Featured Skaters

July Featured Skater: Jersey Cyclone

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Headshot of Jersey Cyclone. She is wearing a black HKRD jersey, smiling widely, and crossing her arms. The Sunsphere can be seen in the background.

Name: Jersey Cyclone

Number: 925

Travel Team: Brawlers

Home Team: Lolitas

Years skating: 2

You know her as one of the most fearless jammers for the Brawlers, but on the team, she’s affectionately known as the Toe Stop Queen. Get to know July’s Skater of the Month: Jersey Cyclone!

You were nominated by Madam Bomb, who has two questions, so we’ll start with the first one here. She wants to know: what are you most proud of, as far as something you have overcome in derby?

Just the fact that I even did fresh meat. It’s something that I’ve wanted to do for years—ever since I was a kid, I’ve wanted to do derby, like I saw on TV (because that’s how old I am!). And then I forgot about it until I saw Whip It, and that brought it back to my memory. When the team started here, that was ‘06, I was like oh my gosh, yeah. So just the fact that I actually went to fresh meat, that was like the first hurdle, that was a miracle because I was out of my comfort zone. I like my life as it is.

A large group of HKRD fresh meat skaters at practice. Jersey is in the back and smiling along with everyone else.

Otherwise: the fact that I can actually do a partial of a plow, or a one-footed plow, or any time I get lead jammer, since I haven’t done it that long, because that’s always a goal. And I was not successful the last bout, at all. I was successful wiping the floor and that was about it.

But you kept pushing through that last bout!

Kilty hugging Jersey as he gives her the award for MVP Jammer.

Yeah, but I don’t know, I’m just super hard on myself, so I know people mean it as a good thing, you didn’t give up, and I feel that’s like my signature line, “You don’t give up!” But there’s so much more I want to do. Let’s see…really just surviving every practice currently, because my body’s so tired and worn out, but just every little thing. I don’t take anything for granted. Any little thing that I can accomplish, I try to realize that, okay, you know, I did it.

So what gave you the final push to want to actually do fresh meat?

Well, I guess it was just life in general. Because when the league came here, I was on second shift, so I couldn’t do it because I had to work weekends, and second shift is purely during bouts and practices. Then when I was on day shift, and since I’m in management, I’m not supposed to work weekends (although we’re short staffed, so that kind of messed everything up, so that’s been an added stress factor because I have to divide the two and it’s very hard) so just the fact that I had time, and this past year just personally and privately have been like, “Okay, I’m going to stop saying no to things that I want to do.” Because, you know, I’m a giver, I’m that person for everyone that does for them and not for myself, so I was like, okay, I’m going to do this one thing. So derby has maintained my sanity for this past year, literally.

Gameday selfie of Bumble Beat, Leaf, Trauma Queen, and Jersey Cyclone outside of World's Fair Exhibition Hall with the Sunsphere in the background.

So it was just the year to do it. Even though work is super stressful and we have crazy short staffing, I’m not gonna say no anymore, so I asked a question (I think it was on IG, on Instagram I saw the post) and then Kilty called me. That was at work, and I was like, I can’t talk, because obviously at work, I try to leave work and life separate, but I just went for it. Even when I bought all my stuff, right before fresh meat, I was like, “Okay, do I really…” and I was like yes, I’m going to do this.

And also the teamwork, that was also a driving force for joining. I mean, it’s just a great group of people. It’s insane how we’re all different, but we all get along. Like that’s just one thing that kind of worried me, because that’s not always the case, and there’s no judgment (or if there is, people are really quiet about it!) but I just feel like everyone has that camaraderie and want people to do better and to see people successful and be the team. I mean yes, there are people that get along better than other people, that’s life in general, but I really appreciated that portion of it. You can be having just the worst day ever, and you go to derby, and by the end of the night, you’re tired, worn out, but everything is just gone.

This kind of goes along with Madam’s second question. Do you tell people in real life that you do derby?

So I did not until I started posting on Facebook and Instagram after I guess the first home bout, or with the first home bout. Otherwise no. The people that knew: Tessa, who was in fresh meat with me, she told somebody, and she told me the first night of fresh meat, “Oh I texted [whoever]!” and I was like, “Tessa…no no…this is me we’re talking about.” So I had to go to that person (because we work together) and I was like, “Please don’t say anything.” Well then Randy and Heidi know somebody, so they said something, and I had to go to that person. I was like, “I haven’t told anyone, I’m not telling anyone, please just *zip*.” And then [Mobile] Crisis, her mom works for me, so she knew, so I had to go to her and be like, “Okay, let’s not say anything.” So if anything ever came up, I would be like *quiet*.

A large group of HKRD skaters on an outdoor skate court. Jersey is in the back and smiling with everyone.

I told my mom and my step-father, I had to tell them just because of life situations. I didn’t tell my dad until the day of my first bout in April, and that was only because he asked me directly on the phone, so I couldn’t skirt my way around it. When I told him about the Skate-A-Thon in March, I was like, “Yeah, I’ve kind of been doing this skating, why not.” And he was like okay, but then in April…so now he’s like a fanatic, he’s super excited. But no, until the season actually started and I started playing, I did not tell anyone. But this week, or last week, I guess after the last bout, I guess people actually started paying attention to my pictures, so I’ve had questions here and there. I mean, but granted, if you look at me and all the bruises I come to work with and people are like, “My gosh!” *laughs* It’s okay, I just bruise really easy, you know, run into things, it’s all good. Now they’re like, “Ohhhhhh!” These are my badges of honor, so just leave it alone!

