Elizabeth Gomez and Anita Mechler

00:15 That's fine.

00:19 My name is Anita. I am 32 today is October 10th 2013. We are in Chicago, Illinois, and I'm going to be talking to my best friend and sister from another mister.

00:34 My name is Elizabeth Gomez. I'm may be 39. Today is October 10th, and we're in Chicago, Illinois. And I am going to be talking to my sister from another mister and when my clothes as close as friends in the whole world.

00:51 So our relationship began from eating each other through a roller derby League. I was trying to start in 2004 and tell me why don't you tell me a little bit about how you found out about it. Well, I was going out on a Saturday night and I was drunk outside of a bar and I was waiting for my friends to pick up some beer for a party. We're going to crash and a girl came out of this bar called the gold star and she had a flyer in her hands and she ran to her friend who is standing next to me on the sidewalk and said, oh my God, somebody starting a roller derby league and without even thinking about it. I grabbed her arm probably kind of hard and I was like, what are you talking about? And she showed me the flyer and what is really cute and at the bottom of it at said call Elizabeth at this number?

01:44 And so we called you and we were kind of loud and drunk and it was like 1:30 in the morning and that conversation because I think me and Kelly who is Sister Sledge Hammer to help me start the league we're coming out of a cab because we're going to meet the one of the girls that we first talked to you. And as we going to her job, I remember getting out of a cab in hearing this voice be like

02:10 Then my sister and I was like it's really late at night and we're all out bar hopping and so I remember saying what is your name? I need to take down my number and I will call and call me tomorrow morning when he wake up. Right. Well, then I called you will then the next morning. I was looking in my phone and I was like who's Elizabeth roller derby? I don't really remember that and so I called you and you said yeah, you know, we're going to meet up at you know, where to meet up at my house or going to have a meeting and I remember I'd missed the first meeting because I got lost and I was running late from work and what would happen to that first meeting? It was a couple

03:10 Girl, so I'm originally when I started this idea if I'm starting this roller derby. I was working at a print shop and my friend Kelly Unocal I can kiss you. This is just like we printed out these flyers. We handed them out everywhere. And the idea was at our first meeting would be just getting up group of girls who can help us distribute more flyers because between the two of us, we did a really great job on our bikes and Sky Ride into the city to pass out these flyers and to me all these really awesome people and but it was it wasn't enough for us. We were hoping for even more and so the idea was that we would have this meeting at my house where we would talk to the girls get to know who they are and then ask them to help us just repeat the information so that eventually we can have a big recruiting party at the the cork lounge and I do remember that you called cuz you're really upset that you weren't there. I know.

04:10 Almost going to cry. I was crying almost crying on the phone right now. And then I remember that as we were talking through that conversation at the end somehow we were talking we end up talking about like our derby name. So like every time you know girls with spine out it was one of the fun things to do in early Derby was to have a derby name like your alternative personality and mine at the time was want to rumble and when I was talking to you, I remember asking you about what you wanted to be in your like. I'm going to be a Nita Applebaum.

04:41 And then I had to take a moment cuz I had to take in the power and my awesomeness was that name and I remember thinking that whoever this any to Appelbaum is what I've never met but I talked to him twice is going to be like one of my greatest friends in the whole world is so funny too. Cuz I didn't I mean I didn't know you I didn't know any of the other girls at all. And when we went to the second meeting and had it at your your condo and we're all sitting around your living room kind of looking at each other like okay, and then I remember we went outside for a smoke break or something and that's when I met Sandra who became Coco bang bang who when she had brown hair and we were yeah and we were all trying to decide what we're going to do with this recruitment party. And for some reason we decided we were going to bake things for it because we were professional

05:40 Give me to get the whole goal is to get 20/20 girls of this party warehouse and play right as a sponsor and drink beer and play roller derby with like whatever maybe a band will play or something. And the best thing about all of this is that none of us had ever seen a roller derby game know we had we had the Texas about the championship Boughton and then the little clip for a Hell on Wheels of the documentary they were making up a time. So yeah, that was the first meeting at my house. I think we just talked about like recruiting and stuff and how we're going to handle this this new meeting and it was funny because we didn't know any of those Associated before except for me and Kelly know you knew few people from the print shop. I think Riot Violet nature and Anna Caroline, but they weren't there for very short.

