Skater of the Month - Dropkick Bru's
Name: Dropkick Bru's
Number: 901
How did you get involved with roller derby?
I first heard about roller derby when I lived in Cambridge and went to an Alternative xmas market that the Cambridge Rollerbillies had a cake stand at. After a bit of google'ing I thought it would be a great way to meet people outside of work and signed up for their meet and greet taster session and started my 1st "Fresh Meat" intake January 2015.
What is your skate gear of choice?
I currently skate in Antik MG2 boots with crazy appolo plates. For wheels, I use a mixture of 93a Atom Jukes and 91a Heartless for our main training venue but switch to 88/91's for our scrimmage venue. For pads I have Scabs knee pads, 187 elbow pads and wrist guards.
Tell us about your derby name and number:
My derby name took a lot of time to come up with, one of my favorite bands is the Dropkick Murphy's and I used to drink a lot of Irn Bru at training. As for my number Irn Bru was first produced in 1901 according to their website, I dropped the 1 to make it shorter and thankfully 901 was available at Dundee so it got to stay.
Before you discovered roller derby, were you involved in any other sports/exercise? If yes how has derby impacted this?
I used to play hockey at high school but that stopped when I went to college. After that I avoided sport until I picked up roller derby and started cycling to training in Cambridge (it is so flat!). I don't cycle anymore but I am currently halfway through a couch to 5k course with the Anster Allsorts which I signed up for in a moment of madness! Hopefully the stamina increase will help me to nail my 27 in 5 laps
What is your position of choice?
My skating position of choice at the moment is blocking as I feel I can use my strengths better there. I also do a lot of Non Skating Officialling (NSOing) both in Scotland and around Europe (I will be in Helsinki when this is published and in Gothenburg the weekend past). My favorite position would probably be score tracking but I love the challenge of the new combined penalty line up tracker role.
Which teams have you skated with?
I have only skated one DRD Home Teams season for the Press Gangsters as I am still chasing my 27 in 5 laps to become a Bonnie Collider. When I NSO I am part of a wonderful team of both skating and non skating officials with a wide range of experience that you are constantly picking up tips and tricks to help up your own game.
Do you have a pre/post bout ritual?
Again I don't really have a pre/post game routine yet as a skater. As an official I really like to have a chat and catch up with the other officials before and sometimes after games. I really enjoy the social aspect of games days.
How would you describe your derby playing style, do you have a signature move?
My derby skating style is fairly strength based but I am currently working on my confidence and my lateral moment as I'm not great at getting across the track to block. As an NSO I can be quite talkative regarding what is going on on track as all the NSO roles are linked one way or another and communication is key to matching paperwork.
What is your day job?
How has your involvement in roller derby affected the way you live the rest of your life? I am a farm worker on my families farm in Fife so day to day varies greatly from various tractor driving jobs, to washing cattle courts and preparing and managing grain storage areas at harvest time. I also help out lambing and other jobs at a neighbouring farm. Derby gives me a reason to use my holiday allowance as I probably wouldn't take much time off otherwise.
Favourite motivational quote?
I'm not really one for motivational quotes as such, I usually turn to music instead. Halo by Soil or The Middle by Jimmy Eat World are songs that listen to when i need to motivation to get something done.
Who do you choose for the next skater of the month?
For the next skater of the month I choose Feminist Killjoy who is an amazing referee to join Dundee recently.
