Throughout last year, derby folks filled their downtime with baking, gardening, and other kinds of socially distance-friendly skating. April "Jumpy McGee" Fournier (Maine RD, Team Indigenous) decided to pursue a long-held interest: public office! Last summer, she entered the race for one of Portland, Maine's City Councilor At-Large seats. I caught up with Jumpy back then. I found out what a candidate's life is like, how derby's primed her for this new, exciting endeavor, and why we all need to do our part to create the world we want to see. {{Spoiler alert: Jumpy won!}} Enjoy!

Holding Space with Magical Wheelism

29. Derby Downtime: Jumpy McGee

 Get to know macrame plant hanger maker extraordinaire Rachel Avenido (aka Ice of Minnesota Roller Derby) of Icy Knots on this latest episode of "Pop-Up Shopcast"!

POP-UP SHOPCAST: Icy Knots

 In this episode of "Pop-up Shopcast," we catch up with Austin-based Sam Barks (aka Mixed Hues). The Detroit native tells all about her influences, mediums, and lets us know how the pandemic has been treating her.     

POP-UP SHOPCAST: Mixed Hues

 In this latest episode of "Pop-up Shopcast," maker Caesarea Hendrix (aka Legs of Minnesota Roller Derby) tells us all about her handmade stationery and skin care! FYI: the video of this interview is available on this pod's youtube and Insta pages. Enjoy!   

POP-UP SHOPCAST: Xox Handmade Gifts

 What's up, peeps! I'm super pumped to introduce POP-UP SHOPCAST, an informal chat series with Black, Indigenous &/or Skaters of Color with entrepreneurial endeavors be they full-fledged businesses or nascent Etsy side-hustles. I've been motivated by these makers in our midst for some time now and have wanted to big them up somehow. Last year, I compiled a BIPOC biz list and have refreshed it a few times. This "Pop-Up Shopcast" series is meant to bring that list to life, to have these folks tell us about their work in their own words. First up: Taco Bruiseday and Ratchet, the midbestern sister duo behind the roller derby subscription box Bout Betties, the roller derby cross-training service Roller Derby Athletics, and the soon-to-be-launched "Small Business Mullet," a podcast for small businesses. Enjoy!        

POP-UP SHOPCAST: Bout Betties & Roller Derby Athletics

Today’s special guest is topical, timely as well as just plain awesome. Manila Ice of Minnesota Roller Derby and Team Philippines, is a U.S. Census enumerator, which means they visit far-flung areas in their home state and completes the census form with residents who have not been counted. In case you don’t know what the Census is, it’s a national count that takes place every 10 years of every child and adult who resides in the United States, regardless of immigration or economic status, or political affiliation. It is a count that is dictated by the U.S. Constitution and is in turn used to apportion how many seats your area gets in the House of Representatives, how much funding is disbursed. The population number of this Census will determine the Electoral College votes are apportioned to each state for 2024’s Presidential Election--so it’s super important. We’re nearing the deadline for responses to the United States Census. It was originally set for October 31 and then shortened a month by the executive branch of the federal government and set for September 30, but a federal judge last week restored the original deadline. In any case, if you haven’t done so, get it in as soon as you can. It takes 5 minutes. The link is below. Enjoy the convo with Ice, who knows their stuff. We also talked about identity and the mood and conversations that have taken place at MNRD since George Floyd’s murder in neighboring Minneapolis. EPISODE LINKS:US Census: https://my2020census.gov/ Holding Space with Magical Wheelism is available on all your favorite podcast outlets. Help support the pod grow by subscribing and sharing it with friends! Rating and reviewing on Apple Podcasts also helps others find us. Follow the pod @holdingspacewithmagicpod on IG and @ThisisHSMWPod on Twitter Music: ROFEU, "Midnight Lover" Cover photo: James Corbett www.epiclifeimages.com and Instagram @epiclifeimages (https://www.instagram.com/epiclifeimages/)

28. The U.S. Census & What it Means for You & Us w/ Manila Ice (MNRD)

Today’s guest needs little to no introduction for followers of skater social media. Neon is the creator of the @BIPOCWhoSkate instagram, which has become a clubhouse of sorts--equal parts home, hang, and hub--of BIPOC skater-centric topics, issues, and images. Through BIPOCWhoSkate, Neon hosted or sponsored Spanish-language skater terms classes, Q&As, events, book and film discussions, fundraisers, takeovers, and more. IRL the LA native co-founded and built a skating collective in Madison, Wi, where she landed after attending college elsewhere in the state. She’s also an alum of Madison Roller Derby and Team IRN, and is avid park skater. 

