Mouse

So where are you from Mouse?
Cheddarburg, WI

What influenced you to start participating in the Roller Derby?
I love skating. I’m a runt, I’m scrappy and I love a challenge to my strength and abilities. So when MRD was formed, I found my life partner.

What is your position?
Jammer, Pivot, Blocker

For those who don’t know, what part do those positions play in derby?
Jammers skate laps around the opposing pack, dodging blocks to score points and pivots are the blockers who regulate and call the shots in the pack.

How long have you been a member of MRD?
Since the git-go, first recruit wave July 11, 2004.
We’ve also heard that you have been immortalized into a video game?
Crazy! It’s called Jam City Rollergirls- by Frozen Codebase- from Green Bay, and skaters all over the WFTDA helped design the game and choose all the teams and skaters to be featured. Its an honor, and still feels pretty surreal when I think about it. The digital me can do some wild shit- like explode cows into burgers and leap over giant tractors. So cool. So dorky.

How has the derby changed, from your perspective, since its started here in Madison?
Bigger, louder, faster, more amazing skating talent and strength; but its still got the homegrown skater community feel to it and is still accessible to all levels of skating experience coming in which is awesome.

Do you have any particular goals you want to achieve within the realm of roller derby?
Keep growing and having fun, keep learning new moves and getting stronger, and make sure everyone around me is having fun too. I want to help my team succeed by giving my all, and always have a sense of gratitude for every moment we get to play. I want to leave a legacy that keeps the sport true to its roots, whatever that means.

What do you think about all of this silly skateboard business. Should these kids grow up already?
Ha! Shut up. I fully respect anyone who can get on a board or strap on skates and defy all laws of physics, sanity, and human limitations. Its all about passion and freedom. And gliding, and carving, and ripping and shredding.

What kinds of things do you do other than rule the derby track?
I work with people that are differently equipped with abilities, so to speak. I wouldn’t even say disabled, because they can do so much more than me with what they’ve got. I like to offer what I’ve got in time or life skills if it helps make someone elses day better. I love to skate outdoors any chance I get. I also serve some management duties for MRD and the WFTDA, keep’n the big wheels turn’n so to speak.

What’s your favorite place to eat on State St?
Chocolate Shoppe Ice Cream. And, I never knew of this Mediterranean Cafe place before, now I’m hooked. Thanks Donut!

What does working at Freedom mean to you?
It means joining a family of people who love skating, and striving to provide the best goods and service to fellow members of the skating community. And it means I started saying dude, stoke, and gnarly a little bit more than I already used to. I have so much to learn, and I love it!

What gets you stoked?
Wheels under my feet, good food in my belly, teamwork, family, friends, watching rippers shred the Dustbowl, doing something new, love, chocolate, people who do amazing things.

What bums you out?
Douchebaggery, war, raw onions.