Speaker 1: 0:09

Hey there, welcome to how Do you Skate, the ultimate destination for all skating enthusiasts. We cater to everyone, from beginners to pros. Whether you love inline and ice skating or prefer quads and skateboarding, we have it all covered, and we bring you exclusive interviews with professionals, talented amateurs and influencers in the industry. So sit back, relax and get ready for an exciting journey into the world of skating.

Speaker 2: 0:42

Welcome to episode three of how Do you Skate. I am Sean Egan, your host, and today I'm joined by Melissa Skeets. Did I pronounce that right?

Speaker 3: 0:52

Yeah, S-K-E-E-T.

Speaker 2: 0:58

So when did you become passionate about skating and start skating?

Speaker 3: 1:04

Yeah, I actually didn't want to skate at all when I first came, you know, upon. You know, someone introduced roller derby to me and they're like why don't you try it? And I said no, because I have jacked up knees from when I used to play volleyball and from, like gosh, middle school to high school and basketball in high school really screwed up my knees and I was like, no, I'm just not wanting to do it. And they're like, just try it out. You know, it was actually one of my good friends.

Speaker 3: 1:36

Then she was an attorney and I was a victim advocate. That was my profession for like 15 years and we worked on a case together and I kept seeing her come into court with different colored hair or different colored fingernails, and you know, and I'm like, what do you do outside of work? And you know, just one day I was curious. She's like oh, I play roller derby, you should check out our games coming up this weekend. I was like, oh okay, so I saw it and I just saw how amazing these people were. And she kind of talked me into trying out for the league, which was high altitude roller derby for Flagstaff Arizona, and I fell in love with it. I truly did, and during that time I actually so.

Speaker 3: 2:23

I was a victim of domestic violence. Now I almost lost my life in the hands of the abuser, and that's when I leaned on my roller derby family and you know just the family dynamics of the roller derby family is what saved me. And then it transitioned into trail skating and actually the Grand Tetons where I'm at right now. That, literally, was where I started my trail skating adventures and fell in love with it and then turned into this big mission that I'm on right now. So, yeah, it's just roller skating to me has been such a savior for me, for my health, wellness and healing.

Speaker 2: 3:04

Yeah, as far as your mental health too. So it seems like the more physically active you get, the better off you become, no matter what you go through Exactly. So tell people exactly what you're doing now.

Speaker 3: 3:26

So, because I didn't quite mention it at the beginning, but I have been kind of following so awesome. Well, excuse me, as I was telling Sean earlier, like five minutes ago, I was having like a bunch of panic or not panic attacks, asthma attacks. Um, so I am on the great skate tour and that is, I am roller skating from Washington state to Washington DC to bring awareness to missing and murdered indigenous persons and I'm trying to skate at least 15 to 30 miles a day but, you know, with rest in between. Um, my main mission is, uh, to talk to different folks along the way from, like, tribal council victims and survivors affected by MMIP. And sometimes people will stop me on the way when I'm roller skating because I have the red symbol, handprint symbol on my face, so it stands out and I always get the look. You know, some people will kind of tilt their heads like a puppy dog, like what is that? And just kind of, you know, drive or bike by me, or yeah, usually it's bikers and that raises the question for them. If you know, should like, let me Google what this means and that's where it starts the education starts. Google what this means and that's where it starts the education starts.

Speaker 3: 4:49

So, along the way I have been able to meet with again different troubled folks and survivors and victims and even families who are like. I had a family member who went missing and they never came home. We don't know what happened. Or my family member was murdered and this is what happened within the criminal justice system and we got screwed over. So I take those stories with me along the way and this red symbol is a very strong symbol that actually it's a grassroots movement started with MMIW, which means missing and murdered indigenous women. So that actually started in Canada and then worked its way down to the United States and come to find. A lot of different countries were reaching out to me and saying, hey, this is happening in our country, in like New Zealand, for example, australia as well, and it's really empowering to hear, you know others say that this is, you know, a movement that we really, that we can, that we see I don't want to say eye to eye, but you know that is something that we take with us in our country and we also use the red handprint as well here. So it's a very powerful symbol across the entire world.

Speaker 3: 6:07

So some people ask what does the handprint mean and where does that stem from? And in most tribes they believe that the color red is what the lost spirits or lost souls can see in the spiritual world, and the red color signifies a warrior. So they kind of follow the warrior hopefully to bring healing and bring them, hopefully, back to their families. So some people look at me like wow, that's weird. And others are like, oh, wow, that's beautiful and empowering and so powerful. I'm like, thank you.

Speaker 3: 6:48

And so I'm Danae, I'm Navajo, from the Navajo Nation, and this has been a huge journey so far. We are on day 22?, no 23. And we're losing track of our days, no 23. And we're losing track of our days and I do post these daily recaps every single day. I don't tell anybody exactly where we are unless they contact me directly and they become a part of a group chat. And I do this because this is a very strong movement where not a lot of people like what I'm doing. So for safety purpose for myself, for my team and for the skaters coming out and wanting to join, or people just wanting to come out and join. You know, safety for them as well. So, yeah, that's what I'm doing right now.

Speaker 2: 7:39

So how many states have you been through so far?

Speaker 3: 7:43

Let's see Four. We're on the. Let's see Four.

Speaker 1: 7:47

We're on our fourth one right now.

Speaker 2: 7:48

Yeah, so now why Moving down to what?

Speaker 3: 7:54

Moving down to Denver, colorado, soon, yeah.

