Straight out of the roller derby heartland comes Cheap Trixie, captain of the Texas Rollergirls Hustlers and member of their all-star team, The Texecutioners. A member of the Texas Rollergirls since 2002, Cheap Trixie has seen and learned a lot in the last years about this game. From the unusual penalty box stunts in beginning to the newest WFTDA rules.

Not only is she a serious athlete who can block, jam, and pivot, she is also a molecular biologist and runs her own booking company. Talk about a well rounded gal. With a whole team of women looking to her for enthusiasm as a captain, Cheap Trixie brings it all to the table. Her positive attitude in a hard hitting sport is something that gives her the ability to be a captain. Bottom line is that she is a kick ass rollergirl!

How did flat track roller derby come into you life?

I had this best friend, Rosie Cheeks (now retired), that was bound and determined to try out. She dragged me to my first game in 2002. It was at the Austin Music Hall during the Tattoo Convention. Bad Girl Good Women (BGGW) Productions (which would later split up into The Texas Rollergirls and The Lonestar Rollergirls) was presenting a Rollerderby Bout. I watched the Rhinestone Cowgirls and The Holy Rollers compete in a flat track rollerderby bout. It looked really cool but I thought the girls were freakin' crazy to be doing that on roller skates. But still, my friend really wanted to try out and convinced me to go practice with her. After she knew that I could at least skate upright she then proceeded to try and convince me to try out. She even went as far as getting one of our co-workers who was a "BGGW" Rollergirl, Bettie Rage, to convince me to try out as well. So I did, and the rest is history. Note: When BGGW split into The Lonestar Rollergirls and The Texas Rollergirls, myself, Bettie Rage, and Rosie Cheeks all became Texas Rollergirls.

Have you played for any leagues/teams besides the Texas Rollergirls?

No. I have only played on The Hustlers. Never switched teams. I also play on the Texas Rollergirls travel team, The Texecutioners.

Who is your favorite rival team to play? Do you have a rival rollergirl?

Internally, I love playing the Hell Marys. They are feisty and fun girls. It's always a pleasure going around the oval with them. As far interleague, it's a close tie between Kansas City Roller Warriors and Carolina Rollergirls. Both leagues have the funniest bunch of ladies I've come across so far. It's always super fun whenever we get a chance to play them.

As for a rival rollergirl, I don't really have one. I have scrapped with a few, such as Muffin Tumble of the Hell Marys and Bettie Rage of the Honky Tonk Heartbreakers. But as for anyone in particular, it's not there. Well, there is Doe Holiday from Tucson Rollerderby. She is one hard lady to knock down. And if I can't knock you down then it ticks me off.

What do you tell the Hustlers to get them ready for a bout as the captain this year?

This year has been a rebuilding year for our team. We lost seven of our veteran skaters and welcomed nine rookies to our roster. Of the nine rookies five of them were transfers from other leagues, Fearlys from Kansas City, Killa Byte from Alamo City Rollergirls, Fender Bender from Alamo City, Bullet Tooth Tracy from Duke City, and Ann T. Pathic from Kentucky. Unfortunately, Killa Byte was unable to skate with us this year due to a little babino that is currently incubating in her belly. The other four rookies were brand spankin' new to derby, Grand Master Slash, Aretha Spankin', Lucy Lewd, and Solid Rock.

Having a rookie heavy team took a lot of heart for a first few games. We lost a few games by very large margins, which tends to bring team morale down. So basically before each game I like to remind the girls before the games that we are there to have fun and do our best. And since rollergirls in general are such a passionate group of women I like to also remind them to respect one another, and to not lose their cool on the bench. I try to keep it positive and motivate the girls to go out there and skate their asses off, even when we are losing. At least we won't go down without a fight. And since we have so many new girls we go over some points to focus on during the game remind each other of the things we have been practicing. And talk a little strategy.

Since you have been part of the roller derby revival since it started, what have you seen change? For the best? For the worst?

I think one of the biggest improvements during this "revival" is the level of skating has increased dramatically! Especially in the last year, leagues are starting to kick a lot of ass! This has definitely evolved into a competitive sport. This means, every single league has to work harder for that win and bring their best game to each and every game. You can't just go into a game anymore and assume you are going to wipe the floor with them. It's just not that easy anymore. And that is one of the best things about this sport. It's so competitive now it makes it so much more fun to play.