Was it a shyness or a you didn't want to jinx it?

No, I’m just a super private person in life in general. I talk about things very rarely and to very few select people, so that’s just how I am.

Had you skated or done any sort of athletic things as a kid?

Jersey is jamming against a team in green. She is using her toe stops to stay in bounds against a blocker who is trying to push her out.

Growing up I did dancing, like ballet, hence the toe stop queen things that I do; otherwise sport sports, no, it was all dance. Until we moved down here, and then I stopped, so it had been years. But otherwise roller skating was just something you did for fun. I hadn’t skated since I was a teenager, and even then, it might have been since I was a kid. When we lived up North in Jersey, our front yard was a big front yard. During the winter it froze over, a little section of it, so I used to ice skate back in the day, but yeah, not roller skating.

But I do feel like I’ve gotten a lot better—oh another proud thing! So the fact that I don’t fall every time Kilty looks at me, because that’s pretty much what I did, the first month of fresh meat. Any time he looked at me, it was immediately *smack* Like Kilty, really? I’m gonna need a new helmet because of you! So yeah, hadn’t skated in years.

Jersey smiling on the bench next to Cat. On her helmet are stickers with her name and a cyclone on the front. Her number is also visible on her armband.

So I assume Jersey is where your name comes from, is that right?

Yeah, so I intentionally—my initials are J and C, so I had to go with that. Jersey is a part of me, so I was like, I’ve got to make my name a part of me.

And the Cyclone is my goal for myself. I just want to swoop in, be fast, wreck havoc, and then, you know, do my thing. So yes, there’s much thought that was behind [it].

Oh I love that! And what about your number? Where does that come from?

It’s my birthday. So everything has to tie together.

Well we are halfway through our season right now. How has it been for you? Have there been any surprises, successes, things you still want to accomplish?

Jersey and other HKRD skaters waiting on the track at a home bout. Jersey has her hands on her hips and her expression says that she is ready to go!

I mean, there’s always things to accomplish, you always have to have goals because if you don’t have goals, you’re not gonna drive, you’re not gonna push yourself. So just to do better at getting through the walls and be a better jammer, score points, and just be able to [have] track awareness because I literally don’t remember any of my bouts, like at all. Like the first bout that was away, I wasn’t nervous, I guess it was just pure adrenaline. I did fairly well, I got lead, I was happy with that. That was a goal, but just working and growing with the team and the Brawlers, because I think the Brawlers’ season compared to last season are phenomenally doing well, above and beyond. Not that they were bad last season, but I just think there’s just a cohesion this year that wasn’t there last year. And then I guess the first home bout, I feel like it was my best one, and I feel like I’ve kind of gone backwards in my brain, and it may not be the reality, but in my brain, I feel like I’ve hit a plateau.

I just want us to communicate better, because that’s one thing that I need, that communication. That’s why when I’m with you in a wall, because you are really good, and Siren is really good at communicating, or even Rattle yesterday, like she was just pulling my shirt, and I literally appreciated it because I knew what she wanted me to do. Because otherwise no one was talking, and when there’s complete silence, I feel like there’s just chaos. Which it is chaos, but that just adds to it, to a whole nth degree, so as a team, I just want that communication a little bit better. But I think even the new new fresh meat, they have worked their way into the Brawlers really really well, so I think for half of the Brawlers to be less than a year in, I mean I really feel like we’ve all done really well.

I agree! What is your favorite part of bout day, like a home bout day?

Selfie of Jersey. She is wearing her helmet and black HKRD jersey with rainbow eye and face makeup.

It’s just the energy, like everyone is excited, some are nervous, so I just feed off people and I feel their emotions. It’s just fun and different, and until you go into a bout you don’t really understand it. Because even when we were just watching last year and not bouting, it was still a good time.

Granted, getting ready, doing my makeup stresses me out because I’m not a makeup kind of person, but then two, it’s fun, because it’s outside of regular roles, so I’m making myself step out of my normal, which was a whole reason of doing derby as well.

And just being around everyone, because again, the team really is just a great group of people. I’m a watcher, so just watching everyone is my happy place, you know the after party—I can just sit there and watch everyone chit chat and listen, learn, you know, and I’m happy. Just the whole experience. Ultimately, derby is meant to be fun, especially bout days.

So if you’re just watching at an afterparty, and then the band starts, or the DJ starts, and there’s a song that’s gonna get you on the dance floor—what is that song?

Oh gosh, there’s so many. Like music is just—I love music. And it drives me crazy that I can’t hear the music when I’m in a jam because I hear nothing, because I feel like it would actually help calm me down. So they played the Backstreet Boys at the bout last time, and I was like oh my gosh. There’s a lot because I listen to all kinds of genres. I guess it would just depend on me, if I was that excited to get in front of people, like when we had the practice the other day and we had to do the different stations, and one of them was the dancing thing, and I was like, “I won’t dance.” Y’all can do your thing. But I do like to dance, just in a different mindset. You’ll see me bobbing my head, but I don’t know that I’d walk out of my comfort zone, unless I was a little tipsy, but even then.