Speaker 2: 7:57

Let me know when you're here, because I live in Denver Well, just outside Denver so definitely let me know when you're here. Why are people protesting? What you're doing?

Speaker 3: 8:08

Or like the ones that are kind of not liking what I'm doing basically.

Speaker 2: 8:11

Yeah.

Speaker 3: 8:13

Um, it stems back from the first colonizer and it stems back to, for example, the first MMIW case, which was Mata Oaka, what people also know as Pocahontas, and Disney kind of put this like wrong depiction of Pocahontas, which is the story of Mata Oaka, and she was a 14-year-old young girl who was basically sex trafficked, raped and was actually she had a child and then she was killed afterwards, from what I recollect, and this is this kind of just you know, trickled along toward you know, within our generations, and women, especially Indigenous women, are mostly targeted and are the ones that, like there's a high percentage of indigenous women who are being killed, as in murdered. So this goes along with sexual assaults, domestic violence and sex trafficking like this is. This has been going on for so long. How come people don't know about this? Is because the media doesn't want to cover it and the national policymakers don't want to do anything about it. So this goes along with systemic genocide that has been happening. No one wants to talk about it. So it's not within our history books, it's something that is not taught in schools and that's the most disturbing part is, when it's introduced in schools, some schools or some states will say, well, we just don't want these, you know, non-native kids to feel bad that their ancestors, you know, did this kind of mess up thing to the Native people and you know, so on and so on.

Speaker 3: 10:08

But mainly there are individuals who protest what I'm doing because they either had something to do with why this grassroots movement is a thing, maybe they had something to do with the murder. I don't know White supremacists. They don't like you know, indigenous people. There's a lot of non-Natives who do not like the fact that an Indigenous woman is standing up for something. So, you know, like this, and I've had certain people come to me on social media and say, did you know that MMIW is actually a cult? Like what the hell social media say, did you know that MMIW is actually a cult?

Speaker 3: 10:46

And some others will come to me and say the most like awful things that you know, even like natives, telling me that, oh, this person is not native. Like this person's a fake. They're actually their tribe is actually a fake. I'm like, why are you saying that about them? You know, and this goes along with, like federally recognized tribes versus non-federally recognized tribes, there's like that whole beef. I just I don't like that. I just wish we all can be like there for each other. So there's just a lot of you know to answer your question. It's hard to answer it with one answer. There's just so many different parts within it that you know um that why it is the way it is and why people don't want us to be recognized, and why the indigenous people are trying so hard to give a voice to the relatives relatives who lost a loved one.

Speaker 2: 11:41

Yeah, so what made you Ty decide to use skating as a, I guess, tool to promote your cause?

Speaker 3: 11:54

Yeah, I mean, when I was a victim of domestic violence, um, uh, I almost lost my life in the hands of the abuser and he was non-native. And I almost lost my life in the hands of the abuser and he was non-native and I almost became a stat. You know what many cases are and you know they're thrown into a stat and basically I almost became a part of MMIP and I, you know, connected with roller skating, because roller derby is what saved me and it turned into trail skating. And why I love trail skating is because I love being on the outdoors, with wildlife, with the land, with the creator, and it just brings just this joy and this rejuvenation to me and it's such a beautiful feeling and I'm at peace with myself. So that connection with my skates like whenever I do professional speaking, my title for my presentation is my roller skates have a story to tell and it's because they do, because they saved me during a time where I was in a very dark space and when I got on my roller skates and just skated, jammed out to my favorite, you know, music, it just turned into something big and I love that connection and it also brings health, wellness and healing to other, you know, like indigenous youth or even just youth in general, because natives are known to get into drugs or alcohol and that is, it turns into this stereotype. And it shouldn't be that way, because indigenous people are highly intelligent and but you know, they, we I've heard it.

Speaker 3: 13:47

Some people are like so how did you get out of drugs, how did you get out of this? I'm like, first of all, I never was on a drugs and that's just like the perception, you know, people see of us so and we all don't want to be seen that way, because we're not. And that's where I try so hard to bring forward something about. You know, that's healing, because generational trauma I am a survivor of generational trauma. My parents are survivors of boarding schools and that doesn't mean like, oh, like I overcame it, no, that still sticks with me. And that doesn't mean like, oh, like I overcame it. No, that still sticks with me. So I want to cut that trauma and bring forward roller skating and how that has saved me.

Speaker 3: 14:36

So, amongst the indigenous people. Have you gotten? Is there a pretty big skating community? Excuse me, there is. Yeah, um, excuse me, there is. Yeah. I didn't realize how big the skating community is when you start to hear from different people from around the world saying I want to skate with you. I'm going to do this. You know even inline skating and you know inline. Like nobody really knows this, but I actually started inline skating when I was a kid okay yeah, so I've done it all with inline skating and then roller skating.

Speaker 2: 15:06

That's my choice.

Speaker 3: 15:08

Yeah, and and I support other, you know other inline skaters who are using it for their own causes too. So, um, but aside from that, you know, in general, like people from all over the world are just reaching out and some I didn't even know actually trail skate and, you know, do like 15, 20 miles at times and do it on quads. I'm like that is so freaking awesome. That is awesome.

Speaker 2: 15:34

Because you are now skating on quads across the country, right I?

Speaker 3: 15:37

am.

Speaker 2: 15:39

So what brand skate are you using? What's your boot?

Speaker 3: 15:42

My boot is and my boot of choice only boot of choice actually is Antic Skates. Okay. And they're by go ahead no go ahead. It's basically under Rydell, but Antic Skates is one brand that has not only given me skates, but they have supported me since day one, and they're not afraid to use their platform to do so.

