April Featured Skater: Magically Malicious

An artbrushed photograph of Magically Malicious in a Marble City Mayhem jersey. Her hair is blue and purple, and she is shouting with joy at the practice space.

Name: Magically Malicious

Number: 515

Travel Team: All-Stars & Marble City Mayhem

Home Team: Lolitas

Years skating: 7

April’s featured skater wears a lot of hats behind the scenes, but she’s equally hard to ignore on the track! Get to know the feisty blocker who always has a smile on her face: Magically Malicious!

M is the pivot and in a white jersey. She is pushing through a pack of blockers in black jerseys.

You were nominated by Slamwise Gamgee, who wants to know: How is it different being on the team now, post-COVID, as it was pre-COVID? What are some pros and cons?

It’s weird because I went from being one of the newer skaters to one of the older skaters overnight. Some of the pros are: we have a really good team right now that are very positive and willing to put forth effort to get better. Some of the cons are: I miss my old friends too! They were cool, they could come back—just for all those reading, y’all can come back!

Two photographs showing a group of skaters. The top photo says Before and has 14 skaters. The bottom photo says After and has 8 skaters.

Yes, I agree, some of them need to come back! We need some friends! So how did you first get involved with roller derby?

There was a punk rock flea market by Purple Heart Tattoo, long time ago when they used to do them versus who does them now. I was new to Knoxville and I had just gone to check things out, and Stabby and Kitty were running a table and they were like, “Do you need friends?” and I was like, “Yes…” “Do you need exercise?” “Yes!” and they were like, “We have both!” And so I just showed up and kind of stuck.

Had you ever roller skated before?

Maybe every once in a while as the kid holding the wall at a birthday party. They taught me skating from scratch.

What was an early victory that you had as far as skating?

Man, everything was a victory! Any small thing I learned how to do, I was excited about, because I couldn’t do it before. One of the hardest things to learn was backwards skating, and I’m still not very good at that. Still not great at plowstopping, so kind of think, I don’t know how I stopped at ten feet [for the test], pretty sure I didn’t.

They were like, “Yes, you’re good, you got it.”

Someone did, I don’t know!

What is the story behind your skater name and number?

515 is my anniversary because if I didn’t have that as a number, I wouldn’t remember it, because I’m really bad with dates, and I forget every year when May comes around, I’m like, “Oh yeah, that is 5.”

My name, my boyfriend came up with. It was one of his friend’s group names on WOW [World of Warcraft], so he’s like, “What about this?” And I was like, “Sure!”

And I was intending on being called “M” because that’s what I’m called in life, but it didn’t happen that way, so…

Most people call you “Mag.”

Pretty much, yeah.

I call you M.

You do, Lorri does—sometimes…no, just you and Lorri.

If Magically Malicious had a theme song, what would it be?

My favorite song growing up for the longest time was “Having a Blast” by Green Day, but I don’t know if that’s really appropriate any longer because I tend to be a little bit less destructive in life than I was at sixteen. Let’s see…I don’t know…[laughs] You know the song from Finding Nemo, “Just Keep Swimming”? That Dory sings? Probably that one. That’s about where I am in life.

Well I feel like that really is you on the track because—and I already had this [as a question]—you always give off a positive and present mindset out on the track. So does that come naturally to you, or did you have to cultivate that?

I think I tend to be a pretty positive person, but I also bounce between major negativity. So I’m negative inside, but positive outside. If you pretend to be—if you find the good stuff, the bad stuff’s not as bad, so just always be positive.

M is wearing a black jersey and is trying to stop a green jammer on one side while Kitty Twister tries to block her in from the other side.

What is your favorite position to play?

I much prefer blocking, just playing blocking, over anything else. I tend to like to block either on the outside or the middle because I feel very wiggly in the middle. I feel useful there, but I also feel useful on the outside. Not really into jamming, but I’m trying because it’s harder.

M is wearing a black jersey and the pivot panty. She has the jammer panty in hand and is pulling away from a blocker in pink.

What makes you want to try jamming?

I feel like I need more exercise, and it’s murder.

It’s very exhausting!

Yes, and you get your heart rate up and then down and up and down so you’re burning more calories, and sometimes you remember to breathe.

On occasion!

