Featured Skater Mirambo #69 of the Forest City Derby Girls

Todays featured skater is none other then Forest City Derby Girls own Mirambo.  If you were lucky enough to get a FCDG calendar she is also Miss August.

Mirambo is a big part of our league. She keeps the team together and does crazy things to keep the game light and to make sure everyone is having a good time.  She is a hard hitter and a team player for sure.  I sent her a bunch of questions and then asked her to pick a few.. she did them all! Lots of Mirambo to go around.



Derby Name MIRAMBO
Real Name Miranda Abbott
Team and League Forest City Derby Girls/Thames Fatales


Fan Page: Mirambo's Ass/Facebook
Websites: www.forestcityderbygirls.com



Sports before roller derby: wrestling team in High School.

When/how you first got involved with roller derby: 
Like a lot of girls, I was reintroduced to derby when A&E aired Rollergirls The Series. I was sitting with a close friend and made an off hand remark that if they ever had derby in my home town I wouldn't hesitate to join. Well she saw a flyer for a practice a couple months later and basically told me to put my money where my mouth. Going on 5 years later I think I've proved I belong here.
                                                                                       Best team derby moment: 

Photo by Joe Mac 

There really has been so many, I am blessed to have some of the best teammates ever. But I'd have to say one of our more recent games. We were playing The Derby Debutantes from GTARD. It was G20 weekend and we were under the assumption that traffic heading into the city was going to be crazy so we all left way early. Got to the venue 5 hours before the hosting team was even scheduled to arrive at the arena. This left us with a lot of free time. I found a vending machine that had mustaches inside. Got enough for everyone on the team and we all picked one out. We laughed and joked around for hours, by game time we were just so relaxed from all the laughs and funny pictures all day long we played one of the best games ever as a team. I'd do anything for those girls xoxox
 




Best personal derby moment: 
It was the last jam of our game against the Nickle City Knockouts. I knocked their jammer B.J. HARMstrong out of play, and forced her to cut in front of me back on the track. She was originally awarded the point for passing, giving them a one point lead for the win. Thank the derby god's I made eye contact with a ref during the infraction and the score was adjusted but only after the Knockouts had taken a winning lap. After some very heated discussion with the captains and the refs the score showed a tie game with the clock run out. Forcing an overtime jam. In the end we ended up winning the game. It was incredible.

Joe Mac Midnight Matinee

What do you do when your not skating?
Well recently I've tried on a few different roles but still within the realm on derby. Reporting at games with Derby Spotlight. Roger Foley asked me to join his team and I just couldn't resist. And I also tried my hand at refereeing recently, that was very different for me. Making the calls instead of instigating them, was a lot tougher than I thought it was going to. 


Favorite place in the world: In front of a mirror.

Guilty pleasures: Poutine, seriously I can't get enough. Just thinking about it now makes me salivate for it...

Give us some advice: Shit or get off the pot! You are your own worst enemy at practice, don't ever sit down not for anything. Get to know your skates, you are responsible for your own equipment. Without it you wouldn't be here so at least have enough mind to take care of it. And don't be a douchbag on the track, learn the rules ladies. 

Who is your roller derby hero: There are so many really...Jess Bandit, they best pivot I've seen on the track yet. Crackerjack, really do I have to explain why she's on my list? Because she is AMAZEBALLS! And don't forget D-Bomb, that girl has got the most powerful legs I've ever seen. 

beating bitches with stitches

Tell us something you probably shouldn't:
I have totally played games when I shouldn't have due to injury's. And I'll probably do it again.
(Mirambo just recently played a game with seven stitches in the bottom of her foot.)

Anything else you would like to say: 
Just that I owe a lot of my skills to my amazing trainers Anya Face and Sufferjet. If it wasn't for those two ladies I wouldn't be half as good as I am. I love you both so much.


Mirambo is such a suck up! But we love her anyways!

love Anya Face

How to get Butts in the Seats! Part one.

So you've trained really hard, and planned the bout and the bands and the after party is all set. All this work is wasted if you cant get people in the seats to see it.

My roller derby team does not like to spend money on anything. We want to keep money to put on more bouts. So I'm going to post some ways to get your fans at your event for as cheap as possible.  The key to getting people to the bouts is that every derby girl in the league should be working their butts off to get the word out. Even if you have a person in charge of promotions, she should only be responsible for contacting media to set up interviews etc. Everyone in the league should be working in their own circles and as a group to get the information out to all ages and walks of life.

Roller Derby really is a sport for everyone so don't stay in your comfort zones, branch out and meet lots of people and promote your event and your sport.

