Episode 3: Bonnie Thunders
Air date: February 18, 2016
In Episode 3, Kickit chats with Bonnie Thunders of Gotham Girls Roller Derby about derby/life balance, training to stay at the top, and mental game. Plus, we confirm once and for all whether she’s human or a cyborg.
Bonnie Thunders is an internationally known roller derby player. Based in Brooklyn, NY, she skates with Gotham Girls Roller Derby and Team USA Roller Derby. Bonnie owns and operates Five Stride Skate Shop and in her free time enjoys gardening, playing with her French Bulldog, and caring for the feral cat population in her neighborhood.
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What Happened When:
- 1:10 New York, new home, new sport: They just looked like people that I would want to be friends with and get involved with.
- 3:45 Is Bonnie Thunders a cyborg? Here Bonnie confirms being a human who has emotions. It’s been hard work and dedication that’s gotten me where I am. (But that’s what a cyborg would say.) Also, discussion about innate ability, training plans, and balancing individual and team training.
- 10:25 How many hours Bonnie spends training, on-skates vs. off-skates, and having a life. You can only do that insane dedication for a short period of time, when you have a real life to live. We’re not professional athletes who are paid to just play roller derby, so we have to balance that.
- 14:00 Food and Bonnie’s idyllic-sounding vegetarian diet.
- 15:25 Bonnie Thunders has more cats than you.
- 16:10 Mental game, visualization, and tuning out distractions.
- 19:00 Society’s expectations vs. personal success. This is not where I was supposed to be when I was 32, if you’d asked me 10 years ago. Commitment to the sport, and more balance. Balance is really key and important, because if derby is the only thing you have, you’re gonna have amazing times and then you’re gonna have soul-crushing times.
- 22:20 Bonnie’s top tips for derby success, and her lack of engagement with yoga, with an important caveat: If Kickit was the one coaching me, then I could do it.
More About… Bonnie Thunders:
Bonnie Thunders is a human person who came to derby from the world of synchronized figure skating. She has been called “the LeBron James of roller derby” and has been honored with innumerable awards for her derby prowess. She is co-owner of Five Stride Skate Shop, as well as captain of GGRD’s all-star team. She has more cats than you.
More About… Lemony Kickit:
Kickit is Kat Selvocki, an ex-Gotham skater and the owner and sole yoga teacher at Flat Mat Yoga. She likes butts, anatomy, and helping people get out of pain. (Well, in yoga classes, anyway.) In addition to teaching and practicing yoga, you’ll often find her climbing, skating, running, and snuggling with her pitbull.