Speaker 2: 16:08

That's awesome. So have you had to change your wheels and bearings yet on this trip?

Speaker 3: 16:13

Oh yeah, how often are?

Speaker 2: 16:16

you changing your wheels?

Speaker 3: 16:19

Well, I got scared over in. What was it? I think it was in Missoula and it was like 90s to close to 100 degrees. When I skated there which was not a good idea, excuse me and my I felt my wheels feeling a little weird and I was like uh, I feel like this pavement is more hotter than I think and I should probably get off of it because I think my wheels might melt. So I got off of it pretty quickly, but they've survived. But I just recently changed my bearings. I am not very great with changing my bearings. I just I'm like oh, they look great, they're still rolling, that's fine. And then, before escape, I'll turn my wheels and it barely moves. I'm like, oh no, I got to change it. So I quickly change it. When it's like scorching hot outside, I'm like I have to change these, like I don't care, I have to change these before I skate. So I've changed my bearings once, haven't changed my wheels yet and I hope I don't have to, because I love my Roadhogs.

Speaker 2: 17:21

That's what brand you use. Is that the brand name or? Yeah, road hogs yeah and what kind of bearings do you use?

Speaker 3: 17:29

um gosh, I just happened just here because this is the information people want to know, and yeah, I like using these okay, so yeah, and I actually got these recently from one a roller derby uh sister, I call her from Gallatin roller derby and she, yeah, she's like I have these for you. I'm like, thank God, like I need all the bearings. I was like, if it's any other, any tool, it's bearing, yeah, are important.

Speaker 2: 18:01

So I noticed on one of your posts that you're talking about doing the Duluth Mm-hmm Inline skate fest, yeah. Are you planning on having the trip, so that you kind of arrive in Minnesota at that time? Then?

Speaker 3: 18:16

Oh, we got to backtrack, oh, okay. Yeah, this is going to be interesting. So we're planning on going to skate wars in michigan on the first week of september. So we'll be in michigan then and we're gonna keep going, keep going, and then we're like okay, wherever we stop. Um, you know, like we have to backtrack to head back to the skate fest and do the skate for a day and then go back to where we left off. Crazy, I know. I was like, but I have to do this race, I have to.

Speaker 2: 18:51

I was planning this year, but with the way things are going right now, I'm definitely planning next year and probably doing the whole rollerblade series next year. So what exactly is Skate Wars?

Speaker 3: 19:07

next year. So what exactly is Skate Wars? So it's a bunch of awesome roller derby teams from all over, from like Canada. Team Indigenous is going to be there, which is a very, very well known native indigenous team, and a few others let's see Gallatin Roller Derby is going to be there, from Bozeman, Montana, I believe, and then a few others from across the country are going to be there and they get together and they do these big tournaments to bring in diverse teams from all over that they're like oh my God, did you, when you're in roller derby, did you like beat each other up?

Speaker 3: 19:50

Did you guys like, do you guys hate each other? I'm like. I'm like I was the jammer, so I'm the one who scored the point. That was like the football, and it's the one position that is requires a lot of endurance. So hence why I'm a trail skater and the one thing about it is right before every single jam started, meaning every single like I don't know session I don't know what you call it, but every time that we would start, the jammer and I would line up Nobody's seen roller derby, just Google roller derby. You know what I'm talking about and the jammer and I would just look at each other and start talking, goofing off and laughing with each other, but when we start, when we hear the whistle, we're like, okay, just for like these two minutes. We're not going to be friends.

Speaker 1: 20:34

But then afterwards Game face comes on.

Speaker 3: 20:35

Exactly. And then after the two minutes of the jam session is done, then we're going to be like that was a nice jam, nice body of this jam session is done then we're going to be like that was a nice jam Nice nice body hit.

Speaker 3: 20:46

That was great. So nobody really knows that. That's why I love the family dynamics within Rolodeby, and this is what it's about is bringing you know unity and bringing diverse teams from all over to do something big like this. So I definitely want to go there and just check out these teams. I won't be competing because I can't. I retired like four years ago or so.

Speaker 2: 21:09

Retirement's just a word, you'll get back into it.

Speaker 3: 21:12

Nah, I think after a concussion. I called it after that.

Speaker 2: 21:17

So what are some of the challenges you've run into? I know we kind of discussed that you and I both had the same experience this weekend with our tents being destroyed while camping. But what are some of the other challenges that you've had while doing this, because I know skating across country isn't easy?

Speaker 3: 22:02

no-transcript. I'm like, what is that, you know? And it's like a new muscle growing. I'm like, okay, let's do this.

Speaker 3: 22:13

And another, one of the biggest struggles that we went through, which was actually pretty surprising, was that I lost my job. And yeah, so that one was the hard one and it was fairly unexpected, but I, you know, but the thing is, there was a lot of red flags within this job and it really really, really what really bothered me about it was that these folks work with missing and murdered indigenous persons cases and their families, and they're very, very I ran into a lot of discrimination and racism coming from them. So the more that I protected myself as an indigenous woman against them and what they would say, and I would protect the families, the more that I, you know, got pushed back from them or you know they butted heads with me and you know they're, they were attorneys. So it's like you can't fight with them. They're always, they always want to win. And so I mean, every single meeting with them was always like it's a yes or no answer, melissa, it's a yes or no answer. I'm like, damn, I feel like I'm on a witness stand being interrogated. Okay, so it got really bad. And then you know, they just said I, you know, we're not going to continue this position with you, like that's fine, like I really don't want to work with discriminating, racist people, so that you know, basically got me canned and that was totally fine.

