Wearing head-to-toe black, skull-and-crossbones socks, a shiny black helmet on her head and a whistle in her mouth, Frida Beater, a.k.a. Portia Hensley, is whipping the Rocky Mountain Rollergirls into shape.
Between whistle blows, she shouts words of encouragement to a crew of nearly 20 women steely enough to skate in the stifling summer heat.
Not only are they tough, but they’re fit, made strong and lean by rigorous, thrice-weekly workouts at the Bladium Sports and Fitness Club at Stapleton.
“Run, run, run, run, run,” Hensley yells. “There you go.
“Try it again.”
The Rocky Mountain Rollergirls are an all-female team of roller skaters who own and operate their own for-profit roller-derby league. Three home teams and two away teams make up the league, one of seven in Colorado. Their season runs from March to December and they compete in about one bout a month against other leagues.
Roller derby’s origins can be traced back to the 1920s. It has been in and out of popularity since the 1930s, with the most recent revival occurring just after the turn of the millennium.
The number of all-female leagues jumped from 50 in 2005 to about 135 in 2007.
Local rollers range in age from their 20s to about 40 and work as nurses, librarians and bartenders to pay the bills and keep them in skates.
They stay in shape for their fast-paced bouts with 90-minute to two-hour workout sessions that focus on endurance, hitting, blocking and defense. One night a week, they add a scrimmage match, too.
On a Monday evening at the Bladium, the workout on the blue hockey ring includes footwork, hitting drills and practicing pack formation to build endurance and defensive skills.
When it’s time to take a break, the roller girls head for the bleachers. One of the women wears a maroon helmet with the words “Roller derby saved my soul” written across it.
When asked about it, Pam Eastwood, or Pamdemonium, replies without hesitation: “It did.”
Growing up, Eastwood never played contact sports, only tennis. When she first watched a roller derby match last year, she leaned over and told her husband, “That’s what I want to do.”
Her naivete quickly faded once she was hit by another player and fell to the floor.
“I remember getting up and thinking, ‘What the heck am I doing,’ ” Eastwood says.
But instead of disillusioning her, seeing how talented the other women were made her want to be better. Eastwood began attending the thrice-weekly workouts, watched what she ate and realized a health benefit: She has lost 40 pounds and dropped from a size 20 to a 12.
Having more energy and being able to keep up with the other players is the biggest difference the 35-year-old mother of two has noticed. “It’s so empowering,” Eastwood says. “I can go up against these strong athletic women and hold my own.”
Despite the new body, she says she can’t grasp the change in the mirror and still goes for the larger sizes when shopping for clothes. “I haven’t quite adjusted to ‘that’s me now,’ ” Eastwood says.
Shannon Boyles had the same experience. A three-year veteran of the team, Boyles has lost 60 pounds.
The biggest difference Boyles, 34, has felt is in her leg and arm strength. She can now make it through an entire game without tiring. In addition to playing with the roller derby team, Boyles does Pilates, yoga and dancing to keep in shape.
Many women try out for the team thinking it’s only about wearing a cute skirt, but Boyles, whose player name is Lucky 7, wants people to know taking a hit from another player is no joke. It feels like “getting hit by a semi,” she says.
Falling is part of the game, she adds. “We just have to suck it up and skate.”
To play well, you have to commit to attending workouts, eat well, and keep in shape outside of the derby ring, says Jen Frale, a.k.a. She Who Cannot Be Named.
“You will get out what you put into it,” says Frale, 37, a member of the training committee that puts together the team’s workouts.
“If I’m not sore, I feel like I didn’t work hard enough,” Frale says.
Bumps and bruises come with the territory. “You really toughen up,” she says.
Jordan Dresser: 303-954-1503 or jdresser@denverpost.com
