Heidi Contagious's blog

July 2010 - I was your average working mother. I worked in a corporate office full time, came home every evening to my other full time role as a wife and mother. I wasn’t getting enough exercise (the gym had never really been my thing) and I was always focused on everyone else but me. I was mid-‘30s, tired of the monotony that had become my life and frankly……excruciatingly bored!

The first time I heard about roller derby was when my six-year-old came home from a derby bout that his grandparents had taken him to. He walked in and said, “Mum, I went to watch the roller derby and it was awesome and you should do it.” Things kind of went from there; I rocked up to a Freshmeat and Greet, met some awesome women and started skating.

The next six months or so flew by in a whirlwind. As well as developing some amazing friendships with a bunch of beautiful, strong women, I learned to do a whole lot of cool shit on wheels that I never thought I would ever do. I finished Freshmeat, graduated into the RCRD League and was drafted to a team. Team training began and I learned more, got stronger and tougher, both physically and mentally…Heidi Contagious had arrived. It was also around this time that I lost my mum. Derby and the unquestionable support from my derby girls played a big part in getting in me through it...