Speaker 3: 23:38

It was hard in the moment because I'm like this is like a big income for us and I'm freaking out, and but there are some good things that came out of it because, you know, we had such great supporters. The one crappy thing about it was that I had to hear from a bunch of strangers who are supporters I didn't really hear from like close friends and family members, maybe like two, and that's it. And that's the thing about it was like these supporters were like something great and something good is going to come out of this. Just wait and see. This is like you know, this is a huge hurdle within. You know this tour, you know, but it's going to, something great is going to happen.

Speaker 3: 24:20

And I looked over my comments on that post because I did post publicly about this and one person said we would love to see your resume, to send it to our email and I was like, ok, so this is great. So you know, I think these things are looking up so far and you know we this is we're trying hard for this whole tour to turn into a documentary and we're working with a producer who is like let's turn, let's, I'll do whatever I can to make sure this gets out there, that we try to get folks to be engaged and talk about it more. I'm like this is great.

Speaker 3: 25:00

So the supporters in general and their amazing words of wisdom and just you know, the powerful and empowering words is literally what kept me going and it's what I needed to hear, especially my fiance, because he was like he was. You know, we were both in shell shock for a few days and, you know, after the day, after it happened, I didn't want to skate. I was, but not once that I think I was going to quit this tour, but my body was just like I don't want to do this right now. I don't want to do this right now. My body's in shock, what's going to happen? But you know, I I just went out and skated because it is my healing, it is my way of you know when someone, when you go through a dark space, you do something to get out of it and to get out of that funk. So skating was my way to get out of it and I, if it didn't rain, I probably would have gone farther than 30 miles that day. I was just so angry that day.

Speaker 2: 25:57

Yeah, it's amazing how, when you have that anger, how much more you can do. I lift heavier in the gym when I'm angry. I skate faster when I'm angry. I don't get winded when I'm angry. So I mean, if I could race when I'm angry, I'd do a lot better, probably so, but it's just, it's just doing, even though you didn't want to do it, it's it's you needed to do it just to get through it. So cause if not, then you start self-deprecating and just start negative thoughts and then you want to quit.

Speaker 2: 26:30

So but I commend you for doing that and following through and still sticking with it. So now is your fiance on the tour with you then, or?

Speaker 3: 26:39

he is, yes, he's actually right now in Albertsons in Jackson Hole, wyoming, trying to get some food for us tonight.

Speaker 2: 26:46

Okay, just remember you got to eat the proper food, so you don't feel crappy tomorrow.

Speaker 3: 26:50

Very true. Yes, the other day we had ice cream. I'm like I regret that because I'm not supposed to have lactose intolerant, but I was like oh.

Speaker 3: 26:58

no, I haven't had it in a long time and I'll like oh no, I haven't had it in a long time and I'll never do that again. But we have our two dogs as well and our two dogs have been our Malamute, has been having daily temper tantrums, so that's been a struggle, and he does have his temper tantrums in the middle of the night, so it tends to keep us up all night and we're like we're going to get a skate in, like at 7am or something, and we like sleep through it, cause we're just so exhausted having to you know, uh, attend to our very, very needy Malamute.

Speaker 2: 27:30

So now is your fiance.

Speaker 3: 27:32

Is he part of the skating community too, then or no, he is a ultra trail runner, does not skate whatsoever.

Speaker 2: 27:41

Why would you run when you can get a perfectly good pair of skates Um?

Speaker 3: 27:45

Oh no, I don't pressure him because he is one of the most beautiful runners in the entire world. I like this guy has won races and just a beautiful runner and um, he's got some good plans with it, for sure. And I don't, I don't, I don't, I definitely don't pressure him to come out and skate.

Speaker 2: 28:06

Now do you guys like when he's out running, do you skate with him while he's running, or now do?

Speaker 3: 28:10

you guys, like, when he's out running, do you skate with him while he's running?

Speaker 3: 28:12

Or yeah, I mean, if it's, he doesn't like, um, like, for any ultra trail runner out there, they all can tell you that pavement sucks, running on pavement sucks and they're, um, they love to trail run on, like in the mountains, on different terrain, different elevation, gain, all of that. So if he's going to go on a paved road, he'll run on the side because, like on the dirt, and it's mainly because the pavement screws up their knees, it makes them feel like their legs and their feet just feel crappy. So the dirt kind of is like a cushiony type of thing for their, their body. So I'll skate on the paved trail and he'll just kind of run alongside me on the dirt. But what I usually do is I hike before he does, before he hits the trails and runs up these like mountains or whatever, and I'll try to get as far as I can and take photos of him while he's like. He'll pass me for like two seconds. I'm like, okay, I got as much as I could and I'll go back down.

Speaker 2: 29:16

Nice.

Speaker 3: 29:18

Yeah.

Speaker 2: 29:18

So so what's the? What do you plan on? Hitting Denver? Are you a zero in Jackson hole? So you're be heading South then now.

Speaker 3: 29:27

Yeah, so um, I was hoping to get in another skate in tomorrow with the local roller derby team here in jacksonville, but this smoke is just it. Actually that's why I had my asthma attacks you know, this is terrible because of the smoke.

