Dee Lorean, #121

Name: Dee Lorean
Number: 121
Age: 32

What is your skating position?
Jammer/Blocker

Where did you grow up?
Phoenix, AZ

What do you do for a living?
I'm a lawyer, allegedly.

What are your favorite hobbies (besides derby)?
I write fiction and draw things.

What are your pre-derby sports, if any?
I was a swimmer for many years and played ice hockey briefly in high school.

Did you have any skating experience before joining derby?
Some, but I was very rusty when I started.

What would people be surprised to learn about you?
I used to draw a superhero web comic. And no, I'm not going to provide links, it's best lost to the sands of time.

How and why did you get involved in roller derby?
I was looking for a team sport to play because I was out of shape and found going to the gym boring. I figured I'd be better motivated to stick with something if I had teammates depending on me and as an added bonus, I'd make friends in the process. Ran across a flyer for derby and thought it sounded like fun. 'Whip It' was in theaters at the time, so I went to see it, thinking if I liked what I saw then I'd email the local league. The rest is history.

How long have you been involved with derby?
Since late 2009, so I've been around for a while!

What’s the story behind your derby name? How did you pick yours?
It's a reference to the time machine in Back to the Future. I wanted something geeky with a simple shortened version because I knew people would be yelling it at me all the time. I've always been a fan of time travel stories, so it seemed like a good fit.

Do you have a signature move?
Not really, but I am kind of a giant ham when I jam. I love getting the crowd excited and cheering; I'm always smiling when that happens.

What was the easiest move for you to learn? What was the hardest?
Not sure about easiest, maybe crossovers? They're one of the few skills I brought from my pre-derby days. Hardest would be hockey stops. It took me a year and a half to get those down, even though I used to be able to do them on ice.

What is your favorite derby event during the year?
Anytime I get to bout really, though I enjoy watching WFTDA Champs.

What is your favorite derby story so far?
All of my really good stories are best told at afterparties, but I once tripped over my own skates while warming up and belly flopped so hard on the concrete track that afterwards I had dark purple bruises on all of my fingers, but nowhere else.

What do you wish you’d known about derby before you joined?
How much it takes over your life. I'd do it again, but man, derby ends up stealing ALL your time.

In what ways has roller derby changed your life?
I'm more confident than I was before derby, healthier, and have hundreds more friends. Joining derby had been one of the best decisions I've ever made.

What advice do you have for someone thinking about joining derby?
Go to a bout. We don't get paid to do this, and it's a lot of work and commitment to play, so you've got to love the game to stick it out. Don't worry about what you can or can't do physically, you'll end up surprising yourself. If if looks like fun and you've got the time and money to do it, give it a try!

Glittoris, #9277

Name: Glittoris
Number: 9277
Age: 25

What is your skating position?
Pivot for OC; C (outside line) back home in Colorado

Where did you grow up?
Broomfield, Colorado

What do you do for a living?
I’m a sourcer for Sphero, a robotics company that makes the BB-8 droids.

What are your favorite hobbies (besides derby)?
Playing videogames, CS:GO specifically, and hanging out with my wife at Disneyland.

What are your pre-derby sports, if any?
Before derby I played Esports (competitive video games), golf, and skateboarding.

Did you have any skating experience before joining derby?
Nope!

What would people be surprised to learn about you?
I am a sponsored video game player so I get to make money playing CS:GO!

How and why did you get involved in roller derby?
I had wanted to do derby for years.  When I first wanted to join, I was too young, and then for a long time I just didn’t have time and I sort of lost interest. Then my best friend (now called Speedlejuice) asked my wife (now called Lezlie Grope) if she wanted to join our local league.  So the three of us went to new recruit night and we have been sucked into the wonderful world of roller derby ever since.

How long have you been involved with derby?
One year and two months.

