“Holy crap, I feel like I’ve just been hit by a train!” announced LuluDemon as the jam ended. She rolled back to the team’s bench, “Who is that skater?” “That’s Freight Train!” her teammate replied.
It was 2014, and Houston had travelled up to Vancouver, Canada, to play the Terminal City Rollergirls. It was at a time when jammers were small, fast and wily – their goal is to avoid any contact with opposing blockers while threading their way through the pack.
But Freight Train was a new type of jammer – incredibly agile on her skates (due to so many years of rhythm skating) but not afraid to move opposing skaters out of the way with her strong and influential body. Terminal City didn’t know what hit them… literally!
From the moment Freight Train entered the world of roller derby, she’s been stirring things up and pushing boundaries. Becoming an all-star player for the sport’s founders Texas Rollergirls in 2015 and being part of the team that led them to their best WFTDA ranking – #3 in the world – in 2016.
Her former Texas teammate and current Rolla Coach, Smarty Pants, says of Freight Train “She’s one of the strongest athletes I’ve ever played against (while at practice) in all of my years of derby. People know her as a jammer, but she’s a phenomenal blocker as well.”
A formidable skater on the derby track, she’s also a kind and generous teacher who experiments with genres and fun to help her students learn. She’s the creator of @SkateWithTinisha and Sk8 Dance Kickboxing, and if you follow her on Instagram or Facebook, you already know how contagious her quirky sense of humour is!
Here at Rolla, we love showcasing unique personalities, and we believe that there’s no one “right” way to teach something. The goal is to be having so much fun you FORGET you are learning! We teamed up with Freight Train, aka Tinisha Bonaby, to bring her signature Sk8 Dance Kickboxing class to the Rolla Zoom Room, and we asked her some questions to get to know her better.
Meet Freight Train
Hey Freight Train, how long have you been skating? I started skating when I was two years old. So 1992. I’ve been skating consistently for 28 years.
What do you love the most about rollerskating? I enjoy skating because it’s fun and allows me to get all my energy out through dancing. I like to travel to different places to skate, and I have a goal of getting to all 50 states someday.
What types of skating do you do? Rhythm/Jam Skating and Roller Derby
Tell us something random and non-rollerskating about you. I enjoy step aerobics and have been having fun teaching it. (Xtreme hip hop Step).
What’s your favourite skating move right now? I like spinning
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We’ll leave you with this gem of Freight Train in action… Click HERE to see the video replay
