Les Mills UK

The UK business of Les Mills, the New Zealand group fitness brand behind classes such as BODYPUMP, with a London head office.

About Les Mills UK

Les Mills creates group fitness programmes, which are workouts set to music that gym instructors teach in clubs. Its core programmes are BODYPUMP (a weights class), RPM (indoor cycling), BODYCOMBAT (martial arts-inspired) and BODYBALANCE (mind-body), and its range has grown to include yoga, dance and HIIT. The company's global site says classes are taught in more than 22,000 clubs by a community of 130,000 instructors, and that new music and moves are released every three months. It also offers LES MILLS+, an app with over 2,500 online workouts.

The story started in 1968, when four-time Olympian Les Mills Snr opened a gym in Auckland, New Zealand. In 1980 his son Phillip rejoined the business after seeing the aerobics boom in the United States, and with his wife Jackie, a doctor and former gymnast, began creating group workouts to modern music. Adding weights in 1990 led to BODYPUMP. The company's mission, in its words, is 'to create a fitter planet', by 'helping people fall in love with fitness so that they want to work out'. It describes itself as a family story, with Phillip and Jackie's children, Diana and Les Jnr, now helping to lead it.

In the UK, Companies House lists Les Mills Fitness UK Limited (company number 07880229). A 2014 trade report named the London head office as being at Aldgate, with a studio in the building, and said the UK team supports gyms with training and instructor education. That office information is more than ten years old, and we have not confirmed where the team sits today. The same year the UK business launched a children's programme, Born to Move, and helped to set up the Les Mills Fund for Children, a charitable trust supporting UK children's charities.

The 2014 reports give a flavour of the culture. The chief executive at that time, Keith Burnet, introduced a 'no workout, no meeting' rule: anyone with a meeting at the office was asked to join a Les Mills class before or after it, or give £10 to the children's fund. He said the industry should lead by example. The UK community of instructors was called 'the tribe', and some of the staff named were themselves instructors. That is from 2014 and may have changed.

Roles in a business like this include product managers, customer experience managers who help clubs run more group classes, sales staff, trainers who coach instructors, events staff and marketing and digital teams. A good starting point is to try the classes. If you enjoy teaching, working with gyms, or the creative side of fitness programmes, check the company's own site for what the UK team looks like now.

What they do

• {'desc': 'Classes such as BODYPUMP, RPM, BODYCOMBAT and BODYBALANCE licensed to gyms and clubs.', 'title': 'Group fitness programmes'}
• {'desc': 'Training and support for instructors and the gyms that teach the classes.', 'title': 'Instructor training'}
• {'desc': 'Online workouts for use at home.', 'title': 'LES MILLS+ app'}

Key facts

• Les Mills began in 1968 in Auckland, New Zealand; mission: 'to create a fitter planet'
• Classes taught in more than 22,000 clubs by 130,000 instructors (company site, global)
• UK entity: Les Mills Fitness UK Limited, company number 07880229
• 2014 London head office at Aldgate with a studio (dated report)

Website: www.lesmills.com/uk