Jean Schwarzwalder (born 1980), known as Suzy Hotrod, is a

roller derby Roller derby is a roller skating contact sport played on an oval track by two teams of five skaters. It is played by approximately 1,250 amateur leaguesA Roller Derby league is synonymous with an individual club or team in other team sports, as ...

skater.

Early life

Born in

Lindenwold, New Jersey Lindenwold is a borough in Camden County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population was 21,641, an increase of 4,028 (+22.9%) from the 2010 census count of 17,613, which in turn reflected ...

, Hotrod began skating in 2004, soon after leaving college, having not previously exercised for four years. Training with the

Gotham Girls Roller Derby Gotham Roller Derby is a flat track roller derby league based in New York City, New York. Founded in late 2003, Gotham is the first flat track roller derby league in the metropolitan New York area and a founding member league of the sport's gover ...

league, she was immediately picked out as a potential jammer.Suzy Hotrod
, ''

ESPN ESPN (an initialism of their original name, which was the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by the Walt Disney Company (80% and operational control) and Hearst Commu ...

'', 2011 At the time, she worked as a photo editor, and played guitar in the punk band Lady Unluck.

Career

By 2007, Hotrod was captain of Gotham's "Queens of Pain" team. Also in 2007, Hotrod worked with Tibbie X on a pop-punk band called
Kissy Kamikaze.
Hotrod's name is mentioned on this album in the
intro
" and the album later talks about Roller Derby in their song
Roller Derby Riot GO! (Skate 2 Hell)
Their first album would later be re-released by Tibbie's son, Severin. Their ban
was recorded
playing their song
Doucebag
on youtube. Hotrod is seen playing an instrument and singing backing vocals. After the 2010

WFTDA Championships The International Women's Flat Track Derby Association Championships ("WFTDA Championships" or "Champs" for short) are the leading competition for roller derby leagues. The Championships are organized by the Women's Flat Track Derby Associatio ...

, Hotrod was expected to move to Philadelphia, and leave the Gotham Girls. However, her work plans changed, and she remained with Gotham. Hotrod was appointed co-captain of

Team USA The United States national team or Team USA may refer to any of a number of sports team representing the United States in international competitions. Olympic teams Additionally, these teams may compete in other international competitions such as ...

for the inaugural

Roller Derby World Cup The Roller Derby World Cup is an international women's roller derby tournament formerly organized by ''Blood & Thunder magazine'', and currently organized by the Roller Derby World Cup Committee. Teams of amateur skaters from around the world c ...

. Hotrod is also the host of the radio show Rock and Roller Derby on Jersey City-based

WFMU WFMU (91.1 MHz) is a non-commercial educational station, non-commercial, listener-supported, independent radio, independent community radio station city of license, licensed to East Orange, New Jersey, with studios in Jersey City. It is owned by ...

Recognition

Hotrod won the Gotham Girls'

Most Valuable Player In team sports, a most valuable player (MVP) award is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a particular competition, or ...

award in both 2006 and 2009, has captained the Queens of Pain to three league titles, and won the

Derby News Network Derby News Network (DNN), based in Baltimore, was an internet broadcast network, founded in 2007, which featured the women's skating sport of roller derby. DNN used the internet to collect remote streaming video Video on demand (VOD) is a media ...

readers' award for Best Double Threat in 2010. and again in 2011. A jersey worn by Suzy Hotrod is in the collection of the

National Museum of American History The National Museum of American History: Kenneth E. Behring Center is a historical museum in Washington, D.C. It collects, preserves, and displays the heritage of the United States in the areas of social, political, cultural, scientific, and m ...

of the

Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums, Education center, education and Research institute, research centers, created by the Federal government of the United States, U.S. government "for the increase a ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hotrod, Suzy 1980 births Living people People from Lindenwold, New Jersey Roller derby skaters American roller skaters Sportspeople from Camden County, New Jersey