06:39 But now I remember us talking about it and

06:46 And sorry just really trying to figure out what the next steps were. I feel like that Ryan's will because we didn't throw them. We were creating party. Maybe we'll have 20 girls show up. But we had we had spent how many months at that point. Will the idea came up in July Northern idea came up before I think we start recruiting in July and then September was we actually had the event we had the party. Yeah, and we are we said well, you know, maybe of 20 Grill show up will be you know, and before that we were going to party. I mean everywhere I went I had it in my back pocket those fliers. I was talk to people at parties. I would go up two girls. Are you a cool? You should join ruin Derby. We know we did the like arm wrestling at the bars and drinking and said that there was a kind of in the beginning when we were recruiting, but maybe it was a short stand-up recording and then what made you pick cork Lounge?

07:46 It was like this is dirty disgusting old man bar where like he'd walk in at Great Tupac and you'd walk in and it would be dark even though it was the middle of the day and there would be like there's three regular sweet sit on the corner and you can go anytime of the day any day of the week and they would always be there and what was their reaction when you said that we were going to have that there what did they think that they think it was going to be what it became? I don't I don't even think that they they get her to realize even though

08:16 But I guess my question to you would be what would a try to do to roller derby? Like why did you decide that something that you want to do? I don't know it was it was instinctual? Like I just grab that girl's arm and then I became friends with her later. She joined and then she quit within me we hadn't even gotten to about yet before she quit but dere ain't rearranged rearranged. Yeah, and her real name is Ria.

08:43 And I don't know I have no idea what it was. What was it like for you when you first saw all these girls in the living room with my house. I just thought it was something new and fun that I was going to do is just some new adventure. It was just something I just felt like I had to do it. I just felt absolutely compelled to do it and the weird thing is that I don't remember ever watching roller derby. I don't think I ever watched on TV really maybe I did maybe I saw Bay City bombers, but I don't remember I don't know why I was just like I have to do this thing and everything and I that's how I felt even when we started to go in practices and when we started skating, it was just like that. There was no question. I mean many many years later on when everything started to hurt and I had to bum knees and two bum shoulder than bad joints and all that stuff then it became kind of

09:38 I'm hard to go to practices and to motivate myself and to get up after somebody knocks the wind out of you or whatever. But in the beginning, it was just like I'm just doing the thing. I just have to do the thing. I always thought it was really weird like just sitting and I'm interested in the living room I both meetings and taking like

09:56 I can't believe that anybody is listening to anything. I say who is paying attention to what we're doing here. Like it was very hard because it was actually really overwhelmingly like

10:11 I think it was just I don't know. It's overwhelming to have like they even a few girls that we had at the beginning look at us and go we're going to do what you ask is to do and then we're going to try this thing. I love going out skate room where we can be to have a drink and have a drink. We hadn't seen the game. We didn't know anyone else who played roller derby didn't know what the rules were. There is only like a handful of teams in the country and we were the what the third or fourth Team league that started up. We are one of the early ones yet does it was Texas first and then Arizona and then it was at Atlanta and North Carolina and we went to the Madison's first Friday, but I do remember that like

10:52 That one of the things I look forward to every week as like as piling into my car and going out to the skating rinks with cocoa and sister and anyone else that day so that we could just like figure out what are we where we can skate right now. We're in the city. There is no silly. So we remember we even we started at that email group and we would carpool with each other and you be carpooling with people you never met before other girls, and I remember Ivana Ivana crashing to pick me up cuz she lived in my neighborhood and she was trying to decide between calling herself bootyvicious. And that's also when we came up with Sharon Needles name Jeff and and then her car broke down and then I'll be at these nice gentlemen near the Martin Luther King ring for helping us send it was just it just as Adventure. It was like, I don't know this new people. Everyone was open to it. We were all in this mental state or emotional state or whatever that

