March - Miss Demeanor

An Interview with…Miss D

What about derby caught your attention? When did you first start playing?

I was in the thralls of a very bad breakup. I saw a flier for recruiting in Ventura. I thought Roller Derby or therapy…I decided to give roller derby a shot. I went to see a bout and my now dearest friend, Shorty broke her ankle half way through. I’m like yeah, this is definitely for me!! Signed up the next day. I told my grandpa when I was little that I wanted to be a LA T-Bird, he bought me my first skates at a yard sale!! Wish he was around to see me play out my dream!!

What was that “one moment” when you knew playing derby was the right thing for you?

The day I received my first bout uniform and it had my name on it!!

What’s something you’ve learned playing derby that has translated into another part of your life?

My pain tolerance

Do you have a favorite & a least favorite position? Can you elaborate?

I’m at a stage now where I can thankfully play any position.

What do you do to get ready for a bout?

Soak the muscles the night before, get a good night's sleep, eat breakfast and make sure my red lipstick is in my gear bag!!!

What advice would you give to someone thinking about playing derby?

It’s not an overnight thing! You will want to quit 10x during your fresh meat training and then 20x after that! It hurts. It’s hard. You will cuss and cry! But when you get to the track on bout day and your name is called to skate along your other teammates, it’s like no other feeling of accomplishment and pride! 12 years still that same feeling!

Finish this sentence: When I’m not playing derby, I am _____.

A cat lady with the shades drawn

Do you have a derby mentor?

I’ve had some in my career, they are now my best life friends.

​What keeps you motivated to keep playing when things get tough?

The comfort of skating the left hand turn, that stay’s constant

What’s your favorite part of skating with VCDD?

Playing with my besties, traveling to away bouts when Sugar forgets to draw in one of her eyebrows when we’re about to go to dinner!! Those thousands of belly laughs are priceless!!

Any last bit of advice you'd like to give people??

It is worth it!! You want to be able to look back and tell your 80 year old self, I WAS A BAD ASS!!