A new YouTube documentary series offers unprecedented access to the world of elite fitness, revealing the passion, pressure, and personal consequences of competition as top coaches vie to become stars.
AUCKLAND, New Zealand, April 14, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Leading fitness brand Les Mills today announced the global launch of RISE: Search for the Ultimate Trainers, a new documentary series on YouTube taking viewers behind the scenes of elite performance at the highest level of fitness.
To celebrate the launch of RISE, Les Mills will be sharing an array of its legendary workouts for free on YouTube, allowing millions more people to begin their own fitness journey.
Premiering on April 13 on the Les Mills YouTube channel, RISE follows the daily lives of top fitness coaches competing for one of the most sought-after positions in the fitness industry: a spot on the Les Mills global filming team.
With a pool of 100,000 certified Les Mills instructors worldwide, the competition is fierce and the challenge constant.
This six-episode series, filmed over a two-year period, travels from New Zealand to London, Los Angeles, Shanghai, Berlin, Amsterdam, Riyadh, and Stockholm, capturing high-level performances in front of thousands of fitness enthusiasts. The journey culminates in New Zealand, where the final coaches must earn their spot by filming the beloved workout sessions enjoyed by 7 million people each week in 23,000 gyms worldwide.
But RISE is more than just about the spotlight. Far from the lights and crowds, the series reveals the dedication required to stay at the top, balancing family, health, constant travel, and the demands of organizing the most popular group classes in the world. These athletes have fought their whole lives to get here, and in the fitness world, being part of the Les Mills filming team is the ultimate achievement. But can they rise to the challenge?
RISE follows the athletes and contenders in the heat of competition, featuring appearances from current stars and the coaching team, focusing on eight aspiring coaches: – Maggie Cheng (China) – Vili Fifita (New Zealand) – Sebastian Jaramillo (Germany) – Charlotte Ranque (France) – Lula Slaughter (United States) – Kenshin Tani (Japan) – Brontë Terrell (United Kingdom) – Marlon Woods (United States).
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