December’s Member of the Month: Queen Elizadeath II!

December’s Member of the Month is derby royalty: Queen Elizadeath II! Death is one of our chief jammers for Suburban Brawl, earning MVP Jammer twice in this season alone. She’s also our current head of PR and our Vice President-Elect. Hail to the Queen!

Who are you?
Queen Elizadeath II

How long have you been involved with roller derby?
Forever, a.k.a. 10 years.

When did you join SRD?
This is my third season. My derby career began in Los Angeles and I spent a little bit of time with Boston Roller Derby too. I move around a lot.

photo by Joe Schwartz

Why did you start playing roller derby?
I found out a friend of mine was playing for the Los Angeles Derby Dolls. I didn’t even know LA had a roller derby league. I asked her what it was like, and she said they had an open skate coming up and I should give it a try. It helped her get through a bad time in her life and I was going through one, too. It sounded like fun and I already knew how to skate, so I bought a mouthguard and stopped by. At the end of the session, they told me I made it into their Fresh Meat program. My friend neglected to mention that this “open skate” was actually a tryout, and I wouldn’t have done it if she had. Thanks, Holla!

Why do you continue to play roller derby?
My calves look awesome. Skating is fun. I need the outlet. There are still things to learn. I’d miss my leaguemates too much if I stopped.

What’s your proudest derby moment?
My first bout (go Meteorfights). I sprained my ankle during warm-ups. I fell down without anyone even touching me in my first jam. We were losing. And then everything we worked on in practice came together at the right time. My jam put us in lead. We won and I knew I wanted to play derby forever.

What do you do outside of derby?
I’m a journalist. I have a new(ish) nephew I love to spend time with. I binge-watch really bad TV.  Answering this question makes me realize I have to get out more.

Top photo by Greg Parent