27. Building BIPOC Skater Community w. Neon (BIPOCWhoSkate)

Windy City Rollers announcer and coach Jumping Spider talk all about the 10-part ESPN/Netflix basketball doc THE LAST DANCE  about Michael Jordan and the ’98 Chicago Bulls' final quest for their sixth and final NBA Championship. Ourconvo went everywhere from my unresolved animus as a New York Knicks fan, who were routinely antagonized by his Bulls, to the parallels and differences between roller derby and basketball. Warning: Spider and I go into spoilers but I think it’s an enjoyable listen whether or not you’ve watched the doc.   **** Holding Space with Magical Wheelism is now available on Apple, Spotify, Google Play, and Youtube. Help the pod grow by subscribing and sharing it with friends! Rating and reviewing on Apple Podcasts also helps others find us. Follow the pod on Instagram at @holdingspacewithmagicpod.   Cover photo: James Corbett www.epiclifeimages.com and Instagram: @epiclifeimages (https://www.instagram.com/epiclifeimages/) Music: Puzzle by Roa https://soundcloud.com/roa_music1031 Creative Commons — Attribution 3.0 Unported — CC BY 3.0 Free Download / Stream: https://bit.ly/al-puzzle Music promoted by Audio Library https://youtu.be/-ttCBruXsjo  

26. Movie Club: THE LAST DANCE (w/ Jumping Spider of Windy City Rollers)

On today’s episode, we have Windy City Rollers’ Jumping Spider. We had a nice chat a few months back all about his five years announcing and coach. You can also catch Jumping on WARR Media (weareregalradio.com). *** Holding Space with Magical Wheelism is available on all your favorite podcast outlets. Help support the pod grow by subscribing and sharing it with friends! Rating and reviewing on Apple Podcasts also helps others find us. Follow the pod @holdingspacewithmagicpod on IG. Music: ROFEU, "Midnight Lover" Cover photo: James Corbett www.epiclifeimages.com and Instagram @epiclifeimages (https://www.instagram.com/epiclifeimages/)  

25. Mic Check: Jumping Spider (Windy City Rollers)

What does a musical-turned-film cultural phenomenon about the US founding father Alexander Hamilton performed by a majority POC cast have to do with roller skating? Nothing but for the fact that many skaters are huge HAM fans. (Not to mention there's also a decent-sized Venn diagram overlap between musical theater nerds and derby peeps.) So listen to Coco, Punkie, Scarbs, and PEGGY--err, Magic--dissect why HAMILTON is so special, important and, at times, problematic. And yet we'll never be able to say no to this (musical)! 

24. Movie Club: HAMILTON (ft. Coco Butther, Punkie Pie, & Scarbie Doll)

Kaio-kensi is a trained neuroscientist who also happens to jam for Montreal Roller Derby’s charter squad New Skids. And while the competitive season is kaput. Her interest and passion for brain safety is a boon for us all, and we should always listen whenever she feels like speaking about the dome from the dome. Especially all y’all newbies who be on your TikToks and your instas sans protective gear!  When she agreed to come on to talk brain safety accessibility in our sport, I had no idea that I’d be meeting an athlete who would travel about five hours back and forth to derby--even to a practice that started at 7:45AM, 11 out of 12 months a year--y’all, that’s love--and whose backstory illustrates that she’s always been the drummer and marcher of her own beat. Enjoy!  EPISODE LINKSKaio-kensi’s Tiktok on Helmet Use“Fresh Avo ca do” vine (RIP Vine!) Show Credits:Music: ROFEU, "Midnight Lover" Cover photo: James Corbett www.epiclifeimages.com and Instagram @epiclifeimages (https://www.instagram.com/epiclifeimages/) Holding Space with Magical Wheelism is available on all your favorite podcast outlets. Help support the pod grow by subscribing and sharing it with friends! Rating and reviewing on Apple Podcasts also helps others find us. Follow the pod @holdingspacewithmagicpod on IG.

