PRESS KIT - Texas Rollergirls

(c) 2012 Rom Anthonis (c) 2011 Bill Smotrilla (c) 2011 Bill Smotrilla
(c) 2012 Rom Anthonis
2012 TEXAS ROLLERGIRLS POSTER GIRL
BLOODY MARY #30, #40
REAL NAME: Juliana Gonzales
TEXAS ROLLERGIRL SINCE: 2003
TEAM AFFILIATION: Hotrod Honeys, Texecutioners
POSITIONS: Jammer, Blocker
INTERESTING STATS: A pre-Texas Rollergirls derby skater, Bloody Mary was part of the original roller
derby organization founded in Austin in the early 2000s, and was instrumental in establishing the Texas
Rollergirls, its charter, rules and business model. Bloody Mary began skating with the original Holy
Rollers with the skater number 4, and then became a member of the Hell Marys. Once she rose in the
ranks and became an all star on the Texecutioners, she changed her number to 40 since number 4 is
retired in honor of Hydra, the team’s first captain. In 2011, she changed her Texecutioners skater
number to 30 as a nod to teammate Olivia Shootin’ John, whose skater number is 03.
BLOODY MARY’S STORY
Quite simply, roller derby and the Texas Rollergirls would not be what they are today without the
influence of Bloody Mary. From the beginning of the sport’s resurgence in the early 2000s, Bloody Mary
has been influential in cultivating, evolving and nurturing not only the Texas Rollergirls league, but the
culture of flat track roller derby, a sport that has grown to include more than 1,000 leagues throughout
the world. In 2004, Bloody Mary helped establish the Women’s Flat Track Derby Association (WFTDA),
the governing body that promotes and fosters the sport worldwide, and she is currently the executive
director of the organization. After more than a decade skating roller derby, she remains a diplomatic
ambassador for the sport, as well as a cut-throat scourge on the track. If there is but one name known
throughout the world of roller derby, it is Bloody Mary.
WHAT OTHERS SAY ABOUT BLOODY MARY
“Bloody Mary is one of the original Texas Rollergirls who helped form the sport, but she also continues to
be a driving force and inspiration for all of roller derby worldwide. She is truly the heart and soul of the
Texas Rollergirls, where her calm control mixed with athletic fire and creative, witty genius have proven
her all-star status both on and off the track. What she has done for the Texas Rollergirls as a league
simply pales in comparison to her tireless work for all of roller derby through her WFTDA position. When
there is a Roller Derby Hall of Fame, there is no doubt that Bloody Mary will be one of the first to receive
that honor.” – Texas Rollergirls Announcer Chip Queso
Q&A WITH BLOODY MARY
Q: After so many years playing roller derby, what’s your favorite position to play?
A: I play mostly jammer, but I love blocking. I’ve also been the captain of the Hell Marys and the
Texecutioners, and many other jobs for the Texas Rollergirls and WFTDA, all of which I have thoroughly
enjoyed. The hardest thing I ever did was help put on the Championship tournament, the Texas Shootout,
in Austin in 2007. The position I’m proudest of is that I was on the first-ever Rules drafting committee
for what would become the WFTDA.
Q: What’s it like doing derby for work and for fun?
A: Sometimes it’s just like any job. You email, you do meetings, you look at financials, you drink coffee.
After work, I go to practice and play derby, which is crazy fun just like it is for anyone else. Sometimes
having a job in derby is radically awesome. After running three days of meetings in Vegas last year, I got
to scrimmage with my derby heroes (and colleagues) before digging back in to work. Recently, in Berlin, I
got to work with colleagues there and then play with Euro derby heroes like Master Blaster from the
Berlin Bombshells and Annie Social from Eindhoven’s Rockcity Rollers. Work, play, work, play. It’s pretty
cool to have the connection between what your work is and why you do it be so seamless. “By the
skaters, for the skaters” means something different in that life.
FOR MORE INFO: TexasRollergirls.org
MEDIA INQUIRIES: media@texasrollergirls.org