I love the Texas derby girls! Here’s a great True Derby star.
Lady McDeath, known also as McKay, is an art teacher at Ball High School in Galveston, Texas with a degree in psychology and a Master of Fine Arts. She skates with South Side Roller Derby, one of the only banked track leagues in the area, and also with the travel team CutThroat CupCakes.
You’ll love her story.
When did you start derby and why? Best thing that ever happened to me as an adult. Summer before I discovered derby I suffered a case of clinical depression. An existential crisis. I had heard of roller derby and some of my friends did derby, and even though I couldn’t skate, I thought it was the coolest thing. So when I was given a free entry to a derby boot camp, I thought “What am I waiting for.” I went. I was the worst one there. It was the most humiliating and intimidating thing I had ever done in my life. After the camp, I called my Mom and said, “I hurt, I stink and I’m in love.” I just wanted to keep skating and see how far I could go. I was so bad the first two years, so if I can do it, anyone who can get up on skates can do it. I told my friends who wanted to come and watch, “I’ll be the one on my ass most of the time.”
How did you pick the derby name? I have a theater background working as a scenic artist. We had just finished a production of Lady McBeth as a UIL competition when I started derby, and had it on the brain. It just felt right.
What do people say when they hear that you derby? One of two reactions. The first is “OMG, that’s so cool.” The second is “You look like someone who would do roller derby”. I am 6’ tall with blue hair and tattoos. I look the sterotype.
Favorite part of derby? I love the physical part. Women are taught to be nice, not pushy. Now I can be pushy if I want and set aside the need to be the nice girl. That spreads over into my life. Now I can go for what I want and say what I want.
Least favorite part of derby? I’m smart, but not a quick learner physically. It takes me longer to learn techniques. But I’ve learned to be patient and fake it till I get there.
What about derby do people not know? Most people see roller derby as a girl sterotype, like women wrestling. A burlesque on wheels kind of thing. And some leagues own that for their image. I see derby from its totally disciplined side. It’s a lot of hard work and athletic. Even for someone who is 6 ft tall, has blue hair and tattoos.
There is talk that roller derby may become an Olympic sport. I think we all have mixed feelings about that. On one hand we would love the heightened attention to our sport, but that would bring with it all the things that go along with big sports….the endorsements, the elite training and coaching. We don’t want roller derby to lose the flavor that makes it so unique.
Describe the derby community: The derby community is one the best things about the sport. We are all there for each other. If someone gets hurt and goes to the hospital, we are there with her. You are always free to call a team member and just vent, day or night. Same goes for family problems or a need to get out of jail (which so far I haven’t had to do!)
Advice to younger girls—what have you learned from derby? Be patient with yourself. You will never be good at anything if you aren’t patient. You have to be bad before you get good. Also be who you are. And it’s okay to let it all out. People tell me I’m more positive now than before I started skating. More me.
THANKS, LADY McDEATH. SKATE ON!
–Darla