Les Mills, the New Zealand Olympian who transformed his name into the world's most ubiquitous fitness brand, has died at the age of 91. His passing marks the end of an era for an industry he helped define. Mills, who competed in track and field at the 1954 British Empire and Commonwealth Games, founded Les Mills International in 1968.
The company's group fitness programmes, including BodyPump and RPM, are now taught in over 20,000 clubs across 100 countries. From a scientific perspective, his contribution to public health is measurable: millions of people globally have incorporated structured exercise into their lives, a trend with documented benefits for cardiovascular health, metabolic function and mental well-being. Mills's legacy is etched into the biosphere of human activity.
He understood that physical fitness was not merely a pursuit of the elite but a fundamental pillar of societal resilience. The fitness empire he built became a platform for standardised training protocols that reduced barriers to entry. His death compels us to reflect on the broader implications of accessible exercise.
In an era of sedentary lifestyles and rising chronic disease, the infrastructure Mills created offers a counterweight. We cannot afford to lose that momentum. His body of work persists in the rhythmic grunts of a thousand aerobics classes, in the choreographed lunges of a million participants.
The man is gone, but the motion he started continues. For the climate and health correspondents who track these trends, his passing is a data point in a larger narrative. The question now is whether his successors will maintain the rigor and accessibility he championed.
For now, we note the loss and return to the work.
