The brand lives on but the man has gone

Perhaps the most famous personal brand in New Zealand franchising is one that many people overlook – Les Mills - named after the founder's father who passed away 29 June 2026, aged 91 years old. 

The former Olympic athlete and later Auckland mayor founded the first Les Mills Gym along with his wife Colleen in 1968. His son Phillip joined the business in the 1980s and started developing group exercise programmes which became the foundation of the company’s growth in Australasia.

Les Mills started appointing international agents in 1995 and by 2022 there were more than 140,000 Les Mills fitness instructors delivering Les Mills fitness classes in 21,000 gyms across more than 100 countries. The company has been described as ‘doing for group exercise what McDonald’s did for hamburgers.’

The Les Mills Facebook page today offered a tribute on behalf of the Mills family, saying that Leslie Roy Mills (Les Mills Senior) 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. Phillip Mills also said of his father, “He achieved a huge amount in his life and the common thread throughout – whether in fitness, politics or family life – was that he always wanted to help others."

In 1973 Les Mills was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire, for services to sport. In 2002 he was made a Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit, for services to local government and sport. And in 2022, Les Snr, his son Phillip and daughter-in-law Jackie Mills were jointly inducted into the New Zealand Business Hall of Fame.

https://www.rnz.co.nz/life/people/celebrity/gym-chain-founder-and-olympian-les-mills-snr-has-died