That awkward moment when … You run across the Tumblr of someone hopeful of starting a derby career and you’re all, “Yeah! You can do it! I’m going to lurk your blog and be inspired by your rise to derby greatness!” Then you see a picture of the “derby skates” they just bought (and which are now symbolizing all their hopes and dreams) and they are mid-calf vinyl laceups with nylon plates, clay wheels the size of thread spools, fucking heels. I’m always tempted to message them, “You don’t know me, but the skates you bought are the stupidest possible choice for this sport! Take them back immediately while you still can!” But then that seems really mean, so I never do. I wonder what happens to those girls … UPDATE: Hey assholes, get over yourselves. I’m not making fun of anyone for being uninformed about derby skates and I’m sure as shit not making fun of anyone for not having the financial resources to purchase proper sporting equipment. I just see posts like this a lot and I think that if that were me, I’d want someone to save me some grief and just tell me they weren’t the right skates. But then I think it’s none of my business and I don’t say anything to these unassuming girls who might, maybe, possibly, perhaps break their necks/feel stupid at tryouts/make a bad investment/waste their time with skates that are not designed for roller derby. It takes a lot of bravery and strength to get into this sport and jumping into it with the wrong equipment puts one at a definite disadvantage. If it were you would you want someone to tell you?

That awkward moment when …

You run across the Tumblr of someone hopeful of starting a derby career and you’re all, “Yeah! You can do it! I’m going to lurk your blog and be inspired by your rise to derby greatness!” Then you see a picture of the “derby skates” they just bought (and which are now symbolizing all their hopes and dreams) and they are mid-calf vinyl laceups with nylon plates, clay wheels the size of thread spools, fucking heels. I’m always tempted to message them, “You don’t know me, but the skates you bought are the stupidest possible choice for this sport! Take them back immediately while you still can!” But then that seems really mean, so I never do. I wonder what happens to those girls …

UPDATE: Hey assholes, get over yourselves. I’m not making fun of anyone for being uninformed about derby skates and I’m sure as shit not making fun of anyone for not having the financial resources to purchase proper sporting equipment. I just see posts like this a lot and I think that if that were me, I’d want someone to save me some grief and just tell me they weren’t the right skates. But then I think it’s none of my business and I don’t say anything to these unassuming girls who might, maybe, possibly, perhaps break their necks/feel stupid at tryouts/make a bad investment/waste their time with skates that are not designed for roller derby. It takes a lot of bravery and strength to get into this sport and jumping into it with the wrong equipment puts one at a definite disadvantage.

If it were you would you want someone to tell you?