Get to Meet Coach Loca!
How do you like to be called? I like to be called by my short derby name “Loca” ( Loca Smoke-Ya)
When did you start skating? I started skating 11 Years ago.
Tell us a bit about your skating history: Besides skating in my teens, I really started rollerskating when I turned 40. I joined “Raw Meat”, a group run by 2 former roller derby players. They taught me how to get back to skating again and Introduce me to the magic world of Roller Derby. shortly after I Joined The League TCRG “The Terminal City Rollergirls” and played Roller Derby for 6 years. These were the best days of my life! I met great humans on the way and some of them will be my friends forever. I kept skating around the seawall and around the East van street areas until I heard that LuLu and Bizzy were opening Rolla! I started taking their classes and eventually took the Certified instructor Course that lead me to now coaching at Rolla! I will keep skating until the end of days!
What do you love the most about rollerskating? I love the freedom it brings to me, to my soul, the power I feel when I can use my whole body and dance, enjoy and feel the music as well. It’s a connection, a zen, My therapy.
What about coaching do you enjoy? I love sharing my knowledge with everyone that wants to learn how to skate. I love the feeling of accomplishment in people’s faces when they learn something from me, It is so rewarding and a huge way to give back to our community.
What types of skating do you do? Right now I love dancing on my skates, I also tried some skate park, did Short Track Roller Derby with Rolla. During summer I love to do the seawall and street skating. There is so much to learn on your skates that I cannot do only one thing!
What’s your favorite skating move right now? There are so many moves that are my favorites! I will say right now I’m into Downtown Variations.
What is your skate setup right now? I have a pair of Moxies (Lolly) with Power Riedell Revenge Plates and a set of the Moxies Fundae wheels. I also have a pair of custom-made (done by a very good friend of mine) Vans Booties with Reactor Fuse plates and Radar Energy outdoor wheels and lastly my roller Derby Skates Riedell Torch 495 boots with Reactor Neo Plates and Radar Halo 95A wheels.
Who/What inspires you right now in the skating world? I have so many people that inspire me in our skating community, people I skate with, and people I follow in social media but I get most inspired by the ones that share their love for rollerskating by teaching and learning from each other, especially the ones that advocate rollerskating history and inclusion. Some of the accounts I follow on IG @lilyskatesalot , @a.j.bolton , @skatelisa, @rollergirl_ca , @quadsk8 , @sormskater , @richardhumphrey , @dee_upshaw.
Who/What inspires you right now outside the world of skating? I love to learn about how I can be better myself everyday and love to get inspire by women, I’m listening to “Becoming” by Michelle Obama Audiobook, podcast “UnF*ck Your Brain by kara Loewentheil, I also like to watch empowering documentaries about woman throughout history.
Tell us something random and non-rollerskating about you: I’m originally from Peru but I’ve been living in Canada for more than 29 years! When I was 37, I found out that I was born HOH (Hard of hearing). If you don’t see me skating I’m probably dancing my butt off! I got married very young and I have a 34-year-old daughter. I love to make Pom poms for my skates. I only sing in the shower!
Anything else you want to share? My skating Journey has brought me so much, I have met (and still am) wonderful people and gained long-life friendships, learned so many skills both on my skates and in my personal life that I don’t see myself at 51 years old stopping any time soon.
Loca is an amazing human and coach and we are so lucky to have her as part of our awesome team! Check out this video of Loca’s moves teaching the downtown on our Instagram channel!
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From this month forward we will be focusing on some of Rolla’s fabulous individuals – sharing their stories with you and giving you a glimpse into what keeps them inspired and rolling! Keep an eye out on our social media channels (Facebook & Instagram) and our blog to get to know them!