King of Beers Lights up SA

It's hard to believe the FIFA 2010 Soccer World Cup was 8 years ago and the next one is around the corner in Russia. Budweiser, the King of Beers, Budweiser is celebrating is official sponsorship of the 2018 FIFA World Cup by going around the country lighting eight of South Africa's 2010 stadiums  so that South Africans can feel part of the hype leading up to the most watched sporting event ever. This weekend is the turn of Durban, yes, on Saturday the 19th of May,  Durban's iconic Moses Mabhida Stadium will be lit up in celebration. Fans are invited to join Budweiser for the city's official Light up party with Metro FM and DJ Fresh at Tiger Tiger night club, where they won't just be partying the night away, but also have the opportunity to win one FIFA World Cup ticket!

For more information, follow @BudweiserSA on Twitter and BudweiserSouthAfrica on Facebook, using the hashtag #BudLightUpTourSA

Bucket Babe: Vanessa Haywood

It's 2014 and it's time to kick off the new year with a smoking hot local lass that will set the tone for the rest of the months ahead. This weeks featured beauty is an actress and an adventure enthusiast as she par-takes in lots of outdoor sports, mainly mountain biking and cycling, before making her break on the big screen she also had many stints on television, most recently she was a celebrity contestant in the local Survivor Series. Besides all the media accolades, she is also a qualified professional but now uses her time to focus on her sports and charity work. Back in 2010, during the World Cup she was flying around the country and so was I, just by chance we were always flying into the same destinations at about the same time, so I used to joke with her on twitter that she's stalking me. Having a beautiful blonde stalker? I wasn't complaining. Take time to read through her bio, some inspirational stuff there and find just what makes her all round Gorgeous-Ness.

Vanessa Haywood

Bio:

I grew up on a farm in Mpumalanga, South Africa and spent most of my childhood running in wheat fields and covered in mud! I come from a family of five. My mum, Caroline has been with the Medi-Clinic group for many years and my dad, Eric is in the milling industry having come from a farming background. I have two gorgeous younger sisters, Kim (28) and Robyn (21). 

I was painfully shy as a child and my mum thought that doing some modelling and beauty contests might help. I completed a few finishing and modelling courses, and went on to secure a number of beauty queen titles. Little did I know at the time that it was the start of an extremely exciting career! 

After high school I studied Chiropractic in Durban but due to terrible violence on campus that year and witnessing a fellow student get shot and killed, I decided my life had to change course. I went on to study marketing and business management and got my diplomas in 2001. This particular education has been paramount to my creating and managing my own personal brand and working very closely with my sponsors and the media. 

In 2000, I was a Miss South Africa finalist, which was a important catalyst for my career. After finishing my studies I started travelling extensively for my modelling work and got to see the quite a bit of the world. I lived between London, Hamburg and Cape Town, travelling to exotic destinations such as Costa Rico and Sardinia. I met wonderful people all over the world and have been on the covers of many magazines, filmed a number of TV commercials, and appeared in many clothing catalogues and advertising campaigns (all local and international). 

In 2007 I was chosen as the Shape Cover Look of the Year winner securing a Shape magazine cover, which grew my career further and also opened the door to the sporting industry.I eventually studied drama as theatre, film and television have been a part of my life since I was a little girl. My television career started before my film career did, having presented for Groen (Kyknet), Top Billing (SABC 3), AgriTV (SABC 1), Superdance (ETV) and Wildlife Video Cast (Asia). I have also presented many corporate videos and record voice-overs for both radio and film/television.

I had small roles in “Hey Boy” directed by Brendan Pollecut and “Blood Diamond” directed by Edward Zwick. It was an honour to work with the Oscar winning director! My big break came in 2009 when I was cast as the leading lady for District 9 directed by Neill Blomkamp and produced by Peter Jackson (Lord of the Rings) which sat at number 1 for 3 weeks and raked in more than $200 000 million at the Box Office. We were nominated for 4 Oscars and look forward to the possibility of making the sequel. The thought of working with a genius director like Neill again excites me! 

I completed my first British film in 2010 called The Sweet Shop, which is a Romantic Comedy, directed by Ben Myers and produced by Bertie Stephens. I played along side great actors like Gemma Atkinson (daughter of Rowan Atkinson) and Matthew Lewis (Harry Potter). 

In 2011 I took part in “Survivor Maldives – Celebs vs Plebs” and my experience can only be described as phenomenal; a once in a lifetime opportunity and the epitome of suffering! I learnt such amazing things about strength, my life and myself in general! 

I took to the airwaves for a few months in 2011 with my own radio show on 2 Oceans Vibe Radio called Vee-Entertainment! I love radio and learnt so much about this exciting media medium! Earlier this year I had my own Podcast show at the ABSA Cape Epic, called Epic-Ness. 