Which is good for you! But I don’t know, I just don’t want to be stuck in the back of the pack, so being a jammer, having jammer skills can help you not be goated [caught by the opponent]. I don’t know, might as well try!

Which of the four elements, what kind of jammer are you?

M is in a black Mayhem jersey with colorful makeup all over her face and dripping down her neck. She is holding a skull in one hand, a rock in her other hand, and a skull with a bat on top in her lap.

So I think probably Earth, more than I need to be. The last few practices after we redid the elemental jammer practice, I’m like, “I am going to be Water!” and every time I approach the pack I am like, “I am going to be Water!” and I talk through it, and I’m like, “Now I’m gonna go over here! Now I’m gonna go over there! Where will I be? You’ll never know!” And then I give up and just hit the center and run, so…I am erosion.

I mean, and wearing down the pack, it is exhausting to deal with a jammer like that.

It’s more exhausting to be that jammer.

Very true.

I will one day jump something, maybe ten years from now, but not now.

What have been some of your favorite derby moments?

I did catch a jammer at that last game against the Swarm. I don’t know who the jammer was, they got out, I managed to get in front of them (without a forearm somehow, small miracle). And then it was so great because I heard behind me, Sin, she’s just like, “Hold her, Mag! We’ll be there in a second!” Just nice and calm. I’m like, thanks! I did something!

Yeah because they reformed in front of her, and you were the one who held her to make it so that she had to fight through all of y’all again.

It was great! Demoralizing! And I don’t know, I’ve been getting pretty good at whips. That’s going to be a thing, I think, this year.

M is wearing green and blocking at the Naughty or Nice event. She is stopping on the line next to a downed red jammer.

What other goals do you have for yourself this year?

Fourth year in a row: I’m gonna learn how to hockey stop. Been learning it now for five years, this year’s gonna be the year I actually figure it out.

I mean, I feel like I’ve seen a lot of growth with you on that.

M and her boyfriend, Doug, have stopped biking and are showing off marker 144.

They’re getting better. They’re not as scary any more, I just gotta add speed.

Speed always makes things scary.

It does! It makes stopping easier, but scarier.

What is something on your bucket list?

Probably like two or three gallons, nothing too big. [grins] I’d like to go to all the national parks—well, not all of them, but a lot of them. So that’s something my boyfriend and I have done, is a lot of national park tours.

I want to finish every trail in the Smokies. So the 900 (which isn’t actually 900, but it’s close) I’m over halfway, I’ll get there soon. I’d like to do it by 45.

Do you have any derby heroes?

Just people on the team that I would like to be more like, but not like outside of Hard Knox. I mean, a lot of people I watch, and I’m like, “Ooh, I want to do that one thing,” but not to say, I’m not fangirling, not the way I should be.

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

I mean, you can do it! There’s no one who can’t, so if you are willing to put forth effort and not quit, even when your knees hurt, even when your ankles hurt, even when your legs hurt, when you have no toenails left, you can do it. But you have to be willing to put in the effort. It’s not going to come naturally. It is not easy. No one is born with skates on their feet. Everyone feels confused and lost for approximately three years. But you can do it.

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

Mostly just by practicing standing on one leg [laughs] I can’t say there necessarily is one. It’s my hobby, so it’s the thing I do when I’m not working. It’s scheduled out, it’s easy, like if you don’t want to do something, you just don’t do it. Telling people “No,” that’s my thing this year, Imma say, “No.”

M, wearing black, is in the middle of two other blockers as they wait for the jam to begin.

Giving yourself boundaries.

Mhmm!

What is something you wish more people understood about roller derby?

It exists! The rules, the rules were so confusing. But mostly just that it is not what you watched in the 70s and 80s, but it is cool and it is here.

What is your favorite thing about being a Lolita?

Oh, everything about Lolitas is the best! There’s nothing that sucks about being a Lolita. And once you’re a Lolita, you’re a Lolita for Life. And we win everything, and we are the best, and they’re wild and crazy but cool and thank god we have Gnarly, because otherwise we’d fall off the rails.

A selfie of 9 Lolitas. The crazy energy is bursting from the seams :)

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

Sin. How excited is she for this year as co-captain of the charter, because she is rocking it and she is so awesome? And how does she stay calm on the track when it is hectic, because she is calmness personified somehow for the entire game, no matter what.

