August Featured Skater: Trauma Queen

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Headshot for Trauma Queen. She is wearing a black jersey and is standing in front of a rainbow brick wall. She is holding her helmet on her hip with her left arm. Her long purple and brown hair cascades over her shoulders, and she is smiling widely.

Name: Trauma Queen

Number: 626

Travel Team: Brawlers

Home Team: Moonshine Moxies

Years skating: 2

Her fierceness on the track is matched only by her sweetness off of it—get to know August’s skater of the month: Trauma Queen!

You were nominated by Jersey Cyclone, who has two questions for you. The first one—why did you want to do derby in the first place?

Well, it’s something I’d always thought about. I used to work at a bar that had one wall that was featuring local things, like there was a picture of Johnny Knoxville and Dolly Parton, and there was a picture of the Hard Knox Roller Girls from back in, I wanna say 2010 was when the photo was taken, and this was about 2012, when I saw it. I remember thinking that they looked like a bunch of really badass people, and I would like to be a part of that, but I really just didn’t know how to go about getting into it.

And so I had a series of things leading up to when I found derby (in summer of ‘21 at Goose Poop Island) that really just made me feel like I needed something that could help me take my power back. I went through some traumatic events that I won’t really share, but the people that know me know what they are, and I just needed something that made me feel like me again, my kind of thing that I could fit into, and definitely found it with the derby community.

Trauma and other HKRD skaters skating in Knoxville's Pride parade. Trauma is holding the lesbian pride flag; the trans and rainbow flags are also visible.

Had you skated before then?

When I was a kid, I used to skate. We went to the skating rink in Oak Ridge pretty regularly, but even with that much time on skates, it was shocking when I started boot camp, how much I really didn’t know about skating. I could skate, I could stay upright, and I could stop by slamming into a wall, but that’s really about all I could do. But so yeah, I liked to skate, but I just really wasn’t very experienced with it all. My dad used to take us to the overnight lock-ins at the skating rinks sometimes, which me and my brother loved. That was always fun.

So you grew up in Knoxville?

I grew up in a small town about 45 minutes north of Knoxville, closer to the Anderson County area, which [is why] we went to the Oak Ridge Skating Rink. So I’ve been in Knoxville since probably 2013/2014-ish.

Trauma and Jersey Cyclone holding their MVP awards after a bout.

And Jackie’s other question is: what have you learned about yourself because of derby?

A lot—that I’m tougher than I think I am (sometimes a lot of people like to remind me of that), that I’m still capable of learning new things in my 30s, how to be comfortable in my own skin. You know, I definitely was a little more self-conscious about wearing shorts and things, body image issues (like most of us have), but now I wear shorts and stuff pretty much all the time. Just because the acceptance of all body types in derby has really brought a lot to the table for me, opened my mind to where it’s just accepting, and I really don’t care what anybody might think anymore because I’m good with myself.

Trauma on bout day in full gear and makeup. Her feet are turned away from the camera, but she is looking back over her shoulder at the camera with a big smile on her face.

What has been your favorite position to play?

Blocker for sure. As we all know, that’s kind of my strong suit. I do not like to jam. I really am trying to get more comfortable as a pivot, but even then, the panic of forgetting that you’re wearing the panty when your jammer needs help is very real, so that’s still not something I’m super comfortable with, but I like to be in the middle in a wall. I feel like I’m pretty good as a butt, and I really like playing offense, especially when it’s impulsive offense. When I see my jammer trying to get through, just take out the brace or something like that, and I really love when it’s actually effective. That makes me want to do it more.

Trauma blocking an opponent jammer with her hip.

We had a moment in scrimmage last night where I was able to get my jammer through by just throwing myself into the brace and she didn’t see it coming, so she even told me after the jam, she was like, “Damn, I didn’t even know you were there.” I’m like yeah!

Using some of the things we had just been working on!

Yeah, pretty much! So that’s fun. I love when that all clicks too.

How would you describe your style as a blocker? Do you have a signature move or anything like that?

Not really I don’t feel like? Definitely a little chaotic. Kilty said something to me in practice the other day when we were doing the drill where the two blockers were driving the jammer, dropping them off, and going to the next person. He said, “It doesn’t have to be pretty as long as it’s effective.” And I’m like, that is my whole style: it doesn’t have to be pretty as long as it’s effective.