What is your most common penalty, and does it say anything about you or your playing style?

Jersey on the bench with an intense expression.

Cut track, all the time, especially in scrimmage, and I swear I’m not cutting the track, but I’m like really, again? I did get back block, earlier in my first bout, and I think I broke that habit because I’m very conscientious of it because I don’t want to hurt somebody, and so it’s part of the reason why I don’t go super fast, which I know hinders me because I can’t get through the wall if I’m not going fast, but I just have it stuck in my brain, I don’t want to hurt somebody and get a back block. And not that I care about the penalty—I just don’t want to hurt somebody. But yeah, cut track, that’s my [penalty] all the time. I got one last night. I was like Mag, like really? She was like, because I knew I stepped out, but then Shine ran back, so I stepped out then I realized I stepped in, and she started going. It was an instantaneous thing, and Mag was like, “Cut track!” And I was like, “No!”

I was trying to do it right!

Yeah you know, it was a moment! And even on bouts with the rope, I got cut track last bout, and I totally did not feel the rope at all, because Override called it, and I was like what? No, I did not feel the rope underneath my skate. So that’s one I need to work on. But I can’t help it; lane one and four, those are just my go-tos, because going through people is not—that’s a goal, that’s not my strong suit. I can push people, but to get through people, like I know Kilty keeps telling me to wiggle myself, but that’s not, it doesn’t comprehend.

Do you ever find yourself leaning back on any of your ballet or dance training in derby?

I mean, just with the toe stop thing, that helps, just having balance. I wish I was more fluid about it. Because when Inga did the practice with the different elements, she was the water, and I was like, “Oh, that’s just so calm and peaceful.” But I just don’t do that, and I default to my toe stops. And everyone loves that, but I’m like, “No, if I did laterals I’d be so much faster.” I feel like it’d be more efficient, but I just default to toe stops.

Jersey, Killer Canary, and Trauma Queen in white jerseys standing on the track before an away bout with big smiles.

And like Kilty, how well he can jump the apex and all of that, I wish I could do that. And Kitty, with her fire, there are pieces of everyone that I want to absorb somehow, magically. That’s the good thing too, because I usually do timer for the penalty box, so I appreciate it because I can watch the bout, but then I’m so focused on timing that I don’t—I mean I’m watching, but it doesn’t sink in.

Because I want to learn from everyone. Everyone has good and bad, and you can learn from the bad too. Just like reffing, I would really like to learn how to ref so that I have that awareness too so I can hopefully prevent myself from getting penalties. But insofar I think usually one or two, I don’t think I’ve, maybe the first one I got three, so I feel like I’ve done well not to get too many penalties, but then that might mean I’m not trying hard enough, I don’t know. But I’ll take it as a positive.

It is a balance of learning where can you push things and where do you need to stay cautious as you are. Well what advice do you have for people who might want to play roller derby?

First, make sure you have the time, because if you cannot dedicate the time, it’s not gonna work. Like I knew we needed the time, but I didn’t realize how much time it was. Be open to learning, constructive criticism. I appreciate when people give me feedback; actually, when people don’t and they’re like, “You did great!” but I’m like no, I didn’t, I need you to tell me something because that’s how you’re going to get better and how you’re going to improve. And just take that leap of faith because when we did fresh meat and you all kept saying, “Just come back! Don’t give up!” That’s truly just, do not give up. Which I don’t. I’m purely a stubborn person. Unless I’m truly broken on the floor, I will get up.

So determination, have goals, and just want to learn, and be part of an awesome group of people. Again, the team is just a really great group of people. And two, even the volunteer stuff we’ve done. I mean, I haven’t done all of them, because I have to take off work, but giving back to the community like that is important too.

MVPs at the end of a bout. Trauma Queen is holding the award for MVP Blocker, and Jersey is holding the award for MVP Jammer.

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

Trauma Queen. Why did you want to do derby in the first place, and what have you learned about yourself because of derby?

Thank you for a great conversation Jersey! Readers, you can catch her and the rest of the team in action next Saturday, July 8. Until then, be like Jersey and don’t give up on yourself, no matter how tough the challenge is.

-smalls-

June Featured Skater: Madam Bomb

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Headshot of Madam Bomb. Her long dark hair is down and cascades over her shoulder on the front. She is wearing a "That's my jam" HKRG tank top. Her hands are on her hips and she is smiling widely. Green text reads "#94 Madam Bomb"

Name: Madam Bomb

Number: 94

Travel Team: Allstars & Brawlers

Home Team: Bombshell Bettys

Years skating: 14

She always rocks an amazing boutfit that is matched only by her fierce playing style! Get to know June’s skater of the month: Madam Bomb!

Madam Bomb at a home bout. Her boutfit is perfect for the Pride theme: a rainbow tie dye HKRD shirt, a rainbow tutu, a rainbow pom pom headband, and rainbow makeup.

You were nominated by Sin City Rebel, who wants to know two questions that may or may not be connected. First, how do you get ready for a bout, and how do you always keep your hair looking so magnificent all of the time?

