My derby name came from our first beach weekend. I made jungle juice and of course we all drank too much. The next day everyone claimed I made “roofie punch” because they couldn’t remember what happened.

I started playing in 2013. I drove by the South Side Roller Derby’s game day venue, The Pasadena Convention Center regularly and kept seeing the advertisements for SSRDs games. I finally made it to one and after watching the first quarter I knew I had to play.

It looked like so much fun and all of the players seemed to love each other, even if they weren’t on the same team. I signed up that night and haven’t looked back since.

Derby has definitely made my life better. Not only did it help me athletically(you don’t realize how weak your legs are until you go to your first practice) but it also brought a lot of people into my life. People I would have never spoken to or been around had it not been for derby. It brought me friends, improved my team work skills, and best of all, introduced me to my wife.

1.) It’s okay to not be good at first. I surely wasn’t and initially that discouraged me but the same people that knocked me down were the ones that helped me back up and taught me a better way to do it. They showed me that it’s okay to not be perfect and that the thing that really matters is that you keep trying.

2.) Don’t skimp on a good set of pads to save money. Your body will thank you in the long run