Thank you for a super fun conversation! I wish everyone could hear how much you made me laugh throughout this entire interview, but anyone who spends a few minutes with you knows that you light up any room. So readers, your assignment for this month is to be like Magically Malicious: have a positive attitude and “Just keep swimming!”

-smalls-

March Featured Skater: Slamwise Gamgee

in
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-

February Featured Skater: Sinister Siren

in
Sinister Siren in full mermaid makeup and a black Hard Knox jersey. She is posing in front of a mural with her hands grasped in front of her.

Name: Sinister Siren



Number: 11


Travel Team: All Stars


Home Team: Moonshine Moxies

Years skating: 6

She makes quite a splash on the track, both from her fabulous makeup and her bold offensive moves. Get to know February’s Skater of the Month—Sinister Siren!

You were nominated by Shine-Her, who knows you’ve had an interesting career with COVID kind of smack in the middle of her derby experience, so she wants to know how you feel like derby is now that you’ve transitioned into more of a vet role.

Well, first of all, I want to thank Shine for nominating me—she’s my little sister and I’m so proud of her! Literally, I feel like she’s leaps above where I was when I was at the level that she’s playing, so she’s incredible, and I’m really proud of Shine.

Siren blocking with Sin City Rebel against a red male jammer.

But back to the question: honestly, I think it’s been a bit of a whirlwind, but I think you can probably relate because I feel like we were kind of thrown into a vet role. Like in a normal sport, you kind of grow slowly over time and become a vet, but after COVID and us losing so much of our team, I feel like those “vets” really were just the skaters who kept skating from the “original” team (or from the “old” team I should say.) So it’s been difficult. I love teaching and helping, so I’ve loved being in a role where I feel confident to help the newer skaters, but when it comes to performing at an A team level with the other A team skaters, I think it’s been challenging. I took an 18-month hiatus for COVID like everybody else, and I didn’t really skate at all during that time, so when we came back in I just kind of wanted to get back under my feet. But then we were thrown into a vet role, and also teaching and helping. Then starting with bouts, like our first bout was that Mayhem bout against males and I hadn’t bouted in two years! It wasn’t intimidating being a vet so abruptly, but I am grateful that I was able to help the newer skaters because I love the fresh league that we gained last year, and it’s been great to be able to help them.

Siren and Kreep on skates at a skating rink. They are wearing matching sunflower pants and are both smiling.

So you and I did start at the same time! How would you describe your experience of that first year?

Honestly, I think half of it I blacked out and I don’t really remember! I had never roller skated before that first day of fresh meat, and I was like a baby deer out there. Meanwhile, the old Hard Knox team was a lot of A players, and they’re jumping over cones, doing these intense things—like the turn-around toe stops seemed so far away from where I was—and I didn’t know if I was going to survive just that one night. But overall, the experience was great. I mean obviously, I’m still here, and I loved it. It was very overwhelming and intimidating, but our circle of fresh meat was really great, and I made some lifelong friends from that core circle. Although you’re the only one that’s skating with me, so thank goodness we stuck around!

Siren and a group of Hard Knox skaters, all wearing black jerseys.

So then if you had never done skating before, what drew you to roller derby?

I played sports my whole life. I did soccer for like four years, basketball, I swam all through college on the club team and my high school team, and so I’ve just always been competitive. But later when I was in my early twenties, I missed sports so I did some jiu-jitsu and krav maga, and I realized how much I loved the contact part of sports. I missed having a team and being competitive and there was only this—like I was never gonna compete in wrestling, that’s not me—but I do love being physical and feeling strong, and I also love a good challenge, and I love learning new things. So I actually just saw someone driving around Knoxville (this was probably six or eight years ago) with chalk paint on their car saying, “Hard Knox is recruiting” or something. I just then Googled “Hard Knox” and I got in touch with Katie Queen, who was the head of marketing, and the rest is history!

Your name, Sinister Siren, really becomes an entire persona on the track. How did you develop that?

Siren wearing a black Hard Knox jersey, psoing with an MVP Blocker award, a green belt.