11:52 We were just open to it. We were open to meeting new people. We were open to going wherever a rink was to skate. I mean that in the MLK rink, that's that one with all the funky. That was the one that was the best. I think I mean like I remember so when we are dealing with the recruitment party Lounge, we were like if we get 20 people will be great for the Wii or Wii Plan that the people can come in at 7. We are going to quote and quote of presentation have a big bed at like 7:30 and when we got to the Kirkland, I think we all got there around five or five-thirty early in the day. It was prettier Land by 6 or 6:30. It was past 6:00. Yeah, and ultimately we ended up with 120 recruit. Yeah, we had that he signed in and we had you two presentations and I remember us all being like Oh my God, I can't believe that all these people have shown up. What are they doing?

12:52 What's wrong with everyone and just standing in front of the whole group and we are all introducing ourselves and there I adore be monikers and standing up in front of everyone going. Like we don't know what we're doing. We don't know how we're going to get this done. We have this really short clip of a documentary that's coming out from a Texas curb you should watch it and then if it's the end of the presentation was basically like like even though we don't know anything we think we can get it done and we'd like you to do it with us. And by the way, if you get hurt you're totally screwed if we're not going to help you not true though. That's all true about the insurance. Anybody guess we had no practice schedule and then I remember us going like how many people are in it? How many if you guys are interested and I called the whole room just raise their hand. I know it was like we're down.

13:52 And that's heavily started really going on MLK with one of our first places where the spring on the south side and we got like little United United Skates of America card and we had this horrible rental skates, cuz nobody had bought their own skates yet, right and the funniest thing was going in there. I remember the first time we went to MLK with the full group of recruits. First of all, again, we had no idea what roller derby was. We had no idea what we're going to do and all we knew the first thing we had to learn to do with learn-to-skate again, cuz a lot of us were late 20s mid 30s and

14:36 Call a lot of attention on skates, since we were like 10 to 12 people said that at least 10-15 years and then going to MLK into this like pretty much like predominately black roller rink, like 15 year olds in 14 year olds and all of us like we're jamming hair and piercings and tattoos and people just being overwhelmed and having two little boys like a little boys looking at us and laughing cuz we could hardly stand understand why we couldn't and all we can do is go in circles where they were jams game looks scary, but when you put skates on we looked really

15:11 That rank is in Inglewood, right? Yeah. Yeah, I think is it

15:22 Will The Men Who helped us when I've honest car broke down. We're very nice. Let me know where all the people at the roller rink. I mean, I think it was really fun for the for the little cat. Let me know if a little kids that like that teenagers to see this. I mean we eat when we came in it wasn't like three of us. It was like Sycuan e26 a of us there just like sit in Niles open and staring and some of them would point and laugh and some of them would like rabbits and go here. I'll show you how to do this. Right and we just like silly and had so much fun. I know it was really fun really great. I think folks are afraid to go to that neighborhood generally, but like kids are usually open to other people. It just wouldn't know it because here in the news about how yeah, I guess I just did it. We just need to think about it. Really we didn't there a place to skate right and in the city in the city.

16:22 And weird cuz we wanted to skate in the city. We went to be true to Windy City Rollers by your name and we went to be here and there were some concerns. So there were some concerns cuz some girls didn't have cars and having to take the bus all the way down there after you're at work and then you're there till like 8 or 9 at night and then having to go back home by yourself like and then we start looking for what we had been looking for places in the suburbs or like the closest places nearby so that we can actually rent time and be there for our own private practices because I don't remember that they weren't really open to us like using the rink for our own like just having it to ourselves. I don't know if we wanted an after-hours. I don't remember them being receptive to that. Yeah, they really kill you can come in and free skate, but we have other things going on so we don't really want to