What’s the story behind your derby name?  How did you pick yours?
I was at a bar with my friends and we were talking about what our derby names would be when we earned them. In our old league, you didn’t pick a derby name until you got WFTDA certified.  Lez came up with the name Glittoris and I knew it was my destiny.  I love names that are inappropriate!

Do you have a signature move?
My signature move is catching the jammer on my chest and leading her to the line to shoulder pop her out.

What was the easiest move for you to learn?  What was the hardest?
The easiest to learn was one footed plow stops, while the hardest was transitions and backwards skating.  I still get nervous when I have to go from facing forward to facing backward.  Ironically, I usually play pivot/brace in this league which is played entirely backwards.

What is your favorite derby event during the year?
Roller Con! It hasn’t happened yet but I can’t wait to see and skate with all my friends back home.

What is your favorite derby story so far?
My favorite derby story so far is about my derby wife.  My old league, BCB, had a Bridezillas themed scrimmage which was brides vs bridesmaids.  My friend who leveled up with me, Elyse LeKraken, and I were both on the brides team so we went to the thrift store and got wedding dresses to wear in the scrimmage.  Then we derbified them by cutting them up, putting our numbers on them, etc.  Well now Elyse LeKraken is my derby wife and we got our wedding dresses together before we even knew we were going to be derby married.  It was destiny!  And now that we have these super cool wedding dresses we made together we are going to wear them together at the derby wedding at RollerCon.

What do you wish you’d known about derby before you joined?
I wish I knew that I could actually play this sport.  I remember watching it in high school and in college thinking I would never be able to do that, but look where I am now!

In what ways has roller derby changed your life?
Derby has changed my life in pretty much every way!  I’m stronger and healthier than I’ve ever been.  I’m confident and happy.  The biggest impact though is I now have so many close friends.  I’ve never experienced such real, close friendships in my entire life and now my life is full of them. Thank you derby!

What advice do you have for someone thinking about joining derby?
Don’t be intimidated!  Nobody was born playing derby.  Everyone you admire on the track has been in your shoes before.  You can be as good as anyone you have ever seen.

Silver Scream, #118

Name: Silver Scream
Number: 118
Age: 21

What is your skating position?
Blocker/Jammer

Where did you grow up?
Newbury Park, CA

What do you do for a living?
I’m in school to be a sound designer for television.

What are your favorite hobbies (besides derby)?
My roommates and I play Settlers of Catan a lot. Does that count?

What are your pre-derby sports, if any?
I played soccer as a kid and then threw shot put and discus in high school.

Did you have any skating experience before joining derby?
A little. I used to go to the roller rink pretty frequently when I was younger, but then it closed.

What would people be surprised to learn about you?
I’m not actually Canadian.  I just love everything about Canada and plan to move there one day.

How and why did you get involved in roller derby?
The short version is I went to OC Roller Skates to buy outdoor wheels, met Doll, and then got coerced into trying derby. As always, Doll was right, and I love this sport.

How long have you been involved with derby?
Just over a year.

What’s the story behind your derby name?  
My name is a play off “Silver Screen,” the old-timey way of saying movie screen. I wanted something related to film/tv since I’m in film school.

Do you have a signature move?
The super not graceful fall, usually not prompted by anything.

What was the easiest move for you to learn?  What was the hardest?
I think T-stops were probably the easiest for me. Plow stops, on the other hand, still need a lot of work.

What is your favorite derby event during the year?
Our holiday party is a lot of fun.

What is your favorite derby story so far?
The day before my first scrimmage, which I was terrified of, I was asked to be someone’s derby wife. The next day at the scrimmage, she texts me like, “Oh, I’m sick, so I won’t be practicing. But I’ll at least be there for moral support.” Then about half an hour before practice, she texts me again and said, “Actually, I have a lot of things to do, so I’m not going.” I derby-divorced her immediately. Then she bought me food, so I forgave her.

What do you wish you’d known about derby before you joined?
How much time it can take of your life if you let it.

