So to kick start my butt back in the blog I have interviewed Luludemon of the Terminal City Roller Girls and the designer of PIVOTSTAR clothing. Pivotstar is clothing designed for real roller derby women. Its alternative, athletic and helps you do what you do best - kick ass!
I was lucky enough to pick up one of her amazing purple zip up hoodies at the Beast of the East in Montreal. It fits amazingly and I love it! Unfortunately so does my daughter Syd. The minute I had it in the house I haven't had it on since, she only takes it off when I wrestle it off of her to wash it, then she immediately puts it back on before I have a chance to claim it back.
Real Name: Lucy Croysdill
Team and League: Riot Girls, TCRG All Stars (Terminal City Rollergirls, Vancouver, Canada)
Business: Pivot Star Designs
Twitter: http://twitter.com/
Fan Page: http://www.facebook.com/
Websites: www.pivotstar.com
How did your business come about?:
I was working at Rollergirl.ca and realised that there was a lack of clothing created specifically for roller derby.
There was lots of fun, sparkly stuff out there that was great for bouting in, but nothing that I wanted to wear for those 9 hours of practice a week and then to the bar afterwards. So I decided to start a clothing line for real roller girls and 6 months later I am sending clothes to Switzerland, the North Pole and Hawaii!
Sports before roller derby: Snowboarding, Rollerblading (yup I was a fruit booter!) and Roller Hockey
When/how you first got involved with roller derby: I moved to Vancouver after I finished school in Edinburgh, Scotland and didn't know a lot of people in the city. I saw the TCRG on local TV and thought "that looks like a good way to meet some cool people" and joined up a month later. Now I have a whole new derby family that have seen me through a lot of changes over the past 4 years.
Best team derby moment: The first year I was captain for our All Star Team and a week before our big Derby Night in Canada Tournament I got appendicitis :-( I pleaded with the doctors to let me play, but when they mentioned "colostomy bag" I gave in. I ended up bench coaching the team and we won! It was great to see the team bring their A game, despite losing a player and I was so proud of them. I may have shed a tear ;-)
Best personal derby moment: Last year the All Stars played Bremerton. They have this amazing jammer called On da Sligh. We were jamming against each other and came out of the pack at exactly the same time, but she got lead jammer. I was skating right behind her and started bouncing around behind her trying to distract her and get her to focus on me rather than scoring points. It worked! She got mad, and threw on the breaks, trying to hit me. But I saw it coming and managed to jump around her and skate like crazy for the pack. She called it off, but she didn't score any points and it made me feel like a super hero! hahaa
What you do when you're not skating: Thinking about skating! It drives my boyfriend nuts. Oh and also dreaming up new Pivotstar products that derby girls wont be able to live without.
Favorite place in the world! Hoedspruit, South Africa. It's the small town where my sister and her husband live in a shipping container on a farm surrounded by giraffe, zebra and rhinos. It's a magical and serene place.
Guilty pleasures: I am addicted to bagels - especially at midnight snack time!
Tell us something you probably shouldn't: my mum still calls it "darby" like I am riding ponies or something.
Give us some advice: Jam smarter not harder. Remember you are the only one that can score points out there, so conserve your energy til you really need it, work with your blockers to progress in stages through the pack and avoid those hits. Also focus on the basic mechanics of skating as much as the strategy, it's amazing the difference learning to skate efficiently makes.
Who is your roller derby hero: oh god that's a really hard one, I have SO many! I would have to say at the moment it is Ginger Snap from Gotham. I took her pack work classes at the Blood and Thunder Boot camp and she was great. No b*shit, work hard, think on your feet and push yourself. This one drill we did called "Biggest Threat" left me covered in bruises, but it was so worth it.Anything else you would like to say? I am constantly inspired by the stories of the roller girls around me. Everyone has their own mountains to climb and derby seems to attract some of the toughest, unyielding, fun loving climbers out there.
Posts
I <3 lulu
ReplyDeleteand i ADORE pivot star.
xo
risquée biznatch
terminal city rollergirls
(and #1 fan)