A lot of my bout preparation, especially if it’s a home (different if it’s home or away), but if it’s home, I’m thinking a lot about the theme and my boutfit. That really gets me amped up. I get to run the door, so I get to say hi to everybody coming to watch us—that gets me excited for being out there. Beyond that, just on a personal level, there’s a lot of times where I have my eyes closed and I’m just breathing, and I like to remind myself this is a cool-ass thing that we get to do. I play derby—you know, not everybody can say that. There’s really so few people that can say that, and it’s just so cool to be part of that community, so I just breathe it in, say: I get to play derby, and I get to do it with the people that—you know, it’s the one day when we’re all on the same team (unless we’re doing home teams!) we’re all on the same team. So everything that makes Bush a heavy hitter, and you [smalls] annoying because you can get at my ribs in a way that absolutely no one else can, or Bear and blocking—I mean I could name something for everybody—and Sin’s calm.

A selfie of Madam Bomb. She has theatrical black and green makeup and lipstick, and a confident smile. Text reads "IT'S TIME!!!!"

So just being able to be a part of their team, too. We’re all the same. So just thinking of that, breathing it in, and just thinking this is just the coolest thing that I get to do, like wow. That’s how I get ready!

Sounds like a good mindset! And do you want to share any of your hair secrets with us?

Oh, hair secrets! I mean, there’s certain products, but a little known fact: in Grease, there’s the “Beauty School Dropout” song. I technically am a beauty school dropout because I too, as a junior, went to cosmetology vocation my junior year, and then I dropped out in my senior year, but always had a love of hair. I get a little help from what I do to my hair, but that, to me, is fun, you know? It’s like wearing wigs or wearing hair pieces and stuff like that. It’s a different persona.

I think we all kind of take on a different persona when we’re out in derby, you know? It’s a part of who we are, but that’s a different persona that we get to play during that time too, so the hair makes that more fun, and I don’t have a job that tells me I can’t! So yeah, I have a couple of products that I’ve used for ten, twelve years, and they’re my favorite, and they’re from Sally Beauty because they’re cheap. I just bought a sticker yesterday from Dollywood that says, “It costs a lot of money to look this cheap.” Which I think is funny.

So how did you come up with the persona of Madam Bomb? Like how did you decide on that name?

Madam Bomb with her first team. She is wearing a t-shirt green jersey and a sparkly black tutu, has her arms crossed, and is wearing an intense expression. 94 is written on her arm in sharpie.

When it came time to make up names, since I started derby in ‘09 (us playing in ‘09, ‘10, and ‘11) at that time, you had to go to Two Evils to look up your name, and you couldn’t have it very close to anybody else’s. So I was looking at a lot of those names, and I actually started looking at Garbage Pail Kids cards because they had some fun, quirky names. And I think it was Adam Bomb, so the male version, and I was like, “That is cool, and I can make that Madam Bomb.” So that’s where it came from, it came from the Garbage Pail Kids card, and I was like, that’s cool. And then as I started looking it up, I found out that 94 (being a sciency kid, people don’t know that I am) so on the periodic table of elements, that is Plutonium, so that is why, one of the reasons I’m 94. The other reason is because I graduated in that year. So I was like yeah, that makes absolute sense, so we’re gonna be 94 Madam Bomb. That’s where that came from!

I didn’t know that—that’s so cool! So you’ve been a part of derby since ‘09. How did you discover it?

My husband and I, I don’t know if we were out riding motorcycles or whatever we were doing in Toledo, Ohio, but we were at a bar and grill, and it was quite packed from what I remember it usually is, but it looked like they had a band or something going on. But as I got closer, I was like, “No, this is a lot of women in roller skates and tutus and what is going on?” And here, the Glass City Rollers were doing a community event, just being out in the community, promoting their team and letting people know they’re here and we have bouts coming up, and we’re about to start our season and all of this stuff. So I got to meet a couple of the skaters at the time, and one was, of course with her skates because I didn’t have skates on, she was tall already, but with her skates, was just massive, and she was just beautiful and I was like, “How fun!” And growing up, I grew up in roller rinks, and I remember being five and I remember when I finally got to be twelve and got to go by myself, and they’d just drop me off at the front, so I loved roller skating, and I was like heck yeah. And it didn’t include a ball, it was a sport that didn’t include a ball. So I was like this is great, no hand-eye coordination, I think I can do this.

Selfie of Madam Bomb. She is wearing her skating gear and a pink tank top that says "I'D BE HAPPY TO DEMONSTRATE WHAT "HITS LIKE A GIRL" REALLY MEANS"

They told me that they weren’t going to be playing their home bout for a few weeks, but they were going to be out of state. And I thought, yeah, I’m gonna make a trip. So I went to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; I watched this team that I’d never seen. They played on a sport court in a hockey place, and I was like, “Yes, I have to do this.” Just the whole team and their camaraderie, it was just like I’d found my tribe, you know? This is where I wanted to be.

