Les Mills dead at 91: Olympic legend helped establish the worldwide fitness industry with his pioneering business

Published: 11:46, 29 June 2026 | Updated: 11:55, 29 June 2026 A four-time Olympian who revolutionised the health and fitness industry with his gym businesses has died aged 91. Les Mills built his first gym on Victoria Street in central Auckland with his wife Colleen in 1968, after representing New Zealand in both the shot put and discus.  The business went on to become an international group fitness brand, known for its choreographed exercise classes set to music.  His son Phillip and his partner Jackie, were both instrumental in developing the music-driven group fitness model that drove its global expansion. To this day, the former Auckland mayor's workouts are used by clubs around the world.  Aside from his success off the field, he also competed at four Olympic Games; Rome 1960, Tokyo 1964, Mexico City 1968 and Munich 1972. However, his best results were at the Commonwealth Games, where he won five medals include discus gold at the 1966 Kingston Games in Jamaica. He also has three silvers to his name, two in the discus at the 1958 Cardiff and 1970 Edinburgh Games, and one in the shot put at the Kingston Games.  A four-time Olympian who opened a gym chain that revolutionised health and fitness has died aged 91 Les Mills launched his first gym on Victoria Street in central Auckland with his wife Colleen in 1968, after representing New Zealand in both the shot put and discus View this post on Instagram He also claimed shot put bronze in Edinburgh.  He remained in the sport after retiring, coaching his compatriot Beatrice Faumuina to a world title in 1997 and Commonwealth Games gold in 1998.  Phillip, who joined the business full-time in 1980, paid tribute to him.  'Dad was immensely strong, driven, and always cared deeply for the less advantaged,' he said.  '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. Juliet Yates, who was on Auckland Council during Mills's first of eight years as mayor, told Radio New Zealand 'he was a very, very pleasant person to work with'. 'At the time, I think the achievements of the council he was mayor of were benefiting the whole of the city,' she said.  Mr Mills was made a Member of the Order of the British Empire in 1973 for his contribution to sport, and was later appointed a Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit in 2002 for services to both local government and sport. No comments have so far been submitted. Why not be the first to send us your thoughts, or debate this issue live on our message boards. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook. You can choose on each post whether you would like it to be posted to Facebook. Your details from Facebook will be used to provide you with tailored content, marketing and ads in line with our Privacy Policy.