I would say that was probably the most natural part of playing roller derby for me. I am a mermaid, I love to swim, I’ve always loved the water, and I wanted to be Siren. My dad actually helped me come up with “Sinister” because I wanted it to be something fun to go with “Siren,” and I like the two S’s. I thought about being a scary mermaid with more black, like a traditional siren is honestly pretty scary, but I’m very colorful and I love Halloween and costumes. So I just knew that first time we bouted—and it actually wasn’t even a bout bout, it was our home team scrimmage, back in 2018—I just wanted to do fun colored scales on my face, and since then, I’ve never done an official scrimmage or a bout without the getup. I feel like it’s almost like my alter ego, and I don’t think I could bout without having scales on. Even when we have away games, I’ve done scales six hours earlier and then sat in a two-hour car ride with the scales, then bouted wherever we are. I just don't feel like I’m Siren if I don’t have the whole costume.

Siren wearing skates, posing by the beach.

How much overlap would you say there is between Siren and Ellery?

I feel like there is a good amount of overlap. Obviously I am like a mermaid, but I feel like I’m more of a happy, sweet mermaid, and obviously sirens are not sweet. In derby, I’m very competitive. In life, I feel much more like an empath, and I’m much more patient, but when I’m playing a competitive sport, I’m there to win and I’m there to do my best and encourage my team. I want to win, I’m competitive. So I feel like that would be the difference between Siren and Ellery. Like in real life, winning is relative, but when I’m playing a sport, I want to perform, I want my whole team to perform and be confident and work well together, and I want to win.

How did you decide on your number?

Siren smiling sweetly in a white Hard Knox jersey.

Eleven has been my lucky number forever. It was always my number in soccer and basketball. My birthday is 11, but then it’s 29 and 92, and it all adds up to 11. I graduated in 2011. Eleven is just all around my life. I see it on the clock, it’s one of those weird things that’s just always around, so it’s just by far my favorite number.

How would you describe your derby playing style?

I would say, I mean, competitive. I do think I’m pretty level-headed. Even if I’m frustrated or flustered, I don’t feel like I let that get to me because I have an athletic background. I always know that the end goal is to compete and hopefully win, so even if we’re down in points, I don't feel like I get discouraged or let that get to me. Or if there’s an opponent we’re playing that’s not exactly friendly, I don’t let that get in my head and take it personally. I just try to keep a level head. I also think I communicate well with my teammates. So I think those would be two style categories I would kind of fall under.

Siren bracing a wall of Hard Knox blockers against a jammer with a green panty.

What’s your favorite position to play?

So definitely a blocker. Jamming is going to be the death of me one day. My goal last season was to become a confident pivot, but then I had so many injuries that I had to kind of not make that my focus. But I do want to be a confident pivot so I can relieve the star jammers. I don’t really ever have a goal of being a star jammer. I love blocking. I also really love offense. That’s probably become one of my favorite things, especially last year, kind of getting back into it, and I say that you (Smalls) could say the same thing. It’s just so rewarding to do an offensive move and then help your jammer succeed. I think that’s probably my favorite part, but just blocking in general is my favorite.

Siren wearing a black Hard Knox jersey, psoing with an MVP Blocker award, a black puzzle piece with several items glued to it, including a golden wheel, a golden bearing, and a rubik's cube.

I feel like you’re reading my mind because I was just wondering if you had any favorite achievements on the track! Does anything else stick out at you?

I think my favorite moments are really just playing bouts. I love practice and I love the team bonding and being a part of this community, but I love the sport because I love to be competitive and I like to do all my makeup and really get into the spirit of things. It would be hard to pick a favorite moment. I won a handful of blocker MVPs, and that’s always a nice moment. You feel like you did something right, and at the beginning you don’t have that thought very often because there’s so much chaos. You don’t know what’s going on, and then you get a reward at the end or the trophy! Those are some sweet moments, but I still think just in general, just competing in a bout is always my favorite moment. I just love the sport and I love playing the game.

Do you have any derby heroes that you look up to?

Siren in a group photo of Marble City Mayhem skaters.

Yes—honestly, Bush is the first one that comes to mind. She’s such an amazing blocker. There are all these incredible jammers and they always get so much attention, like all the famous ones, but I can’t say that I really follow a lot of derby outside of Knoxville and the teams we play, so my heroes would all be from the team. Of course, Unsweet T would be a hero of mine, because she’s an amazing jammer, but she’s also such an amazing blocker. She’s more petite, but spreads out like a daddy long leg and just covers so much of the track- one-on-one against T is impossible. So I remember first starting off, Bush and T were both heroes of mine, and still are, for sure.

