For the past three and a half years, Tara Flores has devoted her life to roller derby.
Flores and her KillaBytes teammates – one of the Silicon Valley Roller Girls teams – practice three times a week, leading up to the bouts on Saturday – which they set up for and dismantle at its conclusion. The Morgan Hill native lost a tooth in the rink, has been bruised and battered. She’s spent countless hours away from her family all for the sport she loves – and she wouldn’t change a thing.
“It’s very aggressive, especially for a female sport,” Flores said. “I don’t have a whole lot of time for it, but I like how intense and committed you have to be – it’s not for everybody. That was kind of a plus for me.”
Flores – or more accurately her alter ego, Patty Hearse – has risen through the ranks to become the captain of the KillaBytes. She readies the team mentally and physically to the level where she feels confident it can win – and winning means Hearse gets to add another teardrop “tattoo” to her collection.
When Flores transforms into Hearse, she said she embraces her “chola” side. She wears a bandanna over her face and sports teardrop “tattoo” on the side of her eye. She also rocks a flannel shirt to complete the look.
“I grew up in kind of the poorer side of Morgan Hill, so I was around that a lot,” she said. “People can really identify who I am by the way I dress. Once we start playing that all comes off and it’s strictly a sport for me.”
Flores is one of four blockers on the team or “pack”. In addition to blocking, she is used as a pivot – who dictates how fast the pack should go or who it should block to allow its jammer through. Every blocker a jammer passes on their hips is considered a point. Teams can score up to 25 points in a two-minute jam session leading to some high scoring contests.
For Flores, roller derby has allowed her to feed her competitive side as well create an atmosphere where she can truly be herself.
By day, she looks unassuming. Working in an office for a semi-conductor in San Jose, she said, she has to.
But by night and in the rink she gets to let her true colors shine and transform into the fully tattooed and pierced wife and mother of three who listens to music like the Dead Kennedys, Metallica and Rob Zombie.
“I kind of have to conceal my darker side,” Flores quipped. “I have a very stressful job and having a family and a home and kids – you need that outlet. Sometimes derby can be like a part-time job, but it is definitely worth it to be able to get out there and let out your aggressions.”
Flores’ outlet may soon disappear however. The SVRG were given the unlucky news on March 17 that the facility it uses for its bouts will be closing, leaving it without a place to practice and play.
The SVRG – which features players from Gilroy, Hollister, Los Banos and San Jose – are currently looking for a new home or the funds to help save the current one and have began fundraising to avoid shutting down for good on May 31.
“All the girls are the same,” Flores said. “They want to get out there, they want to play.”
But for now, Flores and her teammates will continue to practice and prepare as they always have while they fight to save the sport that has become just as much a part of their identity as their battle scars.
To donate to saving the SVRG, visit https://fundrazr.com/campaigns/chft5/sh/c2sVs4.
