Andrea Ocampo on embracing her 'crazy' in MLW, helping empower young people

Brian Fritz

Andrea Ocampo on embracing her 'crazy' in MLW, helping empower young people image

Even at an early age, Andrea Ocampo knew that she wanted a career in broadcasting. Little did she know where that career path would take her — professional wrestling.

“Broadcasting was the end goal and I've always been so, so lucky that I've gotten all the opportunities that I set out for myself,” explained Ocampo. “I've made the most impossible goals and, hey, I ended up in wrestling in just the most random situation that I ended up loving.”

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After a year working for WWE’s NXT brand, Ocampo has found a new opportunity with Major League Wrestling where she will work as their backstage correspondent beginning with Thursday’s “MLW: Spring Break ‘18” event at the Gilt Night Club in Orlando, Fla.

The show will include Low Ki vs. MVP in an unsanctioned match along with the semi-finals of the MLW Heavyweight Championship tournament in which Matt Riddle faces ACH and Shane Strickland takes on Jimmy Havoc. Tickets are available at MLWTickets.com and the show will be available online 48 hours later via internet pay-per-view at MLW.tv.

The 18-year broadcast veteran believes it’s a great fit considering the schedule and what she brings to the table.

“I understand the culture and I have a passion for it, “ said Ocampo. “It fit nicely and the fact that they're very open to my ideas. I'm not just told what to do; I'm actually integrated in the process because I am a producer. I'm not just a host. I'm a producer, I'm a writer and if someone asks my opinion that's great. You should ask for my opinion.”

The south Florida native says she has always been an artist whether that was a dancer or her fascination with broadcasting. She eventually served as the arena host for the Florida Panthers as well as being the Latin Market Manager for the NHL team.

After four seasons, one of Ocampo’s producers told her that NXT was looking for someone with her skills that could also speak Spanish. The time was right for new to try something different.

“When it was first brought up to me, I was like wrestling?,” said Ocampo. “That's cool but I don't remember watching wrestling since I was a kid but I was ready for a challenge. I was ready for an adventure. I was ready for a change.”

Ocampo, under the name Andrea D’Marco, was hired as a TV host and ring announcer for NXT and WWE live events that took her throughout the country. While she was new to the business, she was hungry to learn about it and has since become a big fan.

“I didn't think I would end up falling in love with it as much as I did,” admitted Ocampo. “When you're in that industry, you get to know the wrestlers and the sacrifice that it takes to get there. I really was able to appreciate the hard work that they've put into it and I ended up loving it.” 

One of the challenging parts of working for WWE is the schedule with Ocampo have to put her sole focus towards. That also meant having to turn down other lucrative projects. That won’t be an issue with MLW that is running a limited schedule of events with four more — May 10, July 12, Sept. 6 and Nov. 8 —for the remainder of 2018.

Ocampo was only with NXT for a year but that experience was invaluable as it allowed her to learn that she can do anything.

“Obviously, there was a lot of doubt when I start,” said Ocampo. "We all have doubt. We all struggle with doubt. I wanted to be authentic in who I was and just to follow my instincts a little bit more. I was able to leave that world more empowered than ever. There were highs and lows, I was brand new and I left really grateful for my opportunity there because it continued to empower myself in an industry that is dominated by men. I think that is a huge aspect that I will always carry.”

The 36-year-old is more than keeping busy with all of the projects she now has the time and freedom to pursue. That includes MLW along, the tour host for Arenacross, and as the national correspondent for the “Young Americans” airing on TLC.

That is the broadcasting side of her work schedule but her most passionate project is her website “With Guts & Grace!” where she shares her experiences in hopes of helping and inspiring others. 

“I want to empower creators, students, myself that we don't just have to be one thing,” explained Ocampo. “We can leverage our talent to create the freedom we want because that's essentially what I've always wanted to have.”

Ocampo admits that she has been “throwing spaghetti against the wall for the last 15 years” when it comes to her career path that now includes a number of jobs. She regularly receives emails from people all over the world asking for advice so she is now making the time to give back and help these people.

That also includes her becoming a motivational speaker along with her “Morning Coffee” vlog to help motivate people and give them the confidence to do what they love.

But don’t expect her to give up working in sports broadcasting anytime soon.

“This may sound corn flakey but, to tell you the truth, with everything that I've done, I've been really able to harness that this is my ultimate passion but I'm not going to give up the love for sports,” she explained. “I'm not going to give up my love for wrestling, and I'm not going to be able to give up my love for Arenacross. I always want to lead by example and that's what I'm doing.”

After all these years, Ocampo knows her purpose and what her perfect job is.

“It's the one that I'm creating for myself right now,” she said. “It's where my crazy can be embraced and harnessed and monetized. 

“Everything you see right now, it's not even close to what I have in the works.”

Brian Fritz can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @BrianFritz and listen to his Between The Ropes podcast on Blog Talk Radio.

Brian Fritz

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Brian Fritz is a contributor with The Sporting News covering the NBA and NFL who previously worked at BasketballNews. He is a 20-year veteran of sports talk radio in Orlando, Florida, after graduating from the University of Central Florida. He now resides in Durham, North Carolina.