The Les Mills Story

It all started with one man. In 1968, four-time Olympian

Les Mills started his first gym in Auckland, New Zealand. It
was a simple operation, basic strength and cardio training
for a small community of athletes. Now, 50 years on, it is
the hub of a global revolution – a vibrant destination where the world’s top fitness talent
create new ways to get fit, combining music with movement and then taking it to the
world.

It was Les’ son Phillip Mills who drove the change.

Phillip started working in the family gym after school. Back then he was charged with
motivating exercisers by delivering magazines to them as they pedaled away on indoor
cycles. It’s fair to say it’s a role he wasn’t particularly enthusiastic about. But all that
changed when he returned from a UCLA track scholarship. He had witnessed the birth
of the aerobics phenomenon and as a result his enthusiasm for motivating exercisers
had been kicked into a higher gear. So in 1980 he eagerly jumped back into the family
business to create group workouts driven by the beat of modern music. Those early
aerobic programs drew queues down the street and Phillip could sense the real power
of group fitness.

Together with his wife Jackie, a doctor and former gymnast, Phillip spent years
developing the concept, learning first-hand what makes – and breaks – a good fitness
class. In 1990 they changed the game entirely by introducing weights
– BODYPUMP was born.
Phillip and Jackie took BODYPUMP to the world. Employing a tribe of talented
presenters to travel the globe and introduce other clubs to the power of great group
fitness. There are now 20,000 clubs offering LES MILLS programs.

Over time, the suite of LES MILLS programs has grown. These days Les Mills’ offers
everything from yoga to cycling, dance, martial arts, HIIT and more – and every three
months we create new music and moves to ensure our tribe stays motivated and ahead
of the game.
Phillip and Jackie’s children, Diana and Les Jnr, are now propelling Les Mills into the
future. Leading a global tribe of thousands they are tapping into the freshest exercise
trends, fusing science, music, movement and ground-breaking technology, and doing
whatever possible to make life-changing fitness experiences more accessible.