So we came back, I was like yes, I am right there, fresh meat, what all do I need? And I got cheap skates (thinking of it now makes my feet cringe). But yeah, and I started, it was a terrazzo floor in this little skate rink, actually in Swanton, Ohio, it’s just outside of Toledo, we bouted in Toledo, and yeah, I played for them. And so started fresh meat I guess in ‘09, I was bouting mostly in ‘10 I think, one of them carried over into ‘11 that I did, and then we moved in ‘11, so that’s why I stopped doing that. They were even the largest table at my wedding when I got married in ‘10, all of my derby girls. So that’s where it started, but then there’s some years off.

Madam Bomb and a group of HKRD skaters ready for a trail skate.

I was going to say—is Knoxville the only other team that you’ve played for?

Screenshot of a tiktok. Madam Bomb is falling dramatically to the ground. Text reads "rethinking my entire life after escaping the pack only to be chased down and knocked down and right back in the thick of it four seconds later"

Yes, so when I moved down here in ‘11, I was like, “Heck yeah, I wanna play, I wanna play with Hard Knox, they have a team, great!” Well I came down, we watched a few of their bouts, and I was like, “Ooh, okay, you guys are legit ranked.” So I was a little scared, a little intimidated, new people, new hitters, all of that stuff. I went down after a bout where they were playing where the Ice Bears play, I was talking to a few of the skaters, and found out they practiced in Oak Ridge. At that time where we were living, that would have been like an hour and fifteen minutes for me to get to practice, and I wanted to do it so bad, like I wanted to do it so bad, but I knew I probably couldn’t commit that to the team. It wouldn’t be fair, I wouldn’t be able to commit three hours of driving time a day to be able to do the practices and that wasn’t fair to the team. So, didn’t do that, and just went and watched them, and wished I could.

Goodness gracious, fast forward and I guess it got to be COVID times. I knew they weren’t practicing, like I was still following, and then I saw a post come up. I wanna say it was September of 2021, and they said, “Ahh we just had our first practice at the Change Center!” And something told me, I was like, “Wait a minute, that seems different.” I looked it up and found out it was downtown Knoxville, and I was like, “Oh yeah, yeah yeah yeah.” I immediately sent a message (I now know it went to Kilty, but it was just messenger, so I didn’t know who it went to) and I was like, “Hey, so I used to skate like ten years ago. Interested, how do I come back?” They said something like, “Do you have gear?” And I was like, “Yeah, yeah, I have actually not gotten rid of my gear,” and I went and checked, and I even had my mouth guard from ten years ago (that’s gotten thrown away since). But yeah, I had everything, I put it in there, and went back. I wanna say it was, it ended up being around September 28 or October 28, one of those—it wasn’t soon after I was there, and the rest is HKRD history! Been there ever since!

What was the emotion as you came back to skating for the first time after ten years?

Madam Bomb, Sinister Siren, and the two other skaters who received MVP awards at the first home bout of 2022 are smiling widely with their awards.

[nodding] Cause I’d had my skates on a couple of times when we went to roller rinks, never my pads, but to put that stuff back on: it’s a little bit of a gazelle, you know? Getting used to it again. I remember taking, I took some pictures that first day, just so I could remember the feeling, and I was like, *gasp* “I’m back! Like I’m back!” And I also felt so grateful, I was so nervous because I was gonna be awful at it, that was my thing. I was like, I’m gonna struggle, I know I’m gonna struggle. I just kept telling myself, “Don’t give up, just don’t give up, don’t give up.” When I got there, I was so grateful that there were so many people who were new to derby, wanted to try this out, give it a thing. The people I had seen there, later come to know that they were very very new. They had been Goose Poop [Island], like I couldn’t believe their skill level at that point when they were like, “Yeah, I had really never skated a month ago.” What! I couldn’t believe the determination, and I also felt…good, so me getting some skills back—I can do this in a group that feels super safe, it’s not something I’m gonna feel so far behind.

And I felt like there were plenty (not plenty, there were a few) of veterans that came back, so there was a whole lot of people that I could be like, “Yes, I want those skills that they have.” Then there was other people that I felt like I could almost like, “Hey, yeah, plow stops, they got me too, I’m working on them too, this is helping me, is it helping you, what helps you get it because you’re just learning it and maybe it’s something I was never really any good at.” They would help with me, so it was just such a good mix of not being pressured too much to be already at this certain elite level, but then also I felt like I could be helpful to those who were just learning to skate too, with the couple things that I remembered or helped me. Plus I had to learn a whole new derby because of course the rules set was not quite the same, not quite as fast, there was a lot.

A pack of HKRD skaters right before a jam start during a scrimmage at the Change Center. Most skaters, including Madam Bomb, are turned away from the camera. She is bracing in the #2 lane.

Well, just sticking with it is an incredible achievement because it can be really overwhelming to come back like that. But are there any other achievements that you’ve had since you’ve come back that you’ve been especially proud of?

