A FITNESS guru has celebrated her tenth anniversary of running fitness classes in Monmouthshire.

It’s been a big year for FitSteps champion Sophie Stevens who not only celebrated her ten years of ‘Dancing with Sophie Stevens’ at the first venue she ever held classes, but she also turned 30 this year, had a hen party and her wedding with a honeymoon coming up!

Over the ten years of running classes from FitSteps to Zumba, line dancing to FitSteps Fab, she has been awarded FitSteps instructor of the Year for the whole of Wales and UK Line Dance Award for Rising Star.

Keeping faithful to her roots, she still does all these different classes now on a weekly basis.

She held her anniversary party at Bridges, her first venue, and gave her members from the different types of classes a chance to gather and enjoy a social event.

Sophie reflects on her ten years of success
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“Some of the members who were there were my original members on the first day that I did a class” said Sophie “and everyone else has been a part of my journey, so whether they attended for just a year out of the ten or stuck with me for my whole journey, we all got-together,” she added.

As well as the social get-together, they also played two rounds of Irish bingo and a quiz helped by her mum Amanda on the different classes and categories that she teaches, “it was the case that they got to learn a little bit about some of the other classes and background.”

Marking her 10 years, Sophie has brought out her own Welsh merchandise: The t-shirts and hoodies and jackets have her logo, a daffodil and music notes running through it “because I am still patriotic and we wanted to show we are from Wales and being the Welsh Instructor of the year to FitSteps it's quite suited,” she added.

“It feels nice that in my ten years I'm currently the award winner for FitSteps and also rising star for the UK Line Dance Awards (LDA)