
S3 Episode 5: Jamming with Suzy Hotrod – Bound by the Cloak
Do you know what roller derby is? It’s okay if you don’t, we’ve got someone who can definitely tell you all there is to know about it. Roller derby is a sport that many know absolutely nothing about and we’re going to change that. It’s a fast paced, hard hitting, alternative contact sport that’s played all over the world. Since its early beginnings to its modern iteration, which started in 2001, roller derby has always been super inclusive, and this still holds true today!
Suzy Hotrod has been playing roller derby with Gotham Roller Derby (GRD) for around 20 years and she’s still going strong. Gotham Roller Derby is NYC’s roller derby league. They compete locally, nationally and even globally. Suzy has appeared in ESPN Magazine’s 2011 body issue, has memorabilia in the Smithsonian and has appeared in a few documentary films.
We tracked down Suzy for a chance to learn all we could about roller derby, Suzy herself and see what GRD has been up to recently.
[Main image by Sean Hale]

Show Notes:
Articles:
Queens of Pain Shows Commitment to the Sport (2020) by Richard Whittaker
The Long and Surprising History of Roller Derby (2019) by Jennifer Harlan
Meet the Badass ‘Jeerleaders’ That Bring Gotham Girls Roller Derby to Life (2018) by Rachel Pelz
Movies and Videos:
Queens of Pain (2020)
Suzy Hotrod – Roller Derby Star (2019)
Guts & Glory: Meet the Women of Gotham Roller Derby (2018)
1983 Roller Games at Madison Square Garden: T-Birds vs Devil (1983)
Kansas City Bomber (1972)
Whip It (2009)
Websites:
Gotham Roller Derby
Women’s Flat Track Derby Association (WFTDA)
World Skate
Books:
Collective Chaos: A Roller Derby Team Memoir (2023) by Samantha Tucker and Amy Spears
Brace for Impact: A Memoir (2022) by Gabe Montesanti
Derby Life: A Crash Course in the Incredible Sport of Roller Derby (2015) by Margot Atwell
Five Strides on the Banked Track: The Life and Times of the Roller Derby (2014) by Frank Deford
Down and Derby: The Insider’s Guide to Roller Derby (2010) by by Alex Cohen and Jennifer Barbee
Roller Derby: The History and All-Girl Revival of the Greatest Sport on Wheels (2007) by Catherine Mabe
