A towering Egyptian-themed temporary film set has been built above Auckland’s Les Mills International’s carpark.  

Phillip Mills, managing director of the global fitness business, said the multi-level stage structure was a movie set that will be used to showcase the company’s BodyCombat classes, to be shown online to millions of people. 

BodyCombat is a high-energy martial arts-inspired workout based partly on tae kwon do and kung fu. 

“These films are used by 100,000 instructors in 22,000 gyms around the world,” he said said, referring to Europe, North America, South America, and Asia. 

This temporary film set structure is on the carpark of Les Mills International in Auckland. Photo / Michael Craig 

“We’re in 120 countries,” he said. 

Les Mills Auckland City’s interiors would also be used for making the new film. Special sets would be built for that work, Mills said. 

Filming takes place this month on the set above the Les Mills International carpark. Photo / Michael Craig 

Peter Klein of New York designed the set in collaboration with Auckland-based set designers and art directors Studio RA. Steve Baker’s The Bakery Collective worked with both firms to coordinate the set construction and filming. 

“We are filming our quarterly classes, which this time include the 100th release of BodyCombat. We have 100 of the world’s best instructors in town to film this class. They will be standing on this giant stage,” Phillip Mills said. 

Those 100 instructors will sprint up flights of stairs and be positioned on every level of the film set instructing about 200 people following them on both sides of the carpark. 

Phillip Mills says the multi-level stage structure is a movie set that will be used to showcase the company’s BodyCombat classes. Photo / Supplied 

“There will be around 200 people participating in the class, on the ground level on either side of the Wellesley St building,” Mills said. 

The carpark was also used as a film set during Covid and proved extremely successful. People were amazed to see so many members exercising together in specially distanced formats when many in other countries “were locked inside”, Mills said. 

The film being made this month here will not be released around the world until September, when it will be shown in gyms. 

Les Mills International makes BodyCombat films each quarter: three in this country, the fourth overseas. 

BodyCombat films have been made for the past four years “and it’s growing internationally. We got more cameras and instructors so the concept expanded. The films Les Mills makes are licensed to that business, but sold to other gyms around the world so the company collects royalties from those client gyms. We train the teachers and distribute the classes online so BodyPump, BodyCombat and others can be shown in people’s own homes.” 

Even the construction crew are celebrating a touch of the ancient Middle East brought here by Les Mills International. Photo / Michael Craig 

Building of the gym’s carpark is by Leighs Construction, which in 2018 began work on the 333-vehicle block beside the existing Les Mills’ Auckland City at 186 Victoria St, opposite Spark and above Victoria Park. 

Concept design for the film set at Les Mills Auckland City. Photo / supplied by Steve Baker, The Bakery Collective 

Jak Phillips, Les Mills International’s director of public relations and content, said today BodyCombat was the world’s most popular martial arts-based workout, invented by the business 25 years ago. 

“It has been able to constantly reinvent itself and ensure it stays relevant to changing trends and attracting new audiences,” the London-based executive said. 

The $1.2 million boxing studio at Les Mills Auckland City. Photo / Les Mills 

BodyCombat virtual reality had been launched in the past two years, he said. 

“BodyCombat VR has become the most popular, best-selling virtual reality fitness game in the world,” he said. 

Facebook co-founder Mark Zuckerberg had demonstrated BodyCombat virtual reality last year for celebrities. 

Phillips said virtual reality fans tended to spend a long time on the internet gaming, but he added: “We’ve been able to spark a level of fitness in them almost by stealth and found it through their gaming. So they join the gym. It’s brought in a whole new generation to gyms and is helping more people to reap the rewards of an active lifestyle”, he said. 

BodyCombat was empowering physically and mentally, Phillips said, and its programme directors based in Auckland are Dan Cohen and Rachael Newsham. 

Anne Gibson has been the Herald’s property editor for 24 years, has written books and covered property extensively here and overseas. 

This article was originally published on the NZ Herald here.