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.
Fast forward 50 years, and that same gym has become the hub of a global movement. Today, it is 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.
The turning point came with Les’ son, Phillip Mills.
As a teenager, Phillip worked in the family gym after school. His job was to motivate people on the indoor cycles by handing out magazines. It’s fair to say, it’s a role he wasn’t that enthusiastic about. But everything changed when he returned from a UCLA track scholarship. In the States, he had witnessed the early explosion of aerobics, seeing people moving together, driven by music, energy, and shared momentum.
That experience ignited the spark.
In 1980, Phillip rejoined the family business with a simple but powerful belief: working out together to music could change everything. Alongside his wife Jackie, a doctor and former gymnast, they started creating group workouts powered by the energy of modern music. The response was instant. Classes packed out. Lines stretched down the street. The motivational power of moving together hit fast, and stuck.
In 1990, they took another bold step and introduced weights. That moment gave birth to BODYPUMP™. Hype around this new training innovation quickly spread, and Phillip and Jackie took it to the world.
From there, everything scaled.
Programs like BODYPUMP, RPM™, BODYCOMBAT™ and BODYBALANCE™ spread from Auckland to every corner of the globe, led by a growing team of instructors who believed deeply in the magic of moving together.
Today, LES MILLS™ workouts are taught in more than 22,000 clubs, and there is a community of 130,000 instructors. Over time, the programs have expanded to include yoga to cycling, dance, martial arts, HIIT and more. Every three months, new music and new moves are released, keeping workouts fresh and keeping teams inspired and ahead of the curve.
What began as a family gym remains a family story.
Phillip and Jackie’s children, Diana and Les Jnr, are now helping lead the next chapter. Alongside a global team of thousands, they are tapping into the latest exercise science, technology and trends, bringing together music, movement and innovation to make life-changing fitness experiences more accessible than ever.