Trauma chasing down a jammer in a Naughty or Nice bout.

So you know, I just do what I can, but trying to get more comfortable with hitting hard too, because I want to be known for hard hits, and damn, okay, didn’t expect that, didn’t see that coming—I like that.

It’s always fun to hear the crowd react like that.

Oh yeah, that is fun. That one good hit that I got a few games ago, when I hit—I caught the jammer, she’d gotten out of the wall but I managed to catch up to her. She was trying to go by me sideways, and I shoulder hit her right in the chest, and the way that she flew back, spun around, landed on her stomach, and just slid across the floor, and the crowd, not only did the crowd go, “Ooh,” but they called the jam off and called medics over, so the whole place went quiet. And I was like, “Damn, okay!” And she’s fine now, we all know, but I could relish in it because she was okay, because that was the ultimate, not only did the crowd go, “Ooh” but then it got quiet.

Trauma and Lethally Blonde cheering on the bench.

And it was all legal!

It was! It was all legal. Super fun.

Now, if you’re ever not legal, what is your most common penalty to get?

Probably a directional and maybe a forearm. I get low blocks from time to time too when I fall—it’s always that someone has knocked me into somebody else and I fall into them. But my favorite low block was a few games ago when I happened to fall just right that my skirt, very short skirt, managed to get tangled in my wheel somehow, and I couldn’t stand. I tried to stand two or three times and was like, “What’s going on?” And about the time I realized, someone tripped over me, and Throbb called me to the box for a low block, and I’m like, “But I’m trying!” I had to pull my skirt out of my skate. But I was just kind of impressed, like how did I even do that? I had to have fallen just right for this much skirt to wind up in my skate.

The physics are, you wrap your head around it—

I couldn’t have done it if I had tried!

The crowd at a home bout. In the middle is a sign that says, "GO TRAUMA QUEEN!"

So when you tell people that you play roller derby, what is their reaction?

Ooh, mostly like, “Wow” and “That’s so cool” and most of them usually say something like, “Well that checks out” or “That makes sense.” Probably just because I fit the stereotypical fit girl with tattoos, purple hair. I’m kind of like the Barbie doll of roller derby.

You could be Weird Barbie!

Yes, exactly! Probably will be Weird Barbie for a bout, honestly, because she’s my favorite. I like the actress too, she’s just fun.

Trauma and Slamwise Gamgee on the bench on bout day. Slam is turned away from the camera, but Trauma is facing the camera and smiling widely. Both of their numbers are visible.

Well, how did you get your skater name and number? Where did those come about?

Well the number was one of the first things I decided before I even picked my name, because of Stitch (Lilo and Stitch), he is experiment 626. So when picking my number, I asked if that one was available, and I had my fingers crossed big time that no one else had taken it, and I was very excited they didn’t. Stitch has a little bit of a sentimental thing to me. It was my aunt and my cousin’s and my favorite movie when I was younger. She got that movie, the DVD, for me for Christmas, and we watched it a lot. So I love Lilo and Stitch, and I always get little Stitch things. Now I just love being 626, and I even like hearing sometimes in scrimmage when Throbb will call me: Black, 626. It’s just like: Abomination 626.

And as far as my skater name goes, I was looking for something punny and unironically being known as Trauma, considering that’s the amount of trauma that I’ve experienced, and it just made sense for me. And Queen, because who doesn’t want to be known as Something Queen, Queen of Anything. I’ll be the Queen of Trauma.

Bumble Beast and Trauma Queen sitting on the bench, waiting to go out on the track. The picture is taken from behind and above, and both sets of numbers and names are visible on their backs.

What’s a piece of advice that someone has given you that’s stuck with you?

Trusting your teammates and getting to know your teammates and really taking the time to develop that chemistry. Like for example, when I was given my blocking partner at the beginning of the season this year, which is [Bumble] Beast. I really hadn’t spoken to her very much, I didn’t really know her, and I remember wondering how they picked blocking partners and how they decided that that would be a thing. But us working together repetitively and spending time together, we have absolutely developed that chemistry, and it’s just, to me, it’s crazy how well that it fits. So trust my teammates, give it a chance, get to know them, and now I’m kind of lost on the track without her, so I love it.

