Off to Augusta, Georgia, to see the derby girls with the Soul City Sirens! You’ll love this talk with Lil’ArieHell, aka Nina, who was introduced to derby by a stranger at the farmers market there.
Where did you get your derby name? My first choice was AireHell because I have naturally red hair and my favorite colors are purple and teal. I had to be a mermaid! But I found that name was taken by a player who lives in Germany from a town close to where I grew up. So I added the “Lil'” to the name. With Derby growing, there are more name doubles now and I was conflicted.
What is your life outside of derby? I am a Jack of all Trades, Master of None. I work for a Roller Derby subscription box company called Bout Betties. My hobbies are herbalism, health and wellness, food, birth and breastfeeding education. All things crafty.
How did you get into Derby? Until I met a woman at the farmers market in April 2015, I had never done a sport in my life, aside from going to the gym 5 – 10 times a year. She said she liked the baby carrier I was carrying my son around in and next thing I knew I had agreed to check out the Soul City Sirens. Now, three years later, I am an active person who plays a team sport year round and works out regularly.
What do people say when they find out you do Roller Derby? “Whaaaaat? You play Roller Derby???” or “Augusta has a Roller Derby team?” or “Do you throw elbows?”
Describe the derby community. Our team has seen the worst and the best of derby, which I hear is quite common. Derby is not drama free. It’s real, it’s life, it’s a family. Families love, protect and will have your back. Sometimes families fight or even decide to go separate ways. If you are looking for Utopia, you are in the wrong place. But if you are looking for a weird, crazy family that has your back on the track, you are in the right place.
What is your biggest challenge and biggest achievement with Derby? I have to overcome the anxiety sometimes about jamming. I absolutely love jamming, it’s amazing when you do a good thing, but I feel nauseous just thinking about it. The biggest achievement is that I love my body now. Like many women, I’ve fought my body most of my teen and early adulthood, only seeing the things I didn’t like about it. Now I still see those things, but the things I love about my body outweigh the ones I don’t. I now fight alongside of it, not against it.
What do you see for the sport of derby? Roller Derby is growing, and on the way it is changing. You can see it inching towards being more of a main stream sport that focuses on athleticism. I love that, but have heard that not everyone likes that trend.
Thanks, Lil’ArieHell.
SKATE ON!
Darla
Nice! 🙂