Exercise addiction

The story of a Kiwi firm that dominates group exercise classes in gyms worldwide

Les Mills, the former Kiwi Olympian discus and shot put athlete who founded a company in Auckland that has become one of the world’s preeminent multinational fitness brands, might have been expected to start the story of his company by speaking about his return from the US to New Zealand in the 1960s. The company, named Les Mills after him, devises fitness classes set to music that are used under licence in 100 countries including the US, France, Brazil and India in some 18,000 gyms. But, the 82 year-old took the story back a hundred years. He reached for a