Featured Skaters

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.

-smalls-

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.

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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.

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