17:13 Where you guys currently skate out of Ray Barone space? Yeah, we have our own practice space and we we we have our bouts at UIC Pavilion, which is crazy. So right he actually the nut The Nutty thing about it was that when we started we would get into these cars we were able to find a couple of Derby coaches. Well, sorry not to record just but gaining coaches who was like a crazy mad like obsessed Derby guy from the 11th, please come to Chicago is concerned. He was really funny and he just loves me. Yeah. I love Derby love the show love the camp of it. But he also really love the game. But that was a game of the 1970s. What was currently happening which we didn't really know about because the closest lie to us was Madison and they hadn't start they started about a month before we

18:13 They said we could be a month before we start recruiting so they hadn't quite had a game. But the girl who ran the Madison Lake her sister lived in Texas and crackerjack. So she had a lot better idea of how the game is supposed to be played and we were just trying to make do with what we had. We also a lot of us had to relearn how to skate for it, which is why we had Susan and Susan came in and did all those different exercises with us to teach us how to just stay on her and skate shoes skate all the time. But yeah, I mean, where did you find her? Where did you find?

18:55 I feel like it was one of those things. It's like a sexually like a really big life lesson is when she opened the door people just walk in and we've had some crazy people walk in that song. We had some good people and some strong people and it's it was crazy. I mean at the time and we we did everything our whole Court our Core group. We did all the graphics. We did all the event planning. We did all the training that we were making we did all the promotion we found all the venues. We just spent a lot of time basically working 40 hours a day every week and then working another 40 hours at night a week. Just trying to get this thing off the ground even the whole time. We did it the first year we still weren't sure.

19:42 What it would look like and what would end up being we used to pack ourselves and cars and drive like we are people to get off of work at 5 or 6 and then they go home and take care of their house or whatever or do whatever they need to and then we we get into our cars at 8 you go through the whole city picking up people if you get a car and you drive out to Palatine or to Lombard at 9 at night and we start practice as we practice 11 and sometimes after that you don't even have a beard relaxer then next thing, you know, it's like 2 in the morning and dropping off everyone at you know around the city and then you re-home anybody sleeping you're going back to work until we also only did that 2 days a week. Where is now you could practice pretty much every single day of the week because now we have an idea well, but on your other day, how did the congress happened? How did you even how do we even get? How did you even get into that conversation to the Congress was the first place that we ever pouted and is that right about it? That's the first place we

20:42 What about had febe?

20:48 Well, that's the funny part. So we were looking for a space to have about and at the time we were close to a year want to do a ring, but obviously I'm okay with it. I'm okay with it going to do it. Yeah, and we went want to be in the suburb. We didn't want to be in the suburbs. And so at the time I was seeing somebody who's not my husband and he was who is also reading a story on the reading street, but he was basically like hey Elizabeth. I think you're really Brave and the Congress Theater because it's a really cool theater. And if you guys can figure out a way to bow out there you should do that. And so I invited a few people and we went and got a dago Dago Salas. Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah and Jenna the altar jackets on how do we can check if their shirts or something at that point? We were like we're going to go to go. We're going to present a united front and we're going to all wear the same shirts and we're all going to like do her makeup and do her hair.

21:48 You're like a little baking without bags that we weren't wearing them at the time. So we showed up we were watching it. And I remember like when we all walked into the front of the Congress Theater, it was just amazing and beautiful and old and so Chicago and so like Rebel and it's actually kind of like Derby if you think about it, it's just like really significant building that just kind of crumbling and we we saw that and we were like, this is where we went to do it. Let's figure it out. So we had like seats removed. I think it's some point not initially but I remember the promoter coming up to us and he was the first person that didn't laugh in our faces when we decide we want to be on skates hit each other really hard and serve beer and everyone else had just like

22:48 Appeared to be served for not off yet. But I remember he was so he was young, you know, and he remember his name but he was like, huh? I'm so glad you guys are welcome. And but he was really welcoming and he was really open to us and was it it was such a revelation. We're like we have to have this year because it's beautiful and but then well but then the actual floor wasn't raised to the floor at the concert venue for and it's really like probably set for like Orchestra seating so kids that it Ingles up and there's a space between the front seats and the stage and there was the stage so we thought maybe we could figure out a way to tell like play on this and we measured it out and we try to figure it out. We racked our brains and realize that would be ridiculous one of us is going to end up in the audience. And so then we try to figure out if we could do something between the floor and the stage, right and at that point we were just we are so dedicated to like and we're

