Lenox Maul and the Atlanta Roller Derby
ISSUE #197
My friend recently became my roommate, which means I now live with a skater for the Atlanta Roller Derby team—a phrase I would say to my younger self within the first hour of time traveling just to see him smile. Her derby name is Lenox Maul, and she’s a blocker for the team, which means she has to do whatever she can to stop an opposing jammer from getting past her, like throwing her body in front of a speeding meat train. It’s one of the wildest trials of courage and grit I’ve ever seen.
I knew nothing about roller derby outside the 2009 picture Whip It with Elliot Page, directed by Drew Barrymore (good movie). Even with that knowledge, this felt like something that only happened in Hollywood—until I went to my first bout in April and got a reality check. I ate hot dogs and nachos that felt like final objects untouched by inflation and had a blast watching women show off their athleticism in an underground outlet. It was punk as hell.
Their next bout is this weekend. It’s a wonderful sport run in subversive, alternative model—the skaters own and manage the league, which is about as diverse as you can get, full of Black, Indigenous, and other members of color, as well as welcoming trans and disabled members. It’s worth supporting if you can. It’s also damn fun to watch.
I emerged from the last bout pleasantly tipsy to find a band covering “1979” in the cool sunset air. Music and sport have always been kin, both rooted firmly in our sense of body. Remembering that moment got me thinking of rollout songs, or what might play when she enters the court. So, these are the songs that’d be cool to skate out to—for the hellion in us all.
I was always nervous about demanding a subscription fee. Maybe it’s the farmer in me, maybe it’s because I believe life’s pleasures should be free—and music and writing are nothing if not life’s unique and renewable pleasures.