Speaker 3: 29:42

um, so I don't know if we're gonna be able to do the skate here. Um, so we're thinking, oh my gosh, fiance has a schedule, but I don't want to say it. And then it doesn't happen. But it's going to be in the next week and I'm losing track of my days. Yeah, this weekend or next week, and I'll give them the information, which is basically a group chat for people to keep up to date of where we're at. So some people will just direct message me on Instagram. They're like can you just let me know here on Instagram? I was like no, I was like Instagram is so tedious and I get so many messages and I'm like oh my God, I don't know which one it was, what and who was aware.

Speaker 2: 30:26

I can't search through my messages, and so and so yeah, I can see trying to keep daily posts and everything and then try to respond to everybody being pretty hectic, especially with skating all the time too. So now, what do you? What do you try to get in in a day? How many miles do you usually try to get?

Speaker 3: 30:45

I usually try to get 15 to 30 miles a day, um, but Montana was just like, nah, you're not going to get anything. Um, it was just the the roads. Actually, it wasn't really the roads, oh yeah, it was. There's no such thing as trails there, really. And if there was trails, it was just like no, we're going to like make your life miserable by, you know, throwing a bunch of rocks and pebbles at you. But it was the heat and the, just the weather, like thunderstorms would come in. I'm like, oh my God, this is a great trail in West Yellowstone and let's keep going. And then, all of a sudden, there's this like big rumbling coming our way. I'm like, let's not. And then my fiance's like that's okay, we can go through it. I'm like I don't want to change my bearings.

Speaker 2: 31:29

And it's. We have a lot of that, but happened lately, towards the evening, as we get the thunderstorms and the hail and and that was when we were camping.

Speaker 2: 31:37

It was hail and rain and it looked like our campground looked like we got snowed on, but there is a lot of good trails in Denver, Um, so you'll definitely have a good time skating around here and, uh, there is a lot of um, what I say roller rinks here. We got roller rinks all over the place, so my son actually works at one too, so it'd be a if you want to come skate with us one night.

Speaker 3: 32:07

Oh man, that's my thing is, you know, I have adhd and that, yeah, I I don't know what it is, but like skating in circles for me, for, like you know over and over again, I'm like I'm so bored and I cannot do the dances. I can't do the dances in like one little small section. I'm like I gotta go skate for like ever with like different landscapes around me. I don't know what it is Like, I'm just like. I'll go skate for like maybe 10 minutes on a roller rink and then I'm good.

Speaker 2: 32:38

Yeah, that's the other nice thing is, um, one of my biggest things when I was working out, cause I skated when I was younger, had a long hiatus because I was told that skating was childish and I need to stop. Had a long hiatus because I was told that skating was childish and I needed to stop. And then picked it up again and there's no turning back. But just five minutes on a treadmill and I'm like all right, I'm done, but I can skate for three or four hours without even thinking about it. So it makes it nice. It's good cardio and I don't think people realize that how many calories you can burn and have fun at the same time. Cardio, and I don't think people realize that?

Speaker 1: 33:10

how many?

Speaker 2: 33:11

calories you can burn and have fun at the same time, because everybody puts exercise and and cardio as as a chore, not fun exactly.

Speaker 3: 33:18

You know, if I go 30 miles, my watch tells me you just burn like 2,000 calories.

Speaker 2: 33:22

I'm like, oh my god it is nice to burn that many calories. So now are you like sticking to some kind of like eating regimen? While you're doing this Because I know, skating as much as you are a day, you're going to want to stick to some kind of special eating and not get too far off track like ice cream.

Speaker 3: 33:41

So yep, you know the thing is, when you start working out so much, you're like you just eat everything and you just eat a ton. And you know like, well, it's weird because usually after like a 30 mile skate, I'm like I don't want to eat anything. Everything sounds gross to me. And then later I'm like I am starving. Give me everything, I don't care what it is, you know. So I got to like calm that so our go-to. If we just don't want to cook because it becomes hard, we skate in like super hardcore heat and then we are like okay, we gotta go to our campsite, get our tent set up, which takes a while, get our dog set up, get the food set up, get well, first, before that get the grill set up, all of this. So it's like it's a process and by the time you're so tired.

Speaker 3: 34:28

So you're like, okay, I need to make sure we get veggies in lots of protein carbs. Some people are like, don't eat carbs, it's the devil. Like, no, you got to eat those carbs, especially if you're like an endurance athlete. Panda express is our friend and usually within panda express is it is the best like type of fast food place to go to that you can get proper protein carbs and, um, you know, your veggies and especially your fats. So usually what I get at panda express is like I double up, like I'll get like the like the bigger plate and I will double up on the teriyaki chicken. I'll get super greens, a lot of it, and then I'll get some rice and that is just like my go-to. And it's funny when I, whenever I skate so long like I could eat Panda Express all the time but, if I don't work out, I'm like I don't want Panda Express, I want a steak, I want something else.

Speaker 3: 35:34

But when my body's in survival mode, it's like no Panda Express, yeah.

Speaker 2: 35:40

Nice. Now, do you use supplements at all too, like multivitamin or anything I do?

Speaker 3: 35:47

So usually before a skate I take ashwagandha or adrenal actually not or both. Adrenal and ashwagandha basically help with the stressors within my body, so it helps during the skate and because you're putting your body through so much stress.

Speaker 3: 36:04

So, that helps calm and alleviate. You know all of that. And then I take fish oil and then, uh, for all the ladies out there, this is I do take prenatal. Some people are like, oh, you're trying to get pregnant. No, it just has everything that a woman needs. Um, instead of buying so like so many different expensive stuff that you can easily get in a prenatal from, like vitamin D, vitamin K, it even has like a couple of adrenals. No, I think it has ashwagandha in it. And if so many other like you know things that a woman needs, especially iron, so I take that.

