Hello. My name is Tess and I play the wonderful sport of roller derby with the FoCo Girls Gone Derby here in Fort Collins, CO. This league of amazing individuals has changed my life.
I moved to Colorado six years ago with no direction or purpose. I was born and raised in Los Angeles California and decided that I didn’t want to raise my son in a giant loud city. My best friend and I decided one night we were going to take a chance and move to Fort Collins. We packed whatever we could fit into a Toyota Corolla and started driving. Not knowing anybody I settled in and got a job but, for me something was still missing. I’m not super outgoing so finding friends out of nowhere was pretty tough.
One night I rented the roller derby movie “Whip It”. I went to work the next day and was talking about the movie with a coworker. We liked the movie and loved the idea of roller derby. One of us jokingly told the other, “I’ll try it if you do”. We looked up local roller derby and promised each other to give it a shot and stick together. About a month later we were at our first new recruit practice together and fell IN LOVE with this sport but, learned very quickly it was nothing like the movie, “Whip It”, but better!
Time came to pick our derby names. It’s a lot harder than you think picking a derby name. Some of the good ones are taken! For my derby name I stuck to my roots where I grew up, “LA’s Finest”. My friend went with her favorite band (I am convinced she is their biggest fan) Miss Erie Business. She’s one of the best friends I have ever met in derby and the dedication she gives to this sport shows on the track. Over five years later, Miz and I are still both skating for this league and even on the same team now!
Speaking of love and derby…
In my new recruit class I actually met the most amazing person in this world. No joke, she is now my wife. We met in FoCo’s new recruit class, became friends for about a year or so and started dating. We were just legally married in November and I owe it all to this amazing league for bringing us together. I went into derby wanting to try a new sport and meet some people with some similar interests. I have some of the best friends I could ever ask for and a spouse! Derby has taught me so much about myself and has made me the person I am today. I would recommend anyone to try derby if it interests you at all. There’s so much to get out of it. To be a part of this league and the community it comes with is something indescribable
The friendships I have made in this league are hard to explain. Every single person in this league, from the skaters to the refs and the non-skating officials, the coaches, captains, volunteers…the love surrounding this sport is like nothing I have ever found. When I say roller derby changed my life… I mean it.
LA’s Finest