Well, little known fact, I played a #2 blocker, which is the inside line blocker. We didn’t, we kind of lined up in four [lanes]. There wasn’t the whole brace sort of thing. The 1 was the pivot, and they kind of could do anywhere, but I was holding the inside line. That was my job, I was a blocker. I have a picture of when they put me in as a jammer, and I was shaking so bad I didn’t even know if I was gonna make it around the track! I never jammed, and I only jammed that time because we were ahead by like a hundred or so, so it was put everybody in, let ‘em get a try. So when I was then going to be a jammer, I was like, “Um, wait, what? I’m gonna do what? I’m gonna stay a jammer?” I was going back and forth between those. But just being able to be a jammer, to get that mindset, cause it’s a little lonely sometimes, you know? You don’t have as much of that team mentality. You try to look for your teammates, but yeah it’s different, and when you mess up, it’s a lot more obvious. When you end up in the box, there’s a lot more at stake for it, mentally. So just getting to do that and still showing up to be like, yep, I’m still gonna do this, and I still think there’s hope for me to be a good jammer, but yeah, sticking with the jamming when I just, I came from such a blocking mentality.

What is your most common penalty, and does that say anything about your personality or derby playing style?

So previous to this year, I would’ve said that’s the cut track; as a jammer, cause when you get knocked out and your brain gets a little scrambled, you remember this person, but you don’t remember where anybody else really was at the time sometimes, but you think you’re in the good, you hop back on, and you get a little discombobulated basically when you’re trying to get back in. And we won’t even talk about Atlanta [2022 bout], because Atlanta, for some reason, I forgot the rules. And I was getting in and I was going back behind everybody, but I was doing it on the track instead of off, and I just didn’t understand until Inga told me what was happening, and I looked at her, and I remember thinking, “I did what? No, like, I went behind everybody!” And she said, “Yeah, but you did it on the track.” I was like what! Why would I do that? So it was cut track. 

Madam Bomb, her husband, her daughter, and her dog smile at the Mardi Growl parade. They are all wearing HKRD gear.

We’ve done a couple of bouts this year, and I wanna say, I’ve not been cutting track! I think I got a directional, which that feels really weird for a jammer, because typically you’re going that way, and then a back block. But what it says about me now, what I learned about just the most recent ones, is I gotta be a little more strategic and a lot less forceful, because I think that’s what’s happening with the back block: I am just trying to be an Earth jammer, and just plow through, a little bit of Fire too, and I think that’s getting me in trouble with where I’m knocking into people as I’m trying to move through.

How do you find a balance between roller derby and real life?

How do I think one should find a balance between roller derby and real life, or how does it work in real life? [laughing]

However you wanna answer that question!

Derby is exciting, and derby is a tribe, and derby lights me up in a way that is just, it’s hard to replicate. I mean, the endorphins, this is our drug, right? And we’re allowed to do it, you know? It’s not harmful in the addiction sort of way, of course we’re bruised and beaten, but you know, we’re sadomasochists, we like it. The balance in between, it is tricky. I like to bring [family] with whenever I can, like bringing to the bouts, and I need to prep for this thing or hiding Easter eggs, drive me around to hide Easter eggs, just trying to involve everybody in the process.

Madam Bomb and her daughter pose at a home bout. Bomb is wearing rainbow face makeup. Her daughter is wearing a colorful outfit. Both are showing off their arm muscles.

Having a daughter—I also think this is a good sport for her. We are more positive for women, but we are also uplifting for any gender, any expression of that gender, very open, so I think that makes that easy; sharing derby is helpful and finding that balance is just really sharing that because there’s so many positives about it and about the community, about what we stand for, what we don’t stand for, cause I don’t understand that also. My husband’s just become accustomed to it, which makes me happy, that’s good for him too.

But the balance can be hard because there’s so many things that I want to do with the team sometimes, and I have to back off and say, “Nope, I need to take a moment and do something non-derby, you know?” But the good thing is, derby’s understanding of that also, and when we need a minute, when we need a minute at practice. I had to leave practice once, Maddie was having some struggle at home, and I just needed to be there. I let practice know, this is what’s going on, and you don’t hear any grief about it. If anything, you get checked in, like, “Hey, you never leave practice early, is everything okay, you don’t have to tell me a whole lot.” So that’s why it’s easy to find balance because I think it gives us so much that helps balance the other parts of our lives and can contribute to so many other parts of life. And our breaks are nice too, but yeah, it’s easy to balance…it’s not easy to balance, but it is. It makes it so it’s easy to balance, cause we’re all here to have fun, right? We don’t get paid for this. It’s our own time and you have a supportive community that’s supportive of exactly what you can give to the team, because when we say we give 100% to the team, that doesn’t mean 100% of my time, of my energy, of everything—that means 100% of what I have to give. Derby makes it easy.

Madam Bomb and other HKRD skaters at a community event.

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

925 Jersey Cyclone. What are you most proud of in something you have overcome with derby? Because we all have to overcome something—what are you most proud of? And sometimes she’s so quiet, and I really want to know that! Because I see things, I see how she’s grown.

Yes! Like every time she’s tiptoeing on the side, I’m like, “Ahh, it’s so fun to watch!”

Yeah, and she just won’t give up. Definitely wanna know that, what she’s overcome, and I wonder if she tells people that she does derby, and I wonder their response.

Thanks for a fabulous conversation, Madam Bomb! Readers, you can catch her in both of our home bouts this Saturday, June 3, against The World and Greenville Roller Derby. Our fans had quite the presence at our first home bout, so you don’t want to miss out on your chance to be a part of the crowd! Until next time, be like Madam Bomb and don’t give up on something you really want.

