If you came to this year’s Debutante Brawl, then you saw our very own Bat L. Royale perform a sacred and beautiful ceremony: the derby marriage. But what does it really mean to be derby wives? We asked Nutella Ferrero and NME, two skaters who tied the knot in 2013, about their derby marriage.
Nutella:
NME and I met when we were both going through a fall skate workshop in 2011 (think of it as pre-Rec League) for ARG. It was under the tutelage of Tanya Hyde and Coach Jim Blair with guest appearances by Demi Gore from time to time.
Photo: O-Jen Ishii Photography
After that workshop series we tried out and went through Fresh Meat together, always watching each other’s back and being the old ladies of the group.
We are each other’s cheerleader, RollerCon companion, phone call in the middle of the night, truth-speaker (the one that we allow and expect to be completely truthful when something needs to be said and it may hurt to hear it), and distraction when we just need to get away from it all. This relationship is one I expect to carry on and on even after our derby glory expires.
She is my derby wife, forevah.
NME:
My derby wife is Nutella Ferrero and as stated we met while attending a fall workshop in 2011. I think about that workshop from time to time and laugh. I laugh because a few days earlier I had gotten my eyebrows waxed and the lady trashed my left eyebrow leaving a pretty rad skinless cut. N and I were about to run a drill together, and she looked at me thinking I had been in a fight so she inquired. I wish that I had had a better story than it actually was, but she totally laughed right in my face over it. This still cracks me up.
Photo: O-Jen Ishii Photography
What I admire about N is everything. We complement each other’s personalities, and there are times when I’ve often wondered if we were related because of our similarities. Our relationship wasn’t one that we just threw up all at once to spill every aspect of our lives and past. It was small pieces / doses of who we really are that makes you love and respect that lady on and off skates. N is the only person who knows things about me that my closest of friends do not know. And I am not one who excessively talks about themselves or give you any depth into what I thinking.
Our derby marriage is real and the proposal was RAD! We eloped and got married in Vegas at RollerCon, 2013 and from this day forward there is only one pic that is public from that night. The others are locked away in our secret vault. We have lots of photos that are just ours and no one else’s. We have lots of really good and ridiculously funny stories but they are ours and only ours. I love that lady and we will be tight now and when our derby time expires.
