When people first hear that my last name is Bonebrake, they usually ask me one of three things: “Is that for real?!”, “You should be a doctor!” or “You should play roller derby!”.
A little over three years ago, I joined a group of friends to watch a banked track bout and I signed up to be fresh meat at the very next available opportunity. I only trained with that league for a few months before I finished my MFA in Lighting Design and moved back to Los Angeles. Upon my return, I contacted a friend of mine from high school who I knew was active in roller derby. And that’s how Atomic led me to join SFV.
When it came to picking out a derby name, I knew I had to incorporate Bonebrake into it somehow. I decided to play up the German angle and add some regality to it, hence Countess von Bonebrake. My number, L789, is actually a theatre/lighting nerd joke. L789 is the swatch book reference number for a lighting filter called Blood Red.
One of my favorite aspects of roller derby are the people I get to play with. I’ve been on the Reseda Wreckers for a couple of years now and they are some of my favorite and inspiring players. I am new to The Wipe Outs, but I am very excited about being part of that group of amazing ladies, and I know that we will be doing some amazing things this year. I NSO whenever I can because our RefNeck crew is a great group of encouraging and supportive people.
I love roller derby because it is delightful to hip-check your friends, then laugh with them after.
COUNTESS
VON BONEBRAKE
#L789
Photo by Chuck Gay Photography