-smalls-

March Featured Skater: Slamwise Gamgee

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Slamwise Gamgee's headshot. She is wearing a black HKRD jersey and is in front of a colorful brick wall background. Her hands are framing her face in a cute way, and she is smiling widely.

Name: Slamwise Gamgee

Number: 406

Travel Team: Brawlers 

Home Team: Lolitas

Years skating: 2

She may be sweet in real life, but she’s always looking to give a big hit out there on the track. Hard Knox wouldn’t have got far without Slam! Get to know March’s skater of the month: Slamwise Gamgee!

You were nominated by Sinister Siren, who has a two-part question for you: other than your ankle kind of giving you trouble throughout your first year, what was the biggest hurdle that you got over? 

Slam jumping over cones at practice.

Myself, my mind. I’m really big into thinking that I can’t do things, so when I started doing things, it was a hurdle to A: stop thinking I can’t do it, and then B: having imposter syndrome when I did start to do all of the things.

And also what was your biggest wow moment from your first year?

I mean, I guess same thing. I started doing things correctly, and then I was like, noticed for doing them correctly, and I’m very big on always—I talk myself up a lot, and it’s mostly because I don’t really believe it, so maybe if I talk it, I’m going to manifest it. Sometimes it can kind of seem like I’m coming off cocky or whatever, or like I’m just talking about myself a lot, but really it’s just because I don’t really believe it. So then when I started getting MVP every game, I was like, “What is happening?”

I am definitely a big believer in “Fake It Til You Make It.”

I mean, 100% of that was my whole rookie year, so I guess it works!

Speaking of your MVP Blockers, you did get a lot of those awards last year. Do any of them stick out in your mind as a favorite?

The first one is always going to be my favorite because it was so—”what is happening, I cannot believe that someone actually believed in me enough”. People have different opinions about them, but I’m like, wow, I made such a presence, People remembered me. And I just remember looking over to my husband and I was like “What is happening?” Because they said 406 and okay, great!

A collage of five MVP Blocker awards. Some of them have Slam and the MVP Jammer holding her award, while others are just the award.

So what brought you to roller derby in the first place?

So my husband and his twin sister and his little sister are huge presences in the rugby community in Knoxville, and everybody was always like, “Why don’t you play rugby?” And I’m like, ew, no contact sports, I’m a band geek, no thank you.

Selfie of Slam, wearing her helmet and mouthguard, and her husband, Ray. Both are smiling widely.

And then my rugby wife/best friend, Autumn, bought a pair of roller skates and we were just gonna skate around at the tennis court while our husbands were practicing, and I absolutely refused to stand up on skates. And then once I did stand up, I was like, you know, I’m gonna go for this roller derby thing. And then literally the next day after I decided to stand up on skates, I saw it was the meet and greet. So I was like, “Okay, eff it, let’s do it.”

So then did that lead into Goose Poop Island?

Yeah, exactly. It was literally two days after I stood up on skates, I saw the meet and greet at Goose Poop Island was just the following Sunday. Then that’s when I showed up and met Randy and everything just kind of—I’m the kind of person to where if I see something or I’m like in a situation, I just know it’s mine or it’s for me (I say it’s a Pisces thing). My husband hates it because he knows once I got that feeling, it’s done for- it’s what’s happening. It happened with him, it happened with our dog, it happened with our house, and it happened with roller derby. I just knew it was my thing.

How did you select your skater name and number?

A drawing of Slamwise Gamgee as Samwise Gamgee. She is on skates, holding Sting and the Phial of Galadriel

My skater name is the real hero of The Lord of the Rings, Samwise Gamgee. I want to portray him at all costs. I want to be the unsaid hero and the supporter of his friends, and the one who will do it no matter what. If anybody knows me, you know I love The Lord of the Rings. Everybody who knows anything about me knows I love The Lord of the Rings.

And then 406 is actually Samwise’s birthday. I may change it coming up when I have to get a new jersey. I may change it to 3, for different reasons. One being it was his mailbox number, the other being it’s my husband’s rugby number sometimes. So maybe? But either way, it’s because of him.

It’s going to be Samwise-related, no matter what.

Exactly, no matter what.

Slam showing off her Narsil tattoo with a smile.

Well, speaking of Lord of the Rings, you recently added to your tattoos and it was Lord of the Rings related. Care to share the story behind that one, or any other tattoo?

Well, I only have four at the moment—no, I only have three at the moment, I’m getting my fourth one in two weeks. My Lord of the Rings tattoo (my first Lord of the Rings tattoo, because I will be getting my left side of my body Lord of the Rings themed) is Narsil, which is the sword that Aragorn will use to take over Gondor basically.

And I don’t know, I just—A: it’s a cool looking tattoo, honestly, and B: I mean, the cheesy symbolism that you think of is something that broken can be fixed again, and used to take over the world. So just cheesy symbolism for me.

Continuing with cheesy symbolism, what’s something that you've gained from your roller derby experience that you maybe didn’t expect?

Honestly, confidence in my ability to do things that I never thought I could (if you know me you know skating does not go with Stormy at all). Also I’m not the smallest person, so confidence also that not being small is still useful. Also, I have gotten lots of muscles, not only from roller derby but because I’ve been working out more to get better at roller derby,. Being strong and bigger isn’t always necessarily the wrong thing, and I think roller derby has given me that confidence.

