive terms as Auckland's mayor from 1990, working across the city's communities with the same investment he brought to sport and business. Honours followed across decades: an MBE in 1973, a Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit in 2002, and in 2022, a joint induction into the New Zealand business hall of fame alongside Phillip and daughter-in-law Jackie.
Phillip Mills told the New Zealand Herald that his father died at 3:30 in the morning, peacefully, with family close. He said his father's spirit lives on in every workout happening around the world — in people who discovered a relationship with their own strength through programs Les helped create. That, perhaps, is the most honest measure of what he left behind.
Les Mills, the New Zealand Olympian whose name became inseparable from a global fitness empire, died peacefully on Monday morning at age 91, surrounded by family. His son Phillip released a statement describing a man whose defining characteristic was an almost relentless drive to help others—a thread that ran through every chapter of his life, from the Olympic track to the mayor's office to the gyms that now operate in more than 100 countries.
Mills was born in Auckland in 1934 and came to athletics almost by accident. When his father died and he was only eleven, the boy turned to physical training as a way to process the loss. That early discipline became the foundation for everything that followed. He competed in the Olympic Games four times, throwing discus and shot put, and collected gold, silver, and bronze medals at the Commonwealth Games—achievements that earned him recognition as one of New Zealand's most respected athletic figures. The New Zealand Olympic Committee noted that Mills had set a standard for what it meant to represent the country at the highest levels of international competition.
But Mills did not remain an athlete. In 1968, he and his wife Colleen opened a single gym in Auckland. The business grew methodically, and their family later built it into Les Mills International, introducing structured group workout programs—BodyPump, BodyAttack, BodyCombat—that would eventually be taught in more than 22,000 fitness clubs and gyms across the globe. What began as one man's response to personal loss became a system that helped millions of people discover a relationship with their own bodies and their own strength.
While the fitness business was expanding, Mills turned his attention to public service. In 1990, he was elected mayor of Auckland and served three consecutive terms, working across the city's diverse communities to improve quality of life. His son remembered him as someone who genuinely cared about all of Auckland's neighborhoods and invested real effort in making things better for everyone. After leaving office, he continued to coach athletes, mentor younger people, and support charitable causes.
The honors accumulated over time. He was made a Member of the Order of the British Empire in 1973 for his services to sport. In 2002, he received a Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit. And in 2022, at an age when most people have long since stepped back, Mills, his son Phillip, and his daughter-in-law Jackie were inducted together into the New Zealand business hall of fame—a recognition that his life's work had shaped not just individual lives but the country's economic and cultural landscape.
Phillip Mills told the New Zealand Herald that his father had died at 3:30 in the morning, peacefully, with family present. In his statement, he said that his father's spirit lives on in the gym workouts happening around the world every day—in the people who have fallen in love with fitness because of programs he helped create. That may be the truest measure of what Mills left behind: not medals or titles, but a system that continues to touch strangers he will never meet.
Notable Quotes
Dad was immensely strong, driven and always cared deeply for the less advantaged. He left a lasting impression on everyone he met.— Phillip Mills, his son
Les Mills set a standard for what it takes to represent New Zealand at the Olympic and Commonwealth games.— Nicki Nicol, New Zealand Olympic Committee chief executive
The Hearth Conversation Another angle on the story
What made him turn from being an athlete to building gyms? Was it just business instinct?
It seems more personal than that. He lost his father at eleven and found his way through physical training. When he and Colleen opened that first gym in 1968, he wasn't just opening a business—he was creating the thing that had saved him.
And the group fitness programs—BodyPump and the others—those came later, from his family?
Yes, his son and daughter-in-law built on what he started. But the foundation was his. The discipline, the belief that fitness could change lives. That philosophy scaled.
He was mayor for nine years. That's a long time to step away from business.
He didn't really step away from his core mission, though. As mayor he was still trying to help people, still trying to build something that lasted. Just in a different arena.
Do you think the Olympic background made him a better businessman?
Probably. Athletes understand discipline, standards, repetition. They know that small daily choices compound. That's what a gym chain is—millions of small choices, repeated, across thousands of locations.
What's the legacy that matters most?
The hardest one to measure. It's not the medals or the business valuation. It's the person who walked into a Les Mills gym at forty and discovered they were stronger than they thought. That person exists in 22,000 places now.