A versatile sportsman, successful business owner, inspiring leader, and former Mayor of Auckland – Leslie Roy Mills MBE, CNZM is an absolute legend. He laid the foundations for a movement that has inspired millions around the world to fall in love with fitness – a legacy that lives on in every workout.

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The first inklings of Les Mills Snr’s remarkable strength and determination came at just 11 years old. He was a skinny boy from Grey Lynn dealing with the recent death of his father when he competed in his first event. A recruiter from the local athletics club had dropped by his Sunday school and held a trial run around the park. Les set off like a rocket and finished 50 yards ahead of the pack. It was the first of his many wins at Western Suburbs Athletic Club, which went on to become the strongest club in New Zealand.

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Les was naturally fast with a fierce desire to win, and also extremely eager to learn. As a young sportsman, he became obsessed with gyms, strength training and physical culture. He consumed as much information as he could on the topic, following the Charles Atlas strength training program and subscribing to the most progressive thinking about how to build muscle. This passion complemented his athletic talents and helped him grow into a very powerful athlete.

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Whether it was track and field or lifting weights, his ability was exceptional, and he represented his country in both athletics and weightlifting. His sporting prowess was most evident in the shotput and discus. He won numerous national titles and set a national shotput record of 19.81m which endured for 44 years. He competed for New Zealand and was a finalist in track and field at four Olympic Games (Rome 1960, Tokyo 1964, Mexico 1968 and Munich 1972) and four Commonwealth Games (Cardiff 1958, Perth 1962, Jamaica 1966 and Edinburgh 1978). Les also competed and medaled at many other international sporting events.

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It was while performing at the highest level, that Les made his first foray into business. At just 19 and newly married, he established a shoe shop with his wife Colleen, who was also a track and field athlete competing on the world stage. Within just a few years, Les and Colleen had grown their business into a chain of shoe and home appliance stores. They were following in the entrepreneurial footsteps of Les’ father, a butcher who cultivated a chain of butcheries by the time he was 30.

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Although he worked 60 hours a week to support his retail businesses, Les still found time for intensive training. He knew there was no shortcut to success and spent endless hours at Grey Lynn Park hurling the shot into the mud. He would throw until his fingers bled and still keep going. The deep calluses on his hands endured for many years after his athletics career ended.

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Matching his physical training with academic study, Les secured an athletics scholarship in the States, and in 1962 the adventurous family made an ambitious move overseas. While in the U.S. Les witnessed a sunrise culture of gyms emerging and was excited by the opportunity to take athletic training to the masses.

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After two years abroad, and with his retail businesses struggling in his absence, the family returned to New Zealand and Les began scoping his future in fitness. He got wind of a small Auckland health studio that was struggling, so he paid NZ$5,000 to take over the operation, launching his first gym in 1968.

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In the early days, the Les Mills World of Fitness was a simple operation. Basic strength and cardio training for a small community of athletes. Back then, the small basement gym had a single set of changing rooms and toilets and ran alternate days for men and women. Les and his wife Colleen worked full-time, with their school-aged children, Phillip and Donna, helping by wiping down machines and handing out magazines. The family made a living, but not much more.

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Just like Les, Colleen, Phillip, and Donna were also sports-mad and very talented. In 1974, the whole family was due to compete in track and field at the Commonwealth Games, so Les shifted his family and training squad to the host city of Christchurch to be at the heart of the action. Injury ultimately prevented Les from competing, but he was still prominent at the Games, and it became evident he was one of the sports industry’s true leaders.

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When Les wrapped up his career in competitive athletics, he moved abroad and became the National Sports Director in Papua New Guinea from 1974 to 1976. During this time, he developed facilities across 23 provinces, trained indigenous staff, organized and assisted Papua New Guinea at the South Pacific Games in Guam and managed the Papua New Guinea team at the Montreal Olympics in 1976. There were other international opportunities too, in Hawaii and the United Kingdom, but after a few years away he wanted to return home with the family.

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Back in Auckland, Les took on a short stint as National Director of Coaching for Athletics New Zealand. He was a New Zealand Team Coach for the Edmonton Commonwealth Games in 1978 and a founder of the New Zealand Sports Foundation, an organization designed to develop international sporting champions.

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Over the years he coached and managed hundreds of young Kiwi athletes. Notably, coaching Beatrice Faumuina to the 1997 world discus title, the 1998 Commonwealth Crown and the New Zealand discus record. In 1998 he was awarded Halberg Coach of the Year. Les has also been an International Weightlifting referee (he is a Life Member of the New Zealand Weightlifters Association) and in 1999 was Chairman of the Board of Directors organizing the FIFA Under-17 World Football Championship in New Zealand. He was New Zealand's Chef de Mission for the 1998 Kuala Lumpur Commonwealth Games and the 2000 Sydney Olympics.

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During the late seventies, when Les made the call to stay in a small island nation at the bottom of the Pacific, his pioneering spirit went into overdrive. Determined to take Les Mills World of Fitness to the next level, in 1979 he shifted the gym from its original locale to the much bigger Victoria Street site. Then, when son Phillip returned from a US Track and Field scholarship buzzing about the aerobics phenomenon taking off in California, Les bought into the vision and the first Les Mills group fitness studio was born. Colleen, Phillip and Phillip’s wife Jackie led the charge, creating the many and varied LES MILLS group workouts that are loved around the world to this day.

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After passing the gym baton to his son Phillip, Les had the opportunity to pursue his political passions. He was elected Mayor of Auckland City in 1990, a position he held for three terms. During his eight years as mayor of New Zealand's biggest city, he oversaw the merger of different district councils into one supercity.

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Major infrastructure such as Waterfront 2000, the America’s Cup Village at the Viaduct and the Sky Tower and Casino were also brought to life during his tenure. He shaped a policy to revive the heart of the city and developed the controversial Britomart Transport Project, bringing a major rail hub back into the city and reviving 11 key heritage buildings. While opponents initially campaigned vigorously, succeeding leaders eventually recognized the value of the project. It is now the hub of Auckland City.

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Les’ time as Mayor also saw the introduction of several green initiatives, recreational facilities in schools and communities were restored and enhanced, while unified infrastructure plans were implemented with 10- and 20-year targets for sewage, stormwater, park maintenance, rubbish collection and water supply.

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Of particular note is the sound financial performance during Les’ time as Mayor. He helped curb the city’s financial losses, keeping city debt below NZ$1m. Today the Auckland City debt is approaching NZ$14bn. Les credits his wife Colleen as being a tireless and inspirational full-time Mayoress, saying her determination, support and community spirit was the driving force behind his three terms as Mayor of Auckland City.

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In 2002, Les was recognized in the Queen’s Birthday and Golden Jubilee Honors and made a Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to local government and sport. This complemented the earlier 1973 Queen’s Birthday Honors appointment as a Member of the Order of the British Empire for services to sport. In 2022, together with his son Phillip and daughter-in-law Jackie Mills, he was inducted into the New Zealand Business Hall of Fame.

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Having lost Colleen in 2005, Les is survived by his children Phillip and Donna, daughter-in-law Jackie, grandchildren Diana, Les Jr, Gabriel and Moana, plus many great-grandchildren.

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There is no doubt that Les Mills has made a phenomenal contribution to sport, fitness, politics, and society as a whole. Thank you, Les, for being so focused, forward-thinking and dedicated to creating a fitter planet.

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Leslie Roy Mills MBE, CNZM 1 November 1934 – 29 June 2026

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“The purpose of the gym is to help people fall in love with fitness.” – Les Mills, 1968

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