Word Of Mouth 

The first place to start is with your members, supporters and current fan base. Use your meetings, regular communications and newsletters to let them know about your event and encourage them to tell their friends and friends of friends. Word of mouth is still one of the most powerful selling tools because it also comes with a reliable, credible endorsement.

Past that you can talk to people on the street, people in line at the grocery store. Make sure you have hand bills or business cards with your website listed on you at all time. Get your friends and family excited about the event as well and they will tell their friends.

Tell people at your work, at the daycare, at the doctors appointments, your kids school, your nephews school, get your family and friends to do the same.  Pretty much where ever you go you should find someone you can talk a little derby to.

Make a goal for yourself and get all the girls in the league to do the same.  Whether you have a bout or not you should tell 5 people a week, or even a day if you can, about what your league is doing, or just getting your website out there for people to get some information and see what your league is all about.

In my experience, in roller derby, people always have questions about the sport and if you know the information and are excited about it they will be interested.  If you can get them interested, give them the information, they will pass it on for you.  

Love Anya

Designer and Kick Ass Derby Girl Erica Voges!

Erica Voges has two amazing shops on Etsy. She also plays for one of my favourite roller derby teams, Duke City.  I check out her stores all the time to see what she is up to and what incredible things she has crafted.  I sent her a big questionnaire and she was gracious to take the time to answer a few questions.  I hope you enjoy and I hope you are able to check out her shops.

Derby Name  

Doom Dee Doom. I hate to say it out loud and always get squeamish when people ask me what my derby name is. I even almost changed it  after I had my baby to the first name I thought of , Sultry Confinement.  For my very first bout I was Whip Lass because it fit the theme of the team I was on for our leagues exhibition season, then when we reformed our teams I changed it to Agent Orange Crush, but didn't check the roller girl roster first and it got spit back. I had about a week to come up with a new name, so Doom Dee Doom it is. 

AcrylicAndSteel.etsy.com

AcrylicAndSteel.etsy.com

Real Name

Erica Hazel Voges.

Team and League

I have been playing for Duke City Derby since 2005, but took a short hiatus to have a baby, and upon starting derby again I skated for a few months for Rose City before moving back to Albuquerque.  I am on the Dooms Dames at home and also on the Munecas Mueartas, our travel team. 

Business

 www.causticthreads.etsy.com  and www.acrylicandsteel.etsy.com

Twitter

www.twitter.com/acrylicandsteel

Websites

www.acrylicandsteel.blogspot.com

Sports before roller derby

I was always the kid that got hit in the head with a basketball before roller derby, I thought I was uncoordinated and not very athletic. After starting roller derby I realized maybe I was just trying the wrong sports, after all some one who is 5'2" with massive muscular quads isn't really built for basketball, but I would have probably done well at soccer and I was made for derby.

When/how you first got involved with roller derby:

I started playing derby in 2005. Remember back when people used myspace instead of facebook? Well I reconnected with my best friend from elementary school that way. Her myspace name was Dahmernatrix, which I thought was funny and awesome so I asked her about it. She told me it was her roller derby name. Since I love roller skating I went to my leagues first bout of our exhibition season (we had an exhibition season before our first real season). By the time the next exhibition game came around I was on the "Dead Mans Curves". Roller derby has changed my life in unimaginable ways.

CausticThreads.etsy.com

What you do when you're not skating

I have reached the point that I have more hobbies than I have time for. I am Married (to a ref) and have a sweet baby girl. I also have two etsy stores. I have a degree in fashion design and have been working on developing more sewn products for Caustic Threads. I also paint, screen print, draw, block print, needle felt, rock climb, hike, bike, and various other crafts.

Favorite place in the world!

So far, my favorite place that I have ever been is my home town. I have been to almost every state in the US and lived in Portland, LA and Savannah, Ga but something always brings me back home. I think it is the sunshine. I have never been off the continent. I would love to visit Paris, London, most of Italy, parts of Germany, the Netherlands... (list goes on forever)

Guilty pleasures:

I like cake. A LOT.

Tell us something you probably shouldn't:

I cry when I have to speak publicly.

Give us some advice

Throw away your TV, marry the man of your dreams, bike to work, and play roller derby. Doing  these things have made me very happy.

CausticThreads.etsy.com

CausticThreads.etsy.com

Anything else you would like to say?

I will probably be retiring at the end of this season, as much as I love roller derby, I want to have another baby, and it was really hard to go back so much fatter and slower after I had my first baby, I do not think I can do it again.

Hot Across Buns loves to support derby owned business's if you have a business and you would like to be featured on Hot Across Buns, just drop us a line at hotacrossbuns@gmail.com

A little love Anya Face!

Holla! Neon Skates!

A few months ago, when I heard that Georgia W. Tush was opening her own brick and mortar skate shop, the first thought in my head was, well it's about time!
Tush lives and breathes roller derby.

