Yesterday was apparently International Tell Your Crush Day, and we want to honor all of the serious derby crushes we’re holding on to everywhere.
We reached out to a handful of skaters on the day, and they told us all about their favorite derby crushes. Which means, I guess, that they’ve ‘told’ them now, via Derby Central!
Crushes that are respectful of people’s boundaries are awesome. Ones that make people feel valued (and not creeped), and respect their feelings and consent.
We like those. We encourage those. Everyone deserves to have people that they look up to, and admire, and to express those feelings in ways that make everyone feel great. And it can feel amazing when you share those feelings.
So here are some skaters confessing their derby crushes to us.
Windy City’s Ms. Dr. Joseph L Simonis told us that their crush is:
“Snot Rocket Science [featured image] – She’s super strong and really wily and a huge inspiration for me as a fellow sinewy jammer.
She has this ridiculous helicopter move where she uses constant upper body contact and lateral foot motion to move blockers side-to-side and get them off balance enough to make it super easy to push them forward. So powerful, yet so controlled.
And she flips between edges and toestops so smoothly you hardly even notice.
this is what I’m talking about, btb http://giphy.com/gifs/3rgXBHMVVBpNuZrDe8”
DerbyLife editor and Gotham Girls Roller Derby skater, Em Dash, ‘fessed up to hers:
“My original derby crush is Craisy Dukes.
She’s a great jammer, she does things her own way, and she’s always got a smile on her face.
She was one of the first skaters I jammed against for the Gotham All Stars, and when I got to the jammer line, she wished me luck and shook my hand. Total class act.”
Rose City’s Hannah Jennings, while perhaps being a little predictable here, really is all about her wife in derby and off the track.
Contributor, Scarbie Doll, told us about her two crushes: “I crush hard on Rollomite because he skates like a beast, he’s really easy on the eyes AND he’s a really cool guy!
I also crush hard on Luz Chaos because she’s just cute as a button and an amazing skater as well.”
Sin City Skates and Rollercon founder, Ivanna S Pankin had this to say:
“I have a huge crush on DBC Death By Chocolate because she’s always super positive and she kicks ass on the track and she’s such an incredible joy at RollerCon.
And I have a giant crush on Razorslut because she works her ass off all the time behind the scenes for everyone and she’s the most supportive person on the planet.
And I have a crush on Soledad because she’s so f*cking good at roller derby.”
Victorian league skater, and newly announced Queen Bee, Dani Darko told us:
“How does one keep up with derby crushes?! The amount of talent that is spewing out of skaters all over the world is phenomenal, fortunately I have the honour and privilege to be around some pretty big talent at VRDL.
My current derby crush would have to be Christy Demons #14 (VRDL All Star). What an absolute sweetheart. And did you see her rock the Big O? Crazy talented. Demons’ skill has me awe struck. Big things to come.”
An aside: There are other kind of ‘crushes’, and we can’t condone those at all. The kind that isn’t respectful of boundaries, and makes people feel unsafe.
Although it may be something you’re not certain you’re doing, perhaps it’s worth reading and finding out if you might be a Nice Guy™ (note: does not apply to actually nice people, or just to the masculine-identified… read it, you’ll understand).
Also, if you’re approaching any relationships at all like this, you need to stop.
So I guess this is the time to say… Who is YOUR derby crush?
Perhaps today’s the day to mention it.
LINK TO ORIGINAL ARTICLE