Speaker 3: 36:43

And then I feel like I'm missing another one probiotic because my, my tummy, it and gosh, I feel like I missed. Oh, vitamin d and vitamin k, I do take that too. Um, yeah, and then, before escape, I do take that's this one. It's actually a caffeine pill and this actually makes a huge difference. In the beginning, some people are like, why would you take a caffeine pill? Just drink coffee or tea? I'm like, I don't like coffee, I love tea, but that doesn't help to. You know, build the proper your workout too, or especially during um your workout, to just improve what you know, your endurance or the workout that you're doing so that and then, yeah, that's kind of a supplement I take.

Speaker 2: 37:41

No protein powders or anything to protein powders.

Speaker 3: 37:45

Um, I do take uh ancient nutrition bone broth, bone broth protein after my workouts, and that's usually about 25 grams of protein afterwards. That's the amount that I need for my body, and the reason why it's bone broth is because it's literally the only one that I could find on the market that didn't have dairy in it.

Speaker 2: 38:08

Because you're lactose intolerant, yeah, so what kind of protein do you use then? Do you use like a plant protein then, or?

Speaker 3: 38:16

it's the yeah, the ancient nutrition bone broth protein okay, so it definitely is one that's really helped me out, especially um post-workout. And you know, once I drink that protein I make make sure to get in like some good, like, you know, chicken, like whole foods and stuff. You know, especially veggies. I always make sure that I have to have veggies and I've always told my fiance this because he would never get veggies when we go to Panda Express. Now he's like I need veggies. I'm like good good.

Speaker 2: 38:51

Are there any? Are there any foods that you avoid besides lactose, like any vegetables that you avoid, that that interfere with your performance at all?

Speaker 3: 38:57

um, not really. I mean veggies per se, no, um, but there are other like type of types of food that I can't have, for example, um, like, everybody I know tends to go to eggs for protein, so I'm allergic to eggs as well, so I can't have eggs. Um, so we even have to look in the ingredients on like, for example, bread, excuse me, and so we always look at sourdough bread. Sourdough bread, like it's very natural and it depends on how it was made, and it usually it doesn't have, like some of them, sourdough breads don't have eggs in it, so that makes a huge difference. Another thing is I can't have is it poppy seeds Something? Oh, my God, I gotta remember all these things. Let's see casein. I don't know if it's casein or casein, but it's basically in a protein.

Speaker 2: 39:58

It's a milk protein. It's a byproduct of milk.

Speaker 3: 40:01

so yeah, so I can't have that. That is the one main thing that wrecks me. Let's see, I feel like I'm forgetting one major thing I can't have yeast.

Speaker 2: 40:13

Okay.

Speaker 3: 40:13

Um, yeah, that's one thing that really that has a really weird effect on me. It actually screws up my brain a little bit, from what I've noticed, and it makes me feel, for one, really tired too, like I feel like I'm drunk, it's like I can't think or like I'll have like a moment where I'm like on it, I'm very on it, and then when I have yeast, I just am the complete opposite. So, oh, and another thing I take is actually especially in the mornings is and I put it within my tea, and I have peppermint tea to help with my digestion, whatever I'm eating breakfast, which is usually oatmeal, and I have my peppermint tea with L-theanine.

Speaker 2: 41:01

I'm saying it wrong?

Speaker 3: 41:02

yes, thank you, and it's. It's in calm, it's in that brand calm with magnesium and and that stuff helps me out so much throughout the day. And then at the end of the day I have Calming not the magnesium yet, but I have the tea and it's like sleepy time tea. It's got like chamomile, lemongrass, a few other things in it and then I add in magnesium into it and that helps my muscles just rejuvenate and to kind of calm and just to ease in to get a better sleep in the night. So yeah, it's kind of my regimen.

Speaker 2: 41:42

There you go. So now with with going to each city that you stop in, are you having like?

Speaker 3: 41:48

are like demonstrations or any, or like speaking out when you're in town then, or is it just skating through and the main goal is to talk with families and survivors and of MMIP, you know, affected by MMIP, though Patagonia has sponsored us and they have been helping us out with different events along the way and, for example, we had an event in Missoula and in Dillon, montana, that Patagonia put up, you know, put together for us to where you know it, brought in families who had, you know, lost a loved one or they went missing or they were murdered, and they're indigenous individual. So I was able to talk to them, um, listen to their stories, cause the thing about this is, you know, a lot of people see this as, oh, it's just roller skating, but it's not. You know, this is my mission is to talk to these families. My mission is to talk to these families. My mission is to listen to them, to bring awareness out there, because nobody really cares to listen to it.

Speaker 3: 42:56

And I've come across a few folks already who are just not understanding what we're doing and they're like, oh, that's cute, you're doing it on skates. I'm like, no, it actually hurts, it's not cute, it hurts. No, it actually hurts, it's not cute, it hurts. And then they're like, well, like what's the big deal with what you're doing? Like, why are you doing it? It doesn't make sense, kind of attitude. And I'm like I start to talk a little bit more about it and they start to realize like, oh, this is actually kind of big, like, yes, trying to make it big so we can get the voices of these families who've been silenced out there.