I really like the way it has evolved into an actual sport and how all the leagues are now focusing on developing it into a more professional look. However, I do miss the days of all the fun showy type of stuff. Like the crazy personalized uniforms and the funny penalties we had in the past. That type of stuff is starting to fizzle out more and more each year. I understand why it is going away but I still miss the goofiness of the old days.

Is Austin really as strange as they say? If so, I need to come and visit soon!

Yeah, Austin's motto is "Keep Austin Weird," which, once you come here you get completely sick of seeing it plastered everywhere. It's really is a great place to live and the people who live here are generally pretty happy and accepting people. I guess that is what makes it "strange" to non-Austinites. I mean, for example, where else can you have a high end day care where the teachers have pink hair and are completely covered in tattoos and the parents don't think twice about enrolling their kids? We have such a variety of people in our city it makes it pretty eclectic. Plus, the music scene here kicks ass. So yes, it is a "strange" city, but in a definitely good way.

What is your best move on the track?

That's a really hard question. I don't have a particular move. I have some favorite tricks but I don't want to give those away here. Especially to anyone who will be playing the Texecutioners anytime soon. I do like those great jammer take out hits of I love love love booty blocking.

What do you say to the people that think blockers are not as important as jammers?

That is a ridiculous statement. Jammers are only as good as their blockers. Doesn't matter how kick ass you are on your skates if your blockers suck, then you aren't going to get very far. I've seen many games lost by teams with talented and fast jammers but they had really weak blockers. Especially if the other team has strong blockers. If Team A has a team of bad ass jammers with mediocre blockers and Team B has a team with mediocre jammers but very talented, strategic thinking and hard hitting blockers. Then my money is going on Team B.

What is your day job?

I work as a molecular biologist for a bio-tech company. My main focus is Manufacturing Development and Process Improvement. I also recently started a small booking agency, Poison Heart Booking. We book tours for a few bands around the country.

Where do you see flat track roller derby in 10 years?

Hopefully the game will be recognized as a professional sport and the games will be broadcasted on television (on a sports channel like ESPN). It would be amazing if the girls could actually start getting paid to do this for a living. If that would happen I think it would make every single one of the girls that were around at the beginning the proudest "mothers" in the world.

Strangest fan encounter?

Don't know if I have a strange fan encounter. Derby in general has a lot of strange fans everywhere but we also have a lot of awesome kick ass fans. But I do remember this one time a few years ago. I don't remember the exact date but I know the Hell Marys were playing. One of the Hell Marys' skaters Bunny Rabid (now retired), use to pin a little cotton bunny tail on her uniform skirt every game. During the game she took a hard hit while jamming and when she got up and returned to the track her bunny tail was left on the floor near the audience. One of our production guys went over to grab it off the floor so it wouldn't become a hazard to the skaters. While he was doing that one of the fans offered to buy it for $25. Our prod guy, was like "uh, no." Then the guy started increasing he's offer. I think it got up to $250 before our guy just walked away. It was the strangest thing and kind of creepy.

What is your best roller derby memory?

It's hard to pick the best roller derby memory. I have so many amazing memories and crazy stories of all our trips and games. How many other people do you know gets the chance to experience so much fun with their best friends? I am truly a lucky gal.

However, one of my favorites was during SXSW 2005. We were hosting a game at the Austin Music Hall during SXSW. And through some great friends of Scarlot Harlot (retired Hell Mary) we were lucky enough to book The Motels to play our half time show. At half time we made Martha Davis, lead singer of the Motels, an honorary rollergirl and gave her the name Miss Fortune. Scarlot Harlot presented her with a kick ass cowboy hat and our announcer Chip Queso gave her a big platter of cheese that had cheese blocks shaped in the shape of Texas (yes, everything can be made to look like Texas). On top of all that fun, The Spits (awesome band from Seattle) also got to open up our bout. It was truly one of the best damn bouts ever!

Got any advice for all the up and coming leagues popping up across the world?

I think the best advice is to get your family, friends, and significant others ready for what will take over all your free time. It's hard for all of us to find a balance between practice, running the league, team bonding, bouts, events, careers, babies, and relationships. It can be done but it's always painful to try to keep it all together. If your home life isn't ready for it then you can lose a lot. I've seen it happen so many times and it is always really sad. Best way is to find ways to get them involved so derby becomes a family hobby, something you all enjoy supporting.