Cher the Pain- x10

Co-Captain, Guns N Rollers

Theme song: Another One Bites the Dust, Queen
Joined RCR: 2008, GNR captain 2009-2010
Drink of choice: an IPA
Derby wife: Hard Knox
Derby nemesis: Licker*N*Split
Day job: State Investigator
Favorite Quote: "Every hole is an opportunity" -Blood Clottia

How did you get involved with roller derby?

I first heard about roller derby in 2006 at an event for the Portland Women's Crisis Line.  There were rollergirls rolling around and I was pretty intrigued. I kept saying "I wanna do it, I wanna do it," but my wife Tini was kind of against it.  She said "no way, you ain't getting any younger." We went to our first bout in 2008 and I was hooked from the moment the girls came out.  After seeing what went on Tini said "ah, it's not too bad, it's not like it was in the 70s. Why don't you go for it?" So I literally bought all my gear on craigslist, took the two clinics they had before tryouts and made it onto Fresh Meat.  So I was pretty thrilled, spent three months on Fresh Meat, don't know how but I ended up getting drafted.  Last season was my first season on GNR.

How did you come up with your name and number?

My lovely wife came up with it in the middle of the night.  I didn't have a lot of time and we'd been kicking around a bunch of names.  My first name is Cheryl, and Cher the Pain really seemed to speak to me.  And the x10 is because I'll be sharing the pain, times ten!

You're co-captain of GNR, what does that entail?

Captain is not an easy job, it's about keeping the team together, motivated, making sure everyone is showing up to practice, everyone's goals are being met. I probably spent at least six hours a week, if not more, doing captain's duties.  You make sure the team stays focused on what we do best.

You don't seem to spend much time in the penalty box. Are you just a really clean player?

Well I'm still learning, so I haven't been skating very aggressively yet.  The more I learn and the better I get the more aggressive I play.  That's when I draw the most penalties. 

Assuming you had any free time, what would you be doing?

I love snowboarding, camping, anything outdoors.  I also like to go winetasting.

Anything else you'd like your fans to know?

Well, GNR has always been the underdogs, sort of the "Weiner of Losers". But that's going to change.  We're very competitive this year, and we have a lot of talent on our team.  We won't be the underdogs for long.