23:48 Focus on this idea, like let's just get this started. Yes that we would spend nights like wrapping all the chairs in the first four rows with padding. I don't remember that his when you if you fell into it when you fell into this into the chair as you would hit like this black thick padding is like a foam padding. I remember when on a mission push me from behind and I went head-first into not all of it. I think it was like a learning like as we progressed there is pads and then we would like the night before the first game. We all went out to the Congress and we scrape the floor without nails off the boards and or hammered and nailed we painted and the stage and me the floor is still though had the saying it was still really difficult to play and we built the track with some rope lights lit up lights, right and we somehow manage to have a hole

24:48 All Season there when we sold out every am looking at her and that was insane cuz we didn't even know I remember those like leading up to that first game and you should tell me about how you felt cuz I was sick for two weeks. I could not like barely keep anything down cuz I was so nervous. I was like, we don't know what we're doing. We can have our first game. We don't know it's going to look like is anyone going to come doesn't even care. Are they going to come to more of them? I mean I had no idea what to expect rain and I really nervous. I definitely remember when we when I came in and everything is set up the sister and I looked at each other and we were like almost in tears because we couldn't believe that we had made it that far but here's a stupid idea. I write the stupid little ideas like doing this thing. And now we have like 40 the Congress Theater all these rough staffs. I mean that it's probably probably that point had what 80 people in the league at least at least and had it like this this from bicycling with a

25:48 Like a little quarter page flyer. Like how did that happen from there? And then some of the greatest friends we've ever made. It's coming from that hold those moments, right?

26:01 So is overwhelming I mean, I feel like most of my life I wasn't able to accomplish a lot at all. I gave you know, I was always a kid in high school where people were like your daughter is so smart, but she's such an underachiever. She could try harder, you know, I started college on a scholarship and I was like, I'll forget it. You know, I started this apprenticeship as like a mechanic and I was like whatever and now it was presented for the first time in my life of like here's something you tried. And for the first time this is something you've done and that was

26:38 That was scary and I even to this day. I'm still like did I really do that? Almost 10 years later, right? But we we played the whole season first season at the Congress great. We broke a lot of Bones. There was a lot of both a lot of blood and we started looking for a new venue and concussions are a lot of concussions. Yes, but we went to Texas remember we should talk about that, right? Yes. We were all feeling really good. We were like super pumped because we accomplish this great feet and bring roller derby back to Chicago which is where it originally started. Right? And we didn't we were a bit shortsighted in that we didn't realize that just because we had over 300 people coming to our games did it we were actually could if I think it was more than

27:38 300 by the way, I think it was more. I don't know maybe or we wins and then we had they glow designed all of our uniforms custom designed our uniforms which looked awesome instead of a dust devil was the first national game like national tournament for roller derby in at this point. How many leagues were there? Maybe 20 maybe 20

28:07 And at that time we all went out there feeling pretty good. We had these bikes sold out games. We were looking pretty today. We're like you kicking ass and taking names cuz my French right now and then we get to this this event and we meet all these women from all over the country who were ready to fight until like when the tournament at was the first time that we really went from like being these crazy friends to be like out now competitors. Oh, yeah. Well because we got there we thought you know, we're over and have fun whatever and then we lost bad bad bad Leroy really badly and we lost on the first day and it hurt and feeling as if everyone is like well fuck it. We have a weekend in Arizona down. So and some of us stayed and watched some of the games, you know to learn things from the other other leagues, but what we language track with the wrong size, the other truck was the wrong size. We need to pray.