23. The Eternal Sunshine of Kaio-kensi's Awesome Mind

Lío es un patinador de Monterrey, México. Platicamos todo sobre su experiencia en el derby y las rampas. También hablamos sobre el lenguaje y los términos con el cual una persona LGBTQIA + se autoidentifica y como el significado toma diferente sentido en México a la comparación que los Estados etc. Disfrute mucho mi charla con Lío y espero que también les guste. Show Credits:Music: ROFEU, "Midnight Lover" Cover photo: James Corbett www.epiclifeimages.com and Instagram @epiclifeimages (https://www.instagram.com/epiclifeimages/) Holding Space with Magical Wheelism is available on all your favorite podcast outlets. Help support the pod grow by subscribing and sharing it with friends! Rating and reviewing on Apple Podcasts also helps others find us. Follow the pod @holdingspacewithmagicpod on IG.

22. Skater Spotlight en Español: Lío (Nuevo León RD)

TJ “Scarbie Doll” Edwards is the rare example of a skater whose retirement accomplishments might eclipse her skating career. In 2011, Scarbie founded the Black Roller Derby Network, which today comprises nearly 1200 members. She is also the (literal) face of Team Side Eye, one half of BRDN’s annual Rollercon showcase bout. In non-derby life, TJ is a mom, an advocate for autism acceptance, and a published author.  Today, Scarbie inaugurates The First Lineup, a new periodic feature on Holding Space that highlights retired trailblazing derby skaters of color. She is also the first participant in a new brand-new segment called “Show ‘N’ Tell.” Wanna know more? Guess you’ll just have to listen. Enjoy!  EPISODE LINKSThe Graveyards on Sunset: Outrageous Hotel Stories from the Third Shift [E-book] by TJ Edwards EPISODE MVP: Black Diaspora Roller Derby [IG] [Facebook] *** Show Credits:Music: ROFEU, "Midnight Lover" Cover photo: James Corbett www.epiclifeimages.com and Instagram @epiclifeimages (https://www.instagram.com/epiclifeimages/) Holding Space with Magical Wheelism is available on all your favorite podcast outlets. Help support the pod grow by subscribing and sharing it with friends! Rating and reviewing on Apple Podcasts also helps others find us. Follow the pod @holdingspacewithmagicpod on IG.

21. The First Lineup: Scarbie Doll (BRDN)

Today’s guest, fitness coach and writer Octopus Prime announced earlier this year the winding down of Iron Octopus Fitness, her online fitness and coaching business for roller derby skaters. For the uninitiated, Prime’s work is anti-racist and rooted in body acceptance. I was an admirer and follower of hers for some time before becoming a client, and when I started this podcast she was the first person I told. Being such a supportive, anti-racist, all-bodies-accepting ally in the roller derby universe, from the jump I knew I wanted to invite Prime on the pod. We kicked around some ideas. Then it occurred to me: it’d be really interesting to conduct a quasi-exit interview with Prime. So ya girl pulled up the article “10 Most Important Interview Questions You Should Ask Employees Who Are Leaving (And Why!)” from Zenefits dot com and “The 37 Best Tarot Questions” according to Reddit like some new-age HR director and got to work. Enjoy!

20. Exit Interview: Prime (Iron Octopus Fitness)

Minnesota Roller Derby's Hurtrude Stein reflects on the road back to gameplay post-pregnancy and also shares what she holds as her post-pandemic derby visions for herself and the collective. The 10-year vet also translates some of her namesake Gertrude Stein’s sage words into derby wisdom.  But before we begin, I just want to wish all the mothers--in every sense of the word--in skating, derby, and the world a wonderful day. You keep the world on its axis. You are the trucks to our wheels. You are awesome.   

19. Cultivating Roller Derby Mom Strength w/ Hurtrude Stein (MNRD)

In roller derby, holding space is an empowering, often intimidating, act of strength and strategy for one's self and/or teammates. Holding Space (the podcast) clears the floor for conversations that touch upon race, class, identity, and privilege to amplify stories, build community, and make more human connections in the skate world. Holding Space with Magical Wheelism is now available on Apple, Spotify, Google Play, and Youtube. Help support the pod grow by subscribing and sharing it with friends! Rating and reviewing the pod on Apple Podcasts helps others find us. I am @modega_cat on Instagram and Twitter. Music: Sunsearcher, "Latin Rhythm" Cover photo: James Corbett www.epiclifeimages.com and Instagram @epiclifeimages (https://www.instagram.com/epiclifeimages/)

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Holding Space with Magical Wheelism

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