Aubrey Up Close

Day 1 to London, I traveled to Washington-Dulles to meet up with my PR rep who was traveling with me (and T) to the UK. So, we set off early from Florida, before arriving at Dulles and we headed straight for the infamous Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse!

We had about a 4-5 hour layover, but let me tell you, the time flew by hanging out inside the very chic Clubhouse while waiting for the flight…the best part, the food! Uh, I sampled just about everything on the menu…Chicken Corn Chowder, Shrimp Cocktail, Italian Sausage Pasta, Berries and Cream dessert and a Lemon one as well… 0_O

Soon enough, our “ride” arrived…

Once on flight we relaxed and even had a drink at “the bar!”

It was a quick flight into London, and we hit the ground running, coming off of a red-eye flight from IAD to LHR! Now, for many people, a “red eye” isn’t the most ideal, but actually, flying on Virgin Atlantic Premium Economy was super comfortable and upon arrival at Heathrow, I was able to utilize their (VIP) Revivals Lounge, which is where I was able to shower and freshen up with all the amenities of a luxe hotel!

Our first stop of the day was Tampa Bay Buccaneers practice at the Pennyhill Park Hotel (and Spa) and after practice I had the opportunity to interview a few of the players.

I have fresh footage that I will be editing On The Flipside, but for now here’s the clip of me and the most veteran Buc, Ronde Barber, talking about the experience of being in London to play American Football!!

After hanging out with the Bucs, we headed over to “The Oval” aka the Surrey County Cricket Club where the Chicago Bears would be practicing. This venue is considered the Yankee Stadium of cricket, and as luck would have it, a few cricket players were on hand to demo the game, so a few of the Bears tried it out before their practice!

Below a picture of Chicago Bears – Lance Briggs, Charles Tillman, Brian Urlacher and Matt Forte taking in the sights.

Lance Briggs takes a swing at cricket…

I also snapped a photo with Coach Lovie Smith

And — I talked one on one with Charles Tillman! Here’s a snippet, more to come OTF.

After we wrapped at Bears practice we checked into the St. Martins Lane Hotel in central London! I can’t tell you how exciting it was to take a “breather,” as the 2 days of travel and attending events, actually felt like one LONG day, running on pure adrenaline, fighting the time change, etc..! BUT — did I mention the in-room cupcakes!?!?

We had a free evening Friday, so T and I met up with my friend Christian (an Australian living in London), he took up to the Skylon restaurant for dinner overlooking the Thames, then we did a quick walking tour to see Big Ben and Parliament as well as Westminster Abbey and the London Eye, etc…

Tomorrow I will post my Day 2 RECAP…and stay tuned for NEW footage which will be On The Flipside soon!!

I WON!!! I’m the #RedHotReporter for Virgin Atlantic for the NFL International Series…  The game is going down Oct. 23 in London (yes, England) at Wembley Stadium when the BUCS take on da BEARS!!! Cheerio!!

PICK ME! I want to be @VirginAtlantic’s #RedHotReporter for the NFL International Series in London!! First off, I am a FAN, I grew up on football and even had the honor of gracing the NFL sidelines as a pro cheerleader for 2 NFL teams, taking my “fan status” to another level. I know all about the game, the experience and I’m still an unofficial “ambassador” for the NFL, being recognized as an alumni of the elite group of women who have cheered as team representatives and ultimate fans from the NFL sidelines! Alright…going into the archives for the throwback pics…RAIDERS and CARDINALS!

Outside of my “dance and cheer” background, I have been working as a TV reporter since I graduated from college, so that’s what I do, ask questions, observe and tell stories/share info with the masses!

I have my personal blog and website http://aubreyaquino.com which is sort of my online resume…but is also my forum to share the things I do, like and find interesting…like “behind the scenes” info with my friends, family and beyond! I tweet @aubreyanne have a youtube http://www.youtube.com/miaubrey and we can’t forget the FB page! http://facebook.com/aubreyaquino >>> SOCIAL MEDIA SAVVY enough??

I have also taken my love for reporting and sports one step further by creating and hosting On The Flipside …a Sports Lifestyle show featuring Pro Sports/Athletes and entertainment away from the game, and it’s another way for me to connect with the fans and share the “flipside” of sports they may not normally see! http://ontheflipsidetv.com I could do a London episode!!