29:07 Just more than two days a week. We needed our own space. We needed to be really serious about Training Fitness not drinking after breakfast. Maybe actually not even drinking couple weeks before a big game. Maybe, you know being a little bit more. I mean we were just such as like ragtag DIY punk rock thing in the beginning and then it sort of like, oh actually we need to make our presence known and on a national level and we cannot ever ever ever let that happen to us again cuz it was embarrassing and everyone said we look like rough cuz you're just like fine. I'm just going to block someone as hard as I possibly can and throw themselves on people. It was definitely not our proudest moment. It was but but everyone came back and like I mean the women we've known from this group is there always bouncing back and making it better which is you where we are today, right 10 years almost

30:07 Yes, honey, put a fire under off completely cuz we like we will never lose and we have you know, we have but not spectacularly fantastic losing but yeah, it was embarrassing. Doesn't matter. You actually have to skate is something to be said about like going through adversity with other people right? Like you brings you closer. And then yeah you realize it was really I mean to be in the room with the girls when we lost and you know that but we skated on at the Congress because of the size of the space that we had was like half the size of the track that everyone else has maybe a third. I don't like that you think it was really tiny compared to like what other leagues are there practicing on?

31:07 So a lot of other leagues had roller rink Freight in their cities and when we got to see the tournament they all played on this huge gigantic Iraq. It was a roller hockey skate on the track and then we had to adjust our gang cuz now all the sudden people who are really really fast before on a smaller shorter compact track. We're slow right all these people that were really really great Jammers all the sudden we're better blockers. All these we have lockers who ended up in training was so off on blocking though to I remember that cuz you think like, oh someone's coming up and then you go to block them and miss them by I don't even know like 5 inches or something like your timing was just completely off. I remember that like Quiet Storm was one of our best Jammers on the small track, but then when we got to the big track, I seen it a crime ended up really blossoming and the the difference between them is quiet storm was like 5 feet tall and Athena's like 60. It's alright, so

32:07 Yeah, just biology but then that's so how did we find the space? I think upon return we decided that we had a we had to change everything cuz we didn't. Yeah, we wanted to be as much as it was fun to be like rock and roll and punk rock or whatever. It was. Also. We also really did want it to be an athletic event. We did want to be people who work going to be competing against each other and we even though we have The Sisterhood in this, camaraderie among each other. I think we all also felt very competitive. You know, we all felt like we would have a lot of pride in what we did and I think that's why we're so lucky with the first group of women that we happen to work with because all of us women were like I want this to be great. I'm not going to settle for something less and I want to win and I want to win and that's really the spirit right of right like that's what makes it very exciting is when people are pushing

33:07 And so then I think sister did a really Big Sur she did she works really hard and was able to find a space for us to get to practice in and then that's just a big enough for our tracks. Right and then we started to talk to you. We went to talk to you since the Rio Stadium, right? We've made us out of Chicago But like after voting with all the the women in the legs are like we would rather be athletic and out of side of the city then kind of a joke inside the city and the capacity in it wasn't as much either as the Congress right but it did put a hat in the gym, right because I did but I was fifteen hundred. So that means the Congress of probably twice as big or three times then we decide to get to Cicero and in Cicero. I think it's when the that's when the Windy City Rollers specifically started to really change and really grow right.

34:06 Play Sirius.

34:08 Do you miss that? I miss the beginning days a little bit. I do miss Abby 90 days. I miss it because we before we were ever put on teams we were in this is one big group weirdest. This one the group are all in this adventure together and then it was really weird when we got put on teams because then you looked at this girl that you've been friends with that you've been going to the suburbs with and talking for you know, when an hour and her car with and you're like, oh you're in a different team now, I think I'm supposed to hate you but luckily. I mean we stayed Friends of the people we stayed friends with but there were definitely people who would have been acquaintances and we would have been fine with them and then they got on the other team and you felt like you hated them a little bit of course it is but then I think even with the road on it it I think that we had really some really intense games out of that. There was a Hells Bells. Bench-clearing brawl. That was very very true.

35:09 Anyways to every situation there was like literally punches being thrown end when initially when we did the play fighting at the very very very very beginning of the first season we laugh about it and play fighting. Remember we had those wrestling guys that came and taught us had to fake play fighting because we've been to every where are we what are we doing this for? And then that's when you know dust I will really was a turning point. But yeah, so

35:37 Yasso some really intense Seasons, but then what did we think about when we moved to UIC I think at UIC we were like we've arrived remember like by that time it has become like there were fans that followed us there a fan that would contact you, you know their fans that were like you guys are the greatest things I've ever met. I don't know what you're doing, but it's so awesome and they wanted your T-shirt and they wanted your autograph and they wanted to know when the next game was and they wanted to see us all the time. And by the time you got to UIC it was like now this is real. We're like at a real venue in our city.