My life has taken a major turn and although I am still quite passionate about the film industry, I focus primarily on the sporting industry now, using my profile to influence children and adults to lead healthier, more active lives. Having being sporty my whole life, and then meeting my partner, professional trail runner Ryan Sandes in 2010, embracing sport became a daily part of my life and at the end of 2012 I became a semi-professional mountain biker, earning most of my income through cycling. For fun, I still compete in in trail running, XTerra and I’m also a keen golfer!

Links:

Website: www.vanessahaywood.com

Twitter: @VanHaywood

Facebook: Vanessa Haywood Official

Q&A:

1. Hot girls and hot cars go hand in hand, what ride would you like to see yourself in?

• My absolute fav fast car is the Audi R8. I LOVE the slick lines, the engines sound, the interior, etc.! But since I'm a farm girl, I tend to be more practical and love SUV's- my fav is the Range Rover Evoque.

2. What sandwich are you most likely to make for me? and will it be toasted or plain?

• I love these questions!  Ha ha! I would make you a rye sandwich with roast beef, grain mustard, rocket leaves, emmental cheese, slice tomato and a bit of  low-fat mayo. Ground salt and pepper to finish it off. A whole lot of goodness but some naughty-ness too ;-)

3. What type of music gets your booty shaking?

• I LOVE music and since most of my life revolves around sport and training now, I always have my iPod on! I have eclectic taste when it comes to music and like a bit of everything. My fav bands however are: Mumford & Sons, Avicci, Florence & the Machine, The Naked & Famous, Ben Howard, Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros, Bruno Mars, Swedish House Mafia, Foo Fighters, etc, etc!

4. Being both an actress and a model, which profession do you prefer?

• That's a tough question because although both professions are interlinked at some point or another, they are VERY different. Modelling doesn't require too much thought and is more "artistic" and about body movement. I enjoy having my hair and make-up done; getting all glamed -up and putting pretty clothes on. Acting however, demands a massive amount of your energy and creativity. You have to learn scripts, embrace the character you're playing whilst playing off other characters you're playing alongside. It's quite intense but I am so passionate about it. I would chose acting any day!

5. Which movie did you enjoy making the most?

• That's easy! District 9 of course! Working with Neil (Blomkamp) was amazing and trying to get a rather complex story across was quite a challenge but the end-result was so rewarding.

6. Popcorn goes well with movies and everyone loves it (well I think they do) what's your topping sprinkle of choice?

• Salt and vinegar for sure!

7. Growing up you must have had someone you aspired to be, so who is your role model?

• As a teenager I absolutely loved Cindy Crawford and Julia Roberts. Julia is still one of my favourite actors but there are some amazing "new kids on the block" like Amanda Seyfried. She's phenomenal!

8. By following you on twitter, it is evident you're quite the athlete and like to keep active, what is your best tip to stay healthy?

• "Everything in moderation" is what I live by. I eat a healthy diet which consists of balanced food groups but I eat a lot of fresh veg. I only eat free-range or organic meats. I've also started incorporating "Superfoods". Go to www.superfoods.co.za to get a better understanding of that they are. I make great smoothies using these superfoods. I do however love my red wine too but it's full of anti-oxidants, so in moderation is good for you too. I drink a lot of water which is vital for body function. I train hard but I also rest when my body tells me it needs to :-)

9. You're also quite the outdoors person, done anything adventurous of late?

• My most recent epic adventure was hiking up the Matroosberg in the snow, to the top of the mountain where we stayed in a gorgeous ski-hut and spent the weekend snowboarding! Only 2 hours from Cape Town!.

10. Christmas and New Year has just passed but which city would be your dream destination for these festivities?

• I've always wanted to go New York over Christmas and New years! I've only been there in summer and it was so hot! I'd love to experience the hustle and bustle of NY during the festive season!

Looking back on 2010

2010: Its been a pretty insane year dont you think? Besides the for obvious reasons alot of things went down in this year, we found out who the Stig was, we re-created the big bang, and Robert Mugabe is still a douche.

As I sit here today thinking or trying to think what went down in 2010, only one word can come to mind to describe it. LEGENDARY. I know the word is over used after Barney Stinson basically made it part of normal conversation but truly this year for me was just that. Firstly thanks to the intwerbs and twitter! It has changed my life, changed the way I do things, see things, experience things and it forced me to create this very blog! I could bore you and give you the the details on why this year was so great but I'd spare you the annoyance and give a brief summary of my years happenings in pictures, because everyone likes pictures right?
_____________________________________________________________

Kiaria Lodge - Golden Gate National Park

Jan started of with me in the Berg, awesome place to unwind, relax and breathe in the clean fresh air the mountains have to offer. Whether you go for hiking, fishing, mountain biking or like me, to kick back relax with a fire and meat burning on it with a beverage in hand. There is no better place to chill.
_____________________________________________________________

Clarens

We stayed near a small town in the Free State called Clarens. This place has more restaurants than houses! theres 100's of them in a town as small as a block in Jhb!
_____________________________________________________________

Katse Dam

Staying so close to the Lesotho border and me have fetish for big things that are made out of concrete we saw this as an ideal opportunity to see one of the Southern Hemisphere's marvouls. The Katse Dam located in the Lesotho highlands! Its the second largest dam in Africa... its huge! but getting there, yoh be prepared thats all Im going to say, its not easy!
_____________________________________________________________