The thing that also surprised me is the friendships I have gotten through roller derby. I have always considered myself a closed-knit kind of person—I have really only had one best friend for over 18 years, and another in the past 4—but the people I have met on this team are the most sincere, genuine people who are a huge reason I believe in my myself on the track (which will make my husband so mad, because he always believed in me and hates when I finally believe it because someone else said it). If you were to ever tell me I would have a derby wife (maybe some mistresses as well), and a BFF who is the female version of the love of my life and that I am getting a matching tattoo with in 2 weeks, I would never have believed it.

Yeah, it’s really cool that there’s really no best size or type for a roller derby player. Like there are advantages and disadvantages to all of them.

Right. Everyone is gonna have some type of hating their body, but in roller derby they say, “Hey, literally whatever your body type, you have a place here, and there’s a purpose for what you have.”

Slam, seen from the back, is blocking a jammer with her hips.

Absolutely! How would you describe your derby playing style?

Aggressive, which is very surprising to me. My husband would say that I am a sweet person. That’s also very weird— I’m very girly. His nickname for me sometimes is Princess, and that’s because I kind of am. Then once I’m on the track, I’m like, “I’m gonna hit you…hard.” Literally, my goal for every game is to make the crowd go, “Oooh,” at least two or three times. I don’t want to hurt or injure anyone, but I do want you to get out of my and my jammer’s way.

Is that at all comparable to your husband when he’s playing rugby?

Ray playing rugby.

Oh my gosh, yes. Everybody knows that watching him. That is why that’s my goal, because I love it when he hits the other team. They always try to go for him, because they know he’s gonna hit like that, and I love it when I hear the crowd go “Oooh,” and I’m like, “Yeah, he’s mine, thank you.”

What is a song that always gets you out on the dance floor?

No—I do not dance. If I were to move my shoulders, it’s probably gonna be some type of Broadway or Disney, but I don’t dance.

What about karaoke?

Again, Disney or Broadway musicals. I actually can sing. but I do not like to sing in front of people. My husband hates it— “That’s actually something you can do, like why don’t you show it off?” But yeah, Disney music or Broadway musicals, or any soundtrack like Pokemon or whatever.

Do you have any goals for this season?

I wanna get rostered for at least one actual game. I’m going tomorrow to an All-Star scrimmage, but it’s kind of a mixed scrimmage, so I want to get rostered for at least one actual All-Star game. I know I’m a Brawler in my soul, but that’s one of my goals. Also, you know, MVP’s always a goal, just for my own mentality, not for anything else.

Roller Bear, Mental, Saki, and Slam smiling in front of a practice court at night.

Do you have any other favorite achievements on the track?

I mean, it’s kind of crazy to me when I’m actually a team player. When I get with my favorite walls— like Mental, Bear or Ruby (my blocking partner) whenever we actually stop a jammer and it’s halfway through the two minutes and we’re still two feet away from the jam line, that’s a favorite, and we’ve done it multiple times. Sometimes we’ve even taken the jammer back past the jam line, and they never even got the initial pass. That’s always my favorite achievement, when we utilize our teamwork like that.

Also being slightly comfortable on my toe stops. Because if anybody who remembers me at Goose Poop Island and before even, like my friend Autumn—I tried to run on my toe stops once and she says it was the most traumatic thing she’s ever seen in her life when I fell. So now I’m slightly comfortable on toe stops, so that’s also one of my major achievements in my head.

A snapchat of weights in a gym. Text reads: Ray upped my max bench press... 155 it is, then.

How do you find a balance between roller derby and real life?

I don’t think I have yet! Derby has consumed my heart and soul. Luckily my job is amazing and it’s just a 9 to 5. I do what is needed, and I put my whole effort into that, and then I can clock out and go focus on the next things. So I try to make it to where Sundays and Wednesdays are 100% derby. If I have a game on Saturday, I’m going to, especially this year, try not to do anything on Sundays—devote it to my family, my husband. Then Mondays and Fridays, me and Ray try to go to the gym together, and then Tuesdays and Thursdays, I’ll try to go work out at Hero Athletics with Shamir (I say “try” because sometimes it doesn’t work out) while he is at rugby. It’s a lot. It’s hard to have every single day devoted, but sometimes in order to live a balanced life, you have to do it like that. And then there’s no plan, it kind of falls apart, but that’s the goal.

What advice would you give people who want to play roller derby?

Just do it, honestly. Channeling my inner Shia LaBeouf here, but literally just do it. If you’re thinking about it and saying “I don’t know, it’s not for me,” just try because you could be like me where you have a princess mentality and think that all you’ll ever be is a band geek, and then put on skates and then start doing crazy things!

Who do you want to nominate for next month, and what do you want to ask them?

Magically Malicious. How is it different being on the team now, post-COVID, as it was pre-COVID? What are some pros and cons?

Thanks for such a fun conversation, Slam! You can catch HKRD at the Mardi Growl parade this Saturday, March 4, in Old City and downtown Knoxville! Until then, be like Slam and fake it til you make it because the “making it” will happen sooner than you think :)

-smalls-