36:20 Add a like it an athletic Stadium Stadium scraping, Yeah, and yeah, I remember when we got to UIC at that point. We've been doing this for five years six years, maybe but now we're ninety will UIC was Earth no fourth season. So we've been doing it for years. And I remember I had a reason why I couldn't even speak. I was just like I don't believe it. We're actually in this venue. I can't believe that this is where we are and I don't know if you remember those are actually I think you do remember us when we were at his way back to being in Lombard and Lombard. I was at Palatine or a bit and it was

37:20 24 processes and we hadn't about it and we didn't know what we're going to do and we didn't know what this is going to look like and we decided that all the recruits that we had had we're going to stay and we're going to figure out the teams and I don't know you probably tell the story better. Well see you set us all down. We're all sitting in the middle of the floor Palatine and weirdest. You know, you told us we're not going to recruit anymore. This is our add this is our league now, and we're going to split ourselves into teams and then you said

37:49 How far do you want to go? How far do you want to go with this? And we were we all said as far as we possibly can we want to go wherever we want to go wherever we can bigger better faster everything and what did that make you think I was so excited like I'm getting chills. Like I feel tingling all the way to the top of my head and then you gave us those stars with our names on it. I still have it and I was like, I'm a part of this thing, you know, I'm a part of this.

38:20 How did that happen to me? Like how did I join it? How am I apart of this thing? But I am and you know it whenever you travel and you go to other cities are you mean other derby girls? I know that's a lot more ubiquitous back. Then it was a little bit more of a special club that you belongs to remove engine said when we first started hanging out together, like we didn't know each other really besides Derby. So sometimes we run into each other on the train like two different girls would run into each other in the train and we like quietly like not at each other. It was always like being like in Fight Club. You just let me know. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I know you're in it, but I think one thing that I found the most inspiring that I still do when I look at the future of it is a little girls. The little girls have always been there from the beginning. I remember the Congress when these little girls came up to me and I don't know an EP and Crim's Anderson.

39:20 And said, they wanted our autographs and I was like you want my autograph for me and they just look at the literally had to look up to us, but they were just like so enamored with us and that we were just these Heroes for them these like superheroes and that to me and that we will we have that we have that now at UIC even more so I think we have a little girl. I mean you're young girls, you know at the time wearing their shirts and making their posters and screaming alongside everybody else in the stands. Like I to me, that's the future of it is the little girls finding that empowerment in the same way that we did. Yeah. We just found it so much later in life. I remember standing at UIC with malice a chain every first game at UIC and she like put her arm around me and like pulls me close to her and she was like wanna did you ever think this would happen?

40:18 And just looking at it going now. There's no way I don't believe it's happening now and it still is I know still is I still don't believe it's happening. But and now the fact that it can exist without us to is weird and there's always new girl. Like I can't even keep up with how many new girls join every year and I go to games fairly regularly, but then you feel like the old fogey at you know, you feel like oh I've been there and you know, so how do you say my daddy's?

40:50 How do you think that roller derby has changed your life?

40:55 The best thing someone ever told me was my mom and I went home after playing Derby. I think it was maybe one or two and I think it was after we were Champions we played we won the first championship and she said, I don't know there's something about you and everyone kept saying you look so pretty and you look so nice and blah blah and she said I know what it is. Now you walk with your shoulders back like you have more confidence you look at people straight in the eye like you shoot from your hip view. I mean, you're just so confident whenever you walk anywhere and people recognize that and I think it's beautiful and that was

41:33 Something that I will always have with me and I will go back and remember those things and throw my shoulders back and stare straight ahead. So thank you Anita coming in today and taking this with me. Thank you Elizabeth.