Speaker 3: 43:31

And we did do this, something similar, back in 2021, where I roller skated 192 miles across the Navajo nation and it did bring attention. You know there was a documentary created out of it by Brute and you know it went global, but I feel like there was not enough attention on it, that it needed to, you know, to get, and especially with the families, like I feel like it's just I needed to do more. So that's why this tour was created. So, within each event that I do, I like to talk to people affected by MMIP or even like want to know more about it. And you know, you know, basically skating, yes, it's for health, wellness and healing. It is a tool, but I do want, you know, the main mission is to talk, socialize and to bring awareness and education to folks.

Speaker 2: 44:30

Yeah, because I think it was day 16, and it was Montana. You were talking about a lady that you met. I want to say it had to do with her getting hit by a car someone getting hit by a car, and can you talk about that a little bit? Yeah. Kind of get a different audience for it.

Speaker 3: 44:50

So people are aware yeah, so this is um. It's hashtag, micah matters. Her mom is trying really hard, um, to get this out there and to talk more about it, and her mom has been advocating the heck out of this case because her daughter was hit by a non-native woman with, while her, this woman's two kids were in the back seat, and the thing about this was, you know, micah was her name and she was killed instantly and this woman just left the scene, just took off and, of course, she was arrested, but she was released and the system cared more about child endangerment more than what happened to micah. So the mom really had to push and push the system to be like we need. Like. This is my daughter. Someone was killed, you know, during this entire thing. You guys are trying to ignore it, so it wasn't taken seriously by the system, but this is just one case out of thousands out there that are just not taken seriously. Who knows? A lot of these cases are very shady. I have partnered with Okomi Forensics, which is an indigenous nonprofit based out of Missoula, montana, and they're very familiar with this case and they actually help out within the forensic investigation process of these cases and I am so thankful because there are a lot of again, shady excuse my language shit that happens within these cases that you know.

Speaker 3: 46:32

Within these you know especially cold cases because they turn a lot of these cases from like the 80s turn into these cold cases because they don't, they can't find enough evidence. But if you look at cases in Hardin Montana, that is like there's so many of them, so many young women that went missing. Then all of a sudden they're found in someone's backyard for days and then the coroner, you know, rules it as, oh, she just died of hypothermia but really she had, like you know, different markings on her face or strangulation markings. And people are like what really happened? The coroner's like, oh, she died, you know, just because you know of hypothermia, that's how she died. Like, no, there's really more of this that happened. So that coroner rewards the family to cremate her body, and so basically a lot of beliefs, like especially cultural beliefs within the Indigenous population, is that you don't cremate the body and every tribe has their different traditions of what they do with their loved one.

Speaker 3: 47:38

So usually the families like to be informed before an autopsy is created or even done. But a lot of times these investigators on these cases will just ignore the families and do it without their consent. And so, given this case, they went ahead and cremated the body, which was a huge no-no, but a lot of people are speculating that it had something to do with, like, oh, trying to cover up, you know, whatever evidence was on the body. And then the families just found out that that jaw, actually of that on that case was just released to the family, of that on that case was just released to the family. So that victim, which I want to say her name, is Sarah Stops, pretty Places. That is literally her name.

Speaker 3: 48:23

This case was happening in Hardin Montana and her jaw was just released back to the families and the families did not know that her jaw was missing. So that's one example. Micah, also within Missoula Montana, that's another case. There's so many different cases that are not getting out there and that are not getting attention, and that's why this grassroots movement exists, that's why there's activists that come out there and are like I'm going to be on the front lines, I'm going to put my face out there and going to try to do whatever we can to get these families the voice that they deserve.

Speaker 2: 49:04

And the nice thing with us being part of a skating community you're going to get the support from the skating community and it doesn't matter what ethnicity we are, our backgrounds we're all going to support you and and and go with you along this movement too. So thank you, yeah, that means a lot but so now you're in Jackson hole Wyoming tonight, Right, and then are you planning? You were talking about one more skate tomorrow possibly, but the smoke's killing you, so yeah, air quality man.

Speaker 2: 49:39

Yeah, I'm from California and there was like several years where California was just on fire and air quality was horrible, so I completely understand, and also having a son that suffers from bad asthma, it can be devastating. So. But so what are your plans Like after this skate is done? After this you're finished with this skate to bring awareness? What are future plans as far as skating and bringing more awareness?

Speaker 3: 50:10

Um, you know, that's one thing that my fiance, Nate, and I have talked about, and he's got some goals that I'm like.

Speaker 3: 50:16

You know he's like I got this idea that we can do after the tour. I'm like, let's hear it. You know, and he's you know. So, professionally, outside of skating, I, uh, work in victim or worked in victim assistance for 15 years, and that stemmed from non-profits, from community-based victim assistance agencies, as well as to system-based agencies, from like the federal government, and I used to train law enforcement to special agents, to attorneys, about victim assistance.

Speaker 3: 50:46

One thing that I see lacking within the system is how you know folks do not know how to work with MMIP cases and how they don't know how to work with families, and that also includes being culturally competent and being culturally sensitive, and that's where I want to come in and create my own training and my own curriculum to help these folks to understand these cases better and to work better with these families, because if they don't have that knowledge base, then these cases are just going to go again back into being a cold case, and that is not what we need and that is not what the families need, because for so long the families have been, they're so used to people quitting on them or people not giving them the truth, the truthful and honest information that they deserve to hear. So my thing is to, you know, stick, stand up and do something about it, and to actually say something and be like I want to train you folks on how to do this, this, this. So that's where you know I'm actually getting included on these conferences to come in and talk about my story as a survivor of domestic violence, generational trauma as well as you know, talking about, okay, domestic violence, sexual assault, like let's talk about the stats, let's talk about how to respond to victims, you know, within domestic violence, sexual violence and so forth and so forth, and also let's talk about MMIP cases. So that's one thing I'm working on, or my fiance and I are working on, and in the future too, to continue to be a motivational and professional speaker. And I do want to also talk to youth, which I love doing.