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

To me, it’s just a non-negotiable six hours a week that I have to dedicate to myself. It’s almost like self-care for me. It’s obviously a workout, but it’s also therapeutic to go and have that contact sport, and also be with friends you genuinely love and care about. So, of course life is crazy and sometimes it comes time to practice and I realize I have ten things to do, and should I really go to practice? Even on those days, I know I’m gonna be happier after practice if I go, and so to me, it’s just, again, like a non-negotiable. It’s just a part of the week, and especially when it’s active season, there’s just not really another option. I just have to be there, not only for myself but also for my team, especially when it gets to be bouting time because I feel like I’m a letdown to the team if I’m not there. So you just have to find that balance if you care enough to win the game, and so competitively, I just make it a priority.

Siren standing up in a group of Hard Knox skaters, all wearing white, skating around during skater introductions.

What is something that roller derby has taught you about yourself?

I would say it’s taught me more patience, especially with adults. I love children and I feel like I’m a super patient person when it comes to children, but sometimes being patient with adults can be a little more difficult. With this group, there’s so many different personalities and so many different ages and so many different parts of the country that we’re from, that I do feel like it helped me be more patient and just kind of roll with the punches of things. So many personalities can sometimes not mesh and get heated, but I always just try to take a deep breath and kind of observe before I react, so I think the social aspect has been good for me.

Siren standing on a rock next to a river with a peaceful smile.

What is a hobby that you would like to get into?

I feel like I already have so many active hobbies that I love, there’s not really any new ones I’m actively trying to gain. I do want to travel more, so I really wanna go to every national park. That’s probably my biggest goal on my United States bucket list for travel. I’ve been to probably thirty states in the country. In my family, we didn’t camp and do stuff like that, so national parks were never a part of our destination. I don’t know if that’s exactly a hobby, but kind of like traveling and hiking. So that would probably be a goal of mine that I want to do.

Other than that, I would say art—I’ve always been artistic and I love trying new mediums, so if I were to try a new hobby, I would say it would be a new form of art that I haven’t kind of played with yet. I would love to do ceramics or woodworking. I love working with my hands, and so I think that would be fun.

What is a piece of advice that someone gave you that has stuck with you?

Siren and her sister next to the track. Siren is in full gear and a black Hard Knox jersey. Both are wearing mermaid makeup.

Oh Smalls, I don’t even know! Let me think—I don’t know if I really have a specific piece of advice. I mean, it’s so basic, but my aunt always used to remind me—again, the super basic one of—treat others like you want to be treated. I use that every day I would say. We never know what other people are going through, so I really always try to value other people’s perspectives and all the unknown things that they could be dealing with, and just try to be patient and give them empathy and love and kindness. So I think just as cliché as it is, just treating others how you want to be treated can go a long way.

If you wanted to give someone advice who maybe was thinking about playing roller derby, what would you say?

Honestly, if I can do it, you can do it. That’s probably what I would say because, again, I had never done it, I didn’t even know how to skate in a simple circle. I’ve had some friends be hesitant, that are thinking about it, and that is what I tell them. Even my derby wife has told people, “If Ellery can do it, you can do it!” So I think that would be my first piece of advice, but also just come try because you’re not gonna know unless you show up and give it a try. I think the fresh meat bootcamp is a great way to give it a try. It’s super affordable and it gives you a little hint into the whole world of derby, but you have guidance and everyone’s really patient, and then you can decide after that point if it is for you, or if it’s not, that’s okay too. I feel like you don’t know if you don’t try, so just come on!

Siren in a black Hard Knox jersey from behind.

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

Slamwise Gamgee. Other than her ankle kind of giving her trouble throughout her first year, what was her biggest hurdle that she got over? And also what was her biggest wow moment?

Thank you for a great conversation Siren! It won’t be very long until you can see her out on the track—our 2023 season schedule is out, so make sure you carve out space in your calendar! Until next time, be like Siren and carve out some time in your week just for you and your self-care.

-smalls-