July Featured Skater: Jersey Cyclone

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

Name: Jersey Cyclone

Number: 925

Travel Team: Brawlers

Home Team: Lolitas

Years skating: 2

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

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

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

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

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

But you kept pushing through that last bout!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Jersey on the bench with an intense expression.

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

I was trying to do it right!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

-smalls-

June Featured Skater: Madam Bomb

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

Name: Madam Bomb

Number: 94

Travel Team: Allstars & Brawlers

Home Team: Bombshell Bettys

Years skating: 14

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

However you wanna answer that question!

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

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

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

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

Madam Bomb and other HKRD skaters at a community event.

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

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

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

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

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

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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!”

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