Following in the footsteps of his grandfather is something Shane Gorst always aspired to do.

Now, after years of leadership roles in the corporate world, including some high-profile ones in Hawke’s Bay, he’s swapping a tailored suit for a police uniform as one of the newest 366 wing police graduates bound for the Eastern District.

“My grandfather was a cop for just over 30 years, so I’ve always had the New Zealand Police as an aspiration of mine,” Gorst said.

“But as often happens, life sort of takes off in a different direction and you follow it.”

Constable Robert Christopher Gorst was a police forensic photographer based in Auckland and was part of the Erebus air tragedy mortuary phase of Operation Overdue, which began on November 29, 1979.

“It’s a proud day to be following my granddad’s footsteps,” Gorst said of his graduation.

“Equally it’s a special day because I think that if he was still here today, he would be proud of the direction that New Zealand Police are heading and their aspiration for New Zealand to be the safest country.”

Starting his corporate journey in retail in Auckland, he worked his way up through the ranks at Noel Leeming where he eventually went on to helm its leadership development programme.

 “My grandparents and parents always instilled the value of service in me, so working in a community has always been something that’s spun my wheels and something that I’ve wanted to get into.”

This drive prompted him to work in the charity sector, where he worked in a management role for Make-A-Wish New Zealand, eventually becoming its chief executive.

“I was 30 at the time and probably grossly under-prepared for my first CEO role. It was a pretty steep learning curve but an amazing organisation and a really good place to cut your teeth on in the community sector.”

After a series of family tragedies and health issues, Gorst and his family decided it was time to move away from Auckland.

“We decided that the lifestyle wasn’t doing anything good for our wellbeing, so we sold everything and moved to Hawke’s Bay. We’d fallen in love with Hawke’s Bay after previous visits, so came down with no job, no house and a car full of stuff.”

His first leadership role in Hawke’s Bay was one many would recognise him from.

Shane Gorst at the Art Deco Trust HQ in Napier in 2016. He was the general manager of Art Deco Trust at that time. Photo / Warren Buckland

As the general manager of the Napier Art Deco Trust, he left a lasting legacy and helped champion the establishment of the Robert MacGregor Heritage Fund.

“I loved Art Deco, it was a lot of fun. They have an awesome team of volunteers that made it a really nice role.”

Gorst said while he enjoyed his time with Art Deco, he wanted to transition into something even more involved in the community. This prompted him to take the general manager role at Totara Health in Hastings for four years.

The emergence of Covid-19 gave Gorst the opportunity to work closely with the community and help those who were struggling with the health system.

“It was right up my alley, right at the coalface working with the community trying to get better outcomes for a group that weren’t having great outcomes.”

After the worst of the pandemic subsided, Gorst said he sat down with his wife to evaluate what was next.

“We were doing a bit of reflection about where we were at and where we were going.

“In terms of me and what I wanted to do, if I didn’t have a crack at the police now I never would.”

He said he rapidly tried to get fit for the rigorous demands of the job.

“After 15 years of corporate lifestyle and in those sorts of roles I wasn’t in the best shape of my life.”

His volunteer work with the Havelock North Fire Brigade had been a big help, he said.

After the application process, according to Gorst things went “in the blink of an eye”. He has now graduated from police college and soon starts his on-the-job training in Hastings.

“Part of this whole journey that we’ve been on as a family has been about making sure we do what we want to do and what’s best for us, but also showing the kids that it’s never too late.

“If you want to pursue something, pursue it.”