In what ways has roller derby changed your life?
I now have a super awesome group of friends I would have never met otherwise! I also never imagined that I would have anyone sponsor me as an athlete, but I am proud to be a Juice Wheels sponsored skater!

 What advice do you have for someone thinking about joining derby?
Just do it! It might seem scary at first, but you’ll get the hang of it, and then it’s just crazy fun!

T-Wrecks, #93

Name: T-Wrecks
Number: 93
Age: 22

What is your skating position?

When I first started playing, I mainly jammed, but I’ve started blocking a lot more in the past year or two. Right now, I just play whatever position the coaches want me to.

What do you do for a living?

I am currently working as a pharmacy technician at CVS, and I’m also in school part-time. In July, I will be starting pharmacy school in Las Vegas.

What are your favorite hobbies (besides derby!)? 
Other than derby, I like to watch movies (mainly horror), sew, collect comic books, bake, go to concerts, and a ton of other stuff. I have too many interests, really. Ha-ha! My mom thinks I have ADD but never bothered to get me tested or anything. Lol!

What were your pre-derby sports, if any? 
I played tennis for a hot second when I was a pre-teen, if you want to count that.

Did you have any skating experience before joining derby?
In middle school, my friends and I would hang out at Fountain Valley Skate Center pretty often.

What would people be surprised to learn about you? 
I’m a pretty boring person, and my life basically revolves around school. The most interesting thing about me is probably that I am currently aiming to have 4 degrees at age 25; a B.A. in Cognitive Psychology, a B.S. in Biology, an MBA, and Pharm. D.)

How and why did you get involved in roller derby?
I don’t remember the first time I heard of or saw roller derby, but I remember seeing it on T.V. every once in awhile. And then I watched Whip it. I also saw a roller derby club on my school campus as a freshman but couldn’t join due to scheduling conflicts. I signed up the summer after my freshman year in college. I mainly joined because I saw it as a fun way to get some exercise.

How long have you been involved with derby?
I have been playing for about three and a half years now but have taken a couple of breaks here and there, like when I studied abroad two summers ago.

What’s the story behind your derby name? How did you pick yours?
Originally, I wanted my derby name to be “Pocahuntress” because Pocahontas is one of my favorite Disney princesses. Unfortunately, that was taken on the old derby name registry, so I chose T-Wrecks because I like dinosaurs and thought it was a fun play on words. Now there’s a million T-Wreckses and, like, no Pocahuntresses!

Do you have a signature move?
I wish I did! I’m still trying to find what style of skating best works for me, though. Maybe I’ll just act like a T-Rex and try to stomp through walls and chomp people’s heads off, and that can be my signature move!

What was the easiest move for you to learn? What was the hardest?
The easiest thing for me to learn was crossovers, and the hardest is definitely plow stops. I still struggle with those, which sucks because they are so essential to being able to form a strong wall.

What is your favorite derby event during the year?
Because of school, I actually haven’t been to too many derby events. This year will be my first time going to Rollercon! But I always love the OC vs. OC bouts because they’re just fun and no one’s taking themselves too seriously.

What do you wish you’d known about derby before you joined?
I wish I knew how frustrating it could be at times. Constantly trying to improve yourself as a skater and a player can be so frustrating, and I have personally found myself in a couple of ruts. I remember it took me three tries to pass my minimum skills test, and, after the third attempt, before the results came out, I thought I had done so badly, and, honestly, I almost quit. But because of that, I have learned to just keep trying, no matter how many attempts it takes.

In what ways has roller derby changed your life?
Roller derby introduced me to an entire community of super awesome people! I have met so many interesting people from all walks of life, and I know that almost everywhere I go there will probably be a league nearby where I can meet even more people.

What advice do you have for someone thinking about joining derby?
Just do it and go to practice. You can’t expect yourself to improve if you don’t go to practice. Even now I struggle to make it a lot of the time, but I try my best. Also, derby is very much a mental game, if you constantly tell yourself you suck at something or you can’t do something, you’re never going to be able to do it.