'Put on some skates, and be your own hero,’ are inspiring words to live by. While it’s a quote from 2009’s fictional roller derby flick, Whip It, the sense of comradery, inspirational words – and the roller derby names – are present as ever in Fort Collins among the FoCo Girls Gone Derby crowd.

The ladies let me lace up some skates and hit the track with them last week. But, let’s get one thing straight: unlike the movie, roller derby is not campy –it’s a real sport. A tough sport.

When I met up with Skater Bater, Boss Mam, Unchained Malady and Hermoine Danger at the Qdoba Events Center in Fort Collins, each woman shared her 'derby journey;' how they all rolled into the derby scene in her own way. Hermione Danger’s story struck a chord with me.

Danger was was living in the suburbs of Chicago, and saw and ad on TV for roller derby while house sitting for some friends. After going to one game, she knew derby was something she had to try.

‘How can I get these people to know who I am?' she said. 'I’m a journalist by trade, and I was writing for a local newspaper at the time as a freelancer, so I wrote a story about them for the paper.’

She later tried out for the team, and made it. Danger has been on skates for a decade now. (In my own way, I may have used this assignment as a way to meet the confident, badass FoCo Girls Gone Derby, too.)

Each woman that I spoke with had her unique reason for lacing up her derby skates every week. Skater Bater is a mom who loves to bring her kids to the track, Unchained Malady credits her confidence in the workplace to roller derby and Boss Mam had never skated before January, but now she's found her niche.

If there is one preconceived notion the women want to squash about roller derby, it's that they have a roller derby persona. Sure, they've got edgy names, but Tammy, Brenda, Malorie and Sara are the ones playing on the track.

'We're the same person all day,' Danger said. 'We're not putting on a mask or anything like that. We're just being allowed to express ourselves.'

The FoCo Girls Gone Derby say they'll take a new skater any day (even if that skater has never skated - all skill levels are welcome). The next new recruit meeting is on October 14. We wish them luck in their game against Greeley Slaughterhouse Derby Girls on September 25 at the Qdoba Events Center.

The FoCo Girls Gone Derby gave me a crash course (literally) on how to be a roller derby girl:

For more info on FoCo Girls Gone Derby, check out their website, and be sure to tune in on September 17 to 94.3 The X's The Lunch Table: Serving Up the Best of Northern Colorado's Local Flavor, Thursdays at noon!

Hear the interview audio here:

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