Trauma in a bout day halftime game. She is in full gear and being pushed by a child around the track, with a full crowd in the background.

What’s your favorite part of bout day?

The makeup. I like getting dressed and going with the theme and doing something fun and wild with my makeup, and it’s gotten to where ‘regular makeup,’ I’m not very good at it any more. I have to be out there with it because I love bout day makeup and glitter. I also really like the parts where we arrive early and get to hang out and kind of spend time together that we don’t really get to spend otherwise. And then of course Mental now doing the family meal thing is one of the best things of bout day, because we all get to eat, enjoy each other, and hang out together in that little bit of extra time.

Selfie of Trauma and other HKRD skaters in the bathroom on bout day, getting ready.

And of course the newest addition to bout day is the makeup table where we all sit over there, and I like helping my teammates with the makeup because somehow I’ve managed to get halfway decent at it when all I do is play in it for bout days, but I end up helping to do makeup for other people, and I like doing that too.

So we’re halfway through our season. Thinking back to the beginning of this season, did you have any goals for yourself? And if so, have you accomplished any of them, made any progress, or made any adjustments to your goals?

Well I remember one of them for sure was to be more aggressive, and I definitely have accomplished that. I am not as afraid to throw hits as I used to be, and in that same note there, being able to stay upright when I throw hits, and I have most definitely been doing better about that, like keeping my balance with throwing hits. And one of the other goals that I remember saying was being able to help out as a pivot, and I have absolutely not gotten there yet. But still trying from time to time. I will in scrimmage, but I don’t want that pressure on me for an actual game.

Selfie of Trauma and other skaters at practice.

It’s a lot different.

It is. In scrimmage, I’m willing to try anything, and be places that I’m not used to being to get out of my comfort zone, because that’s what practice is for. In game, I want my comfy zone, I want my blocking partner, and I want what I’m used to doing. At least in the beginning, and then of course we know how the way it goes. She’ll be in the box, and I’ll go out without her, then you just gotta do the best you can.

How do you spend your time outside of roller derby?

Well I work a lot, but I do really enjoy my job. I’m a bartender and I do spend time in the bars with fellow bartenders. When I’m not at work, I don’t go out as much as I used to, but I also really am kind of a homebody, and I like to be at home and I love my house. I like to play with my garden and my houseplants and my flowers, so I enjoy really just kind of being an old lady about things and just doing old lady hobbies. I like to paint flower pots and rocks and silly things like that. And then I have a dog and three cats that I like to lay around and read books with, just kind of chill.

Trauma and Grimm at the Mardi Growl parade. Trauma is holding a sign that says, "Leader of The Pack" and Grimm is leashed to her waist.

Tell me about them!

My dog’s name is Grimm. He is about five and a half years old, Great Dane/Great Pyrenees mix, and he’s a very good boy. And then I have three cats that all have very different personalities. Two of them are black cats, Baby Werewolf and Luciper Meowning Star. And then I have Spooky, who is a gray and black tabby and she’s just a little scared girl, so she just hangs out. When we have company, she hides, like right now I haven’t seen her in a couple of days because she’s hiding in my back bathroom. But we just like to hang out at the house, we all coexist very well.

What advice would you give to someone who’s thinking about playing roller derby?

Just do it. Absolutely go for it. You might be surprised at what you can do, will definitely be surprised at what you can do. And you will find friends that you never even thought that you could.

Who would you like to nominate for next month, and what do you want to ask her?

Bumble Beast. I know that she spent quite a bit of time away from derby and then came back when she moved here. She moved here from Arizona, I wanna say. So she took a big leap and moved away from everything she knew, and decided to join a team here, and I just want to know if she found a home with Hard Knox that she was looking for.

A selfie of Trauma and Beast, both in full bout day makeup and gear.

Thank you for a great conversation Trauma! Readers, you will definitely want to see her throwing those big hits at our next bout, which is on August 12. Until next time, be like Trauma Queen and trust the teammates in your life.

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