Aira Lopez
Duathlete and vlogger Aira Lopez said she had her first brush with show biz a few years ago when she became a body double for an actress in a teleserye.
“They needed a female who could swim and ride a bike. All my scenes that got aired were top view. My face was never shown, obviously,” Aira told reporters in a recent gathering to launch her as one of the hosts of the sports and travel program “Cycling Unlimited.”
Commercial model and bike enthusiast Kyle Mendoza will share hosting chores with Aira.
“Prior to all these, I never really imagined myself as part of show biz. Until now, I still can’t believe that I’m a host of a television program,” Aira told Inquirer Entertainment.
Big opportunity
“Whenever I would imagine myself crying in front of a camera, I would cringe. But I believe in the magic of acting workshops. I’m willing to work my way up,” she declared.
Aira has over 530,000 subscribers on her sports-lifestyle vlog on YouTube. She said she has long been sharing with her followers “the world of cycling. That is why when I got a call about the show, I said it’s a big opportunity for me to share my journey to more people. Since it’s TV, I know I will be able to reach more people, and encourage more noncyclists to take up biking,” she said.
Aside from vlogging, Aira, the duathlete, also joins competitions regularly. In fact, in the last race she joined prepandemic, she was declared champion in her age category under the women’s division.
“When it comes to races, our taping schedule is pretty relaxed. I can still train on days when we don’t have shoots. I still make sure that I have time to train for the races I plan to participate in,” she said.
Family bonding
Aira first pursued cycling six years ago. Her dad, who have long been a cyclist in Tarlac province, influenced her to take up the sport. “He has a spare bike at home. I decided to join him and his team in some of their rides. I then realized that I enjoyed all those trips. Since then, biking became a form of bonding for my family, even my siblings would join,” she recalled.
Aira is grateful to have found work while doing something she loves. “Long before this, I dreamed of becoming a PBA courtside reporter. Sadly, I never made it. This show is one of my greatest blessings in my life,” said Aira, adding that she idolizes Gretchen Ho, also a former athlete who decided to pursue a broadcasting career.
Asked what she hoped to tackle in the show’s first few episodes, Aira said: “I want to feature cyclist vloggers like me. There’s one interesting vlogger, who has been into cycling for years now. He was able to put up a bike shop as a result of what he has been sharing on his YouTube channel. His story is really inspiring,” said the 23-year-old.
Also present at the media gathering were program director Peter Allan Mariano and executive producer Romeo Martin. “Cycling Unlimited” is scheduled to air in March 2022 on CNN Philippines.