Reshma & Shyam

From the berg we made our way to the land of the big hole, aka Kimberley for my cousins wedding. Now Ive been to tons weddings before but this one was special, if one has to dig up Kimberleys Tourism figures, one would distinctly notice that the weekend of the 30th Jan will stand out. All the hotels in the city were fully booked and on the wedding day itself if you drove around town you were guaranteed to spot a woman in a sarie!
_____________________________________________________________

Queen Mary 2

Keeping with the big things theme. In March the Queen came to visit! No not that old hag that waves like she has an electronic wrist joint. Cunards luxury cruise liner, the Queen Mary 2! The biggest trans-Atlantic cruise ship in the world! Jostling to get a good spot at the harbour entrance to see her leave was a mission, not to mention they delayed the exit by an hour! but it was all worth it.
_____________________________________________________________
 

First Official flight from KSIA

May saw the opening of Durbans new King Shaka International Airport. The one that was being planned from the days of the dinosaurs which finally saw green light given 2 years back. I've followed this project since the first pile was put in with a bunch of mates on a construction forum so we had to go down there for the official opening and witness the first commercial flight taking off. Plus I came on national TV!
_____________________________________________________________

Tiesto

May saw me being part of a chosen 1000 to witness something unexplainable. Smirnoff brought down DJ'ing great Tiesto for a one night show. I got the call on Friday morning to say I've got a ticket, the concert was the next night, I had to chose 3 other friends to join me and arrange flights. It was one chaotic day but ended up being a weekend for the record books. The man is a legend, he had us in a trance till 4 in the morning. To top things off I got to meet DJ Fresh, Euphonik and on the plane back home I met Wayne Brady who was touring SA.
_____________________________________________________________

Moses Mabhida Stadium

June saw the biggest event in the world kick off right here on our shores. The World cup has been talked about since the time we won the bid to host it. It for me was the most anticipated event of my LIFE! Yes everything for me revolved around this event. I followed the bid process, the stadium constructions and everything else World Cup related, I even made it onto FIFA's website!
_____________________________________________________________

Moses Mabhida -Semi Final

I have to add more to it, all in all I saw 7 matches including the semi final in Durban. Just to experience the event was something, I made sure I took as many people as I could. I even dragged my mum who hates sports to see a game! I braved the minus temps of Jhb and partied with the Algerians and drank with the English in Cape Town. Everytime I think back to June/ July I get goose bumps. Meeting so many different people from all over the world and more importantly seeing our nation unite as one to welcome the world was just spectacular.

_____________________________________________________________

Gosais Supermarket

 July was also quite emotionally sad for my family and I as we bid fairwell to our business that we've had for 79 years. My whole life revolved around the "shop". I didnt know what it felt like to do shopping until this year. Normal bread and milk was a given and brought home from the supermarket, as well as so many other things. It was tough letting it go but Im sure even tougher for my dad and his brothers. In the long term I suppose it was the right thing to do but we still have fond memories of the place.

the 3rd generation

_____________________________________________________________

Kavita doing the Champers justice

My sister turned 21... you know you're old when the baby in your family reaches this age. It was quite a party too. Smack bang middle in our fasting month, this one took a long time to plan and lets not get started on the cake but it turned out to be a blast and me quite enjoying the food as told in my blog post.
_____________________________________________________________

Trevor Noah & Pixie Bennett

Thanks to Rabin Hurduth for organising VIP tickets to see the most famous CEO in South Africa. And I got to meet fellow twitter buddy and major SA singer Pixie Bennett.
_____________________________________________________________

Kings Park - Currie Cup Final

October saw me attend my first ever Currie Cup final. The Sharks have made it to finals before and won, but lost many as well so I wasnt sure what to expect from this one knowing we carried the dreaded chokers tag. The match itself was quite the opposite with us running away with the victory. Definitely one for the record books.
_____________________________________________________________

ATB

November saw me invited for yet another Smirnoff event, this time for the Nightlife Exchange project in Cape Town. Featuring one of my favourite DJ's ATB. I also was educated in trance by the great Markus Schulz. It was an event bigger than Tiesto but I cant compare the 2 since both were epic in their own way.

_____________________________________________________________

Camps Bay

Being in Cape Town I pulled an extra few days after the concert, I lived it up, pimped it up,  met up with many of the twitter peeps, partied till the wee hours of the morning and made that mountain my bitch. Basically I did that Town justice and when I left I had it begging for more, be warned mountain... I'll be back.
_____________________________________________________________

Theres still 2 weeks left in the year and more memories to be made, the main thing is to be safe in what ever it is that you're doing. If you're drinking, dont drive, if you're going to be messing with fireworks on New Years, be aware of those around you and the pets but all in all dont forget to have fun! You only live once.

This wont be my last blog post for the year but seems like a good time to do a review.

Lets hope 2011 out does 2010.