There are several other channels for OTF:

Twitter – @ontheflipsidetv
Facebook – http://facebook.com/ontheflipsidetv
Youtube – http://www.youtube.com/FlipsideSpx
Vimeo – http://vimeo.com/ontheflipsidetv
blip – http://blip.tv/OnTheFlipsideTV
blinkx – http://www.blinkx.com/channel/OnTheFlipside

Between my twitter(s), FB pages, blogs, channels, etc…I have several thousand followers, I’ve accumulated hundreds of thousands of video views… and I’ve built all this up by my own grassroots efforts! I AM Virgin Atlantic’s #REDHOTREPORTER!! NFL Football is part of my life – to date (aside from being part of the game day experience as an NFL cheerleader), I’ve attended numerous games across the country and have journeyed to the Pro Bowl in Hawaii too, in addition to reporting on games/fans as a TV reporter! This opportunity would be an absolute dream for me to be in London and share the experience with everyone as the Official #RedHotReporter!!! If there’s anything I do well, it’s talking (a lot), tweeting and giving out the 411!

And — let’s not forget this little “sports fan” experience I took part in for ESPN! Click play below!

One more thing Virgin – I fly you coast to coast ALL THE TIME! Check my elevate account…AND I took the inaugural flight from FLL -SFO … SOOOO, why not? PICK ME!!!

P.S. MY PASSPORT IS READY TO GO!!!!

***Friends – PLEASE TWEET THE LINK  to my entry http://aubreyaquino.com/2011/10/redhotreporter/ to @VirginAtlantic for @aubreyanne to be the #RedHotReporter AND COMMENT ON THIS POST BELOW!! Let them know why I’m the absolute PERFECT #RedHotReporter

I wanted to share some of the VIDEO highlights produced by On The Flipside (aka me), for the Pro Football Cheer Alumni Reunion in Vegas! It was a fabulous event and a huge success, being the inaugural year. I met some amazing women who are both inspiring and empowering… I just KNOW this event will grow by leaps and bounds with each year, so I hope all the ladies who can claim the “elite” status of having cheered on the NFL sidelines will consider joining us next time around! As NFL Cheer Alumni we can be such a powerful group affecting change…and of course we make great girlfriends and memories.

Press “PLAY” to see the “reunion reel!” Also, big shouts to Abe who joined us in Vegas as our Official Video Man and captured all the great footage that I edited together!

A couple shots with my “NFL” sisters!

Another episode of On The Flipside is here!! For this edition I used the Pro Football Cheerleader Alumni Reunion in Vegas as the backdrop and filled it with lots of fun!

On this show we’ve got Dwyane Wade at a charity basketball event in Beijing, China, interviews with Brad Pitt for his new baseball flick, Moneyball, a flashback with the SF 49ers on their first Super Bowl win and a SEXY look at the Miami Dolphins Cheerleaders and their calendar reveal event! Go now >> http://ontheflipsidetv.com

One of my very bestest friends Gaby joined me in Vegas this past weekend… We both went for the Pro Football Cheerleader Alumni Reunion, but it was also a nice girls getaway for us! And – our hang outs are usually 1 of 2 things…really chill, lay around and relax…OR we go from 1 to 100 in no time! This trip we did a little of both! ha

We did the nightclub thing, stopping by Playboy LV …

Our favorite quote of the weekend, “Gabriela, splits!” It came via a couple guys from Australia, one of which was throwing up signs for “West Side!” LOL

Our second going out night spot was HAZE…where we ran into DJ E ROCK!

We did a lot of loungin and talking…

The eating was not so healthy! :/

Took a stroll thru City Center, and got our “player cards” at Cosmopolitan (big pimpin’) – I look like a giant next to Gabs!

But — our favorite thing of the weekend was SLOTS!!

I hit this straight row of 7’s on the penny slots, looks like it should be something BIG…but it wasn’t really…HAHA! Oh well, you win some, you lose more…fun times!

AMAZING weekend in Vegas with FABULOUS women representing most of the NFL teams and several eras of Pro Football!! I’m so glad I can say I was part of the inaugural..and this “association” is only going to grow bigger and bigger every year… a collection of a very elite group of women!

“On The Flipside” I created the opening slideshow (above) with photos showcasing many of the attendees in their “cheering” days – I’ll be editing a highlight reel with video from the event very soon… In the meantime, below are some of the unofficial event photos! Such a GREAT, inspiring and empowering weekend filled with lots of new “sisters!”

The 32nd installation of On The Flipside is now online, and I’m already looking forward to #33. The good news is I’m freeing up some valuable time, so I plan to figure out how to take OTF to the next level…

On this episode, we’ve got highlights from Zo’s Summer Groove, and this year special guests Alicia Keys and Cee Lo Green performed…I was a bit jealous I wasn’t on hand for this time around, but nonetheless I do have the highlights! Then, in Orlando, see footage from Dwight Howard’s Pro Camp, followed up with the SF Giants trip to the White House. This episode’s Sideline Distraction is Stephanie, a Seattle Sea Gal!! You can watch all the shows by visiting http://ontheflipsidetv.com