Before I knew much about her, I would see her everywhere, doing the things I was too scared to do.
Skating on Freemont street with Team Awesome, dancing half time shows at WFTDA Nationals,  playing baddass rifts on inflatable air guitars at the karaoke bars in Vegas and playing some amazing roller derby all over the world.

She is very knowledgeable in the sport, she knows everyone, and she has pretty much done everything and always has a blast doing whatever it is she is doing.

So, this weekend in Montreal is the grand opening of Neon Skates!   If you are in the area, or wanna go on a road trip, plug  23 Bernard O. (local 23) Montreal QC in your GPS, grab some snacks and hit the road. The Store hours are Tuesdays to Saturday 12pm to 6pm. 

If there is something you need, she will find it for you!  If you have questions, she can answer them!
She is going to be doing mail order in the future for those of us not lucky enough to live in Montreal.
In the meantime you can catch Neon Skates on Facebook, as well as NeonSkatesMTL on twitter!

Show Tush some love and support and stop by her shop or her facebook page.

Love Anya

Step Moms - You hate us and we beat you!

This weekend, Sufferjet and myself, travelled down to Toronto once again, to play some roller derby.

We took Dawn Kashane, and our five rookies and seven fresh meat, aka never played a game before, gave them some bright freaking yellow and baby blue shirts and threw them to the wolves.  The wolves being The Rollergettes.

The Step moms really stepped it up! The jammers listened well, played smart and really worked hard! They just kept skating, and skating hard,  even in the ridiculous heat.   The blockers worked extremely well together. The freshies really listened to the rookies and they even pulled off some advanced plays that we had just been introducing. It was great to see that our training program is really paying off.  Sufferjet and myself we screaming, and laughing and maybe, just possibly, a little crying! We were just so proud of all these girls.  Every single on of them had a shining moment or ten.  

Plus! I didn't even have to get my ridiculously awesome yellow shirt a bit sweaty.  They were able to do it with only Sufferjet and myself coaching from the sidelines. They were able to finish the whole game, all of them as a team.  The final score 189 - 24! Go Step Moms!

Thanks to the Rollergettes for having us down and showing us a good time and a big thanks to Ref Ormed Rebel, Mirambo, Commiekaze, Killson, Back Alley Sally and Scarlet Fox for coming out and helping with reffing and stats.  Also a big thank you to all the fans and members of the Forest City Derby Girls that came out to either watch and show their support or help out where ever we needed them.

You can see more of our Fresh Meat and rookies at our Goderich Game.  

Love Anya

Mustache Envy

On June 26th, the Thames Fatales, went to Toronto to take on the Derby Debutantes.  Due to the G20 Summit we were told that we should get there super early cause there would be long delays and lots of traffic.  The game started at 7,  we left around noon, we got there at 2.

What to do in the rain in a closed down city?

Have some good times!

Mirambo found a bubble gum machine that gave out  mustaches . All styles of mustaches!  We were able to snaggle one for everyone out of the machine.

We put them on and giggled most of the day. We wore them in the change room, and then we wore them for our  intro.  So much fun, we looked absolutely ridonkulous.  After the intro, we took them off and stuck them to the outside of our bench.  Every thing was fine until about half way through the first period, I was skating with Jemicide and Annie Takers on my line, I saw jemicide go in for one of her  beautiful hits, she pushed off on her skate and crumpled to the ground.  Annie Takers was having an unusually hard time keeping up for that jam.  The jam ended and they were cursing.  They both had skated the whole jam with a mustache stuck to their wheel.  Bad Pit had to confesscate the mustaches.


The next day Sufferjet made some mustache underwears! Check them out, they are pretty funny,
and they wont get stuck to your wheel when you skate!
We have two styles, for 12 dollars you can have just the mustache or for 18  you can have a mustache with a custom assogram!

They are available in blue, black, red and pink.  You can get  the mustache in black, white, red and even pink!

            So check out the shop and get your mustache on!

Hot Across Buns

Love Anya xoxo

Roller Derby Products

I was reading my new Five on Five magazine and I came across these cool wrist guard covers.
They are available from the OC Roller Girls website.  They come in super hero style, leopard print, camo, skulls, and golden and blue.  I think they are super awesome.

 

These ones are my favourite.  I have some wonder woman styled hot pants by Knicker Rocker on Etsy and added with these rocking wrist guard covers would be superheroliscious!

For 32.99 US you can look like a super hero, and you would probably skate like one too.  There are 6 styles to choose from and each one is reversible. So if you don't have your super hero hot pants on you can flip them inside out and go incognito.

                                          







A little love, Anya Face.