I was an armed cop but ditched my guns and uniform for fun Zumba side hustle – life’s too short, I have zero regrets

AN ARMED cop told how she ditched her guns and uniform to become a zumba instructor.

Stephanie Harper, 27, got fed up with the long shifts and 80 hour weeks as an officer.

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The fitness classes started as a sideline but she realised they could become a full-time job with a lot less stress and hassle.

And now she can rake in more from an hour-long session than she would pounding the beat for 12 hours.

Stephanie, from Wick, Caithness, said: “I’ve got no regrets at all. I’m so much happier. I couldn’t imagine going back now.

“I’ve gone from working shifts and being lumbered with overtime to choosing my work hours.

“I’ve got complete freedom doing something I absolutely adore.
“Some months I make less, some months I make more and other months I make a lot more.”

Stephanie was an officer with the Civil Nuclear Constabulary, the armed police force which guards nuclear sites.

There’s a lack of jobs in the north so she jumped at the chance to sign up and go on a 17-week training course.

She spent more than three years patrolling Dounreay nuclear facility.
Stephanie said: “I never hated being in the police. The job served me really well.

“I bought my house, went on amazing holidays and it allowed me to save up some money.”

Stephanie always enjoyed doing zumba until her local instructor never resumed classes after covid.

She decided to take over and get up on stage herself, something she had always dreamed of doing, and launched Zumba with Steph.

But she didn’t want to walk away from her job until she knew for certain it would work.

She said: “After a 12 hour shift I’d get changed into my bright pink zumba pants and go and teach a class.

“I did this for nearly 5 months before leaving my employment.

“I needed to make sure my classes were busy enough, that I enjoyed it and I could actually make a living from it. I knew then that it was time to leave.”

Friends and relatives warned Stephanie she could be making a big mistake ditching a steady job to become a fitness instructor.

But things took off quickly and she now stages sessions outside her town and across Caithness.

She has fans who come to several classes a week and she’s built what she calls her zumba family. Her first anniversary is coming up.

Stephanie said: “I think it’s easy to get wrapped up in the work environment or caught in the ‘money trap’.

“People will have you believe there’s no work outside the police, but there is.

“In my head I thought, I have one life. We’re a tiny speck of dust on a floating rock. The world was never going to end if I ended my police career. If it doesn’t work out I can always try something else.”