Speaker 3: 52:31

I love talking to youth about skating and, you know, creating tutorials, maybe on YouTube and just saying this is how you like trail skate or this is what you bring with you when you're trail skating. Let's talk about nutrition. So there's a lot of great things that I can see coming out of this and starting, starting, and within this tour as well, we are. You know, a documentary is going to be created out of it and we're hoping that you know some big I don't know what you call it entertainment and something.

Speaker 3: 53:05

I have a lot of experience within this area but you know someone picks up, like Netflix or something, so we're trying really hard for it to push us out there to. You know, for MMIP, for to bring awareness and education of it and what it takes for someone to just put on, you know, do it in a very unique way, putting on roller skates and roller skating across the nation to do it.

Speaker 2: 53:27

Yeah, so maybe next time just get a group and we'll get a whole group together and skate across the nation. I'll probably be too old by then, but I don't know if my knee is going to be able to handle it. So, um, would you be willing, like after the documentary comes out, to come back on and discuss the documentary, and I'll I'll watch it before we get on and discuss it.

Speaker 2: 53:49

But so, but, yeah, it's, it's just it's just cool that that you have a documentary coming out about your whole entire Now do you have a film crew that you're working with? Are they going along with you, or is it just you and your fiance filming stuff?

Speaker 3: 54:04

Yeah, so it's my fiance and I just filming stuff right now. And we have a producer right now who does country music videos and stuff from Nashville, tennessee, and he's amazing and he's been. You know, he was one person who like just put, you know, after I lost my job, he was, like you know, gave us words of wisdom and was like you've got this. Still you are just pushing through like something great's going to happen out of this and you know he's been helping us and coordinating everything or how to organize everything of all of our filming and that has helped us out significantly and significantly. I can't even say that word right now. You know what I mean. Yeah and um. So he's wanting to come out when we're closer to the east coast and do more interviews and stuff.

Speaker 3: 54:53

And we do have some cool plans for it and it's just, you know, we're hoping that it just goes big and that we just, you know, not for me to get a bit of space, but I want, you know, the voices to be heard. You know these families and victims and survivors that's one thing is, I hope, to meet more survivors and victims and family members along the way, to just bring forward what they're doing and to post flyers. You know that was one thing I couldn't do with. My previous job was post flyers Cause you know it had to do with MMIP cases that we were working on at times. So like no, you can't help them, help them with posting flyers. But now I can.

Speaker 3: 55:30

Yeah, so I'm like, give me those flyers and I will just post them up everywhere. So I'm like give me those flyers and I will just post them up everywhere. So, and I will only do that with, like, families who want, you know, that, that information out there, because there's some family members who are like, no, don't do that. You know, we want to keep it within our community and that's it Like okay, I respect that.

Speaker 2: 55:51

So, yeah, I didn't even know what MMIP was until I started following you.

Speaker 2: 55:56

I didn't even know what MMIP was until I started following you and it was kind of when I saw the stories that you were telling and the skating I had to have you on.

Speaker 2: 56:03

And I basically started this podcast because I was at work one day and I did not. I could not find a good skating podcast and when you do find one, it usually sticks to one thing where we're covering quads and ice and skateboarding and inline, because I really feel that we're a community and we can work together as a community and I have guests coming on from all over the world set up for the future. So it's a. It's a good way to get out a message and I just don't want people to think that all I'm going to do is talk about skating and it's just going to be strictly skating, because you're on a mission and it's good to get your word out, especially to a different audience than you normally would just doing your skating for indigenous um, m, I, m, m, I, p. Hopefully I said that right and getting the message out there, and so it gives you a broader horizon and more support that you probably normally wouldn't get if someone wasn't following you.

Speaker 3: 57:02

Yeah, I appreciate that yeah.

Speaker 2: 57:05

So well, thank you for coming on, and how do people follow you and get more involved with what you're doing?

Speaker 3: 57:13

Yeah, so I post a lot on my Instagram and literally you know it's daily recaps of you know what happened during the day and I am very transparent about it, so please feel free to follow on instagram. And that's at skeet, underscore fighter um. Facebook at it's at skeet, under wait. Hang on facebook is at skeet fighter. And then tiktok. I I'm trying to do better on tick tock Um, cause there's like a whole indigenous, like you know, like huge thing on on tick tock, so I'm trying to like make sure I push it on there, um and that's at ski underscore fighter.

Speaker 3: 57:49

I'm on YouTube trying to do that as well, which is basically ski fighter, all things ski fighter. And we do have a goFundMe link and we are asking for donations to keep coming in. Um, and that is located on my um Instagram page and it's within the links. You'll find it within my bio and, yeah, everything's on Instagram.

Speaker 2: 58:15

And I definitely like to have you on at the end of your journey. So we can recap, because we're not even at a midpoint now, are we? We're like at maybe a quarter point.

Speaker 3: 58:24

So yeah, but have you.

Speaker 2: 58:28

Well, it depends upon how fast you're going on your skates. So, very true, yeah so. But thank you, I appreciate it and I can't wait to actually post this episode.

Speaker 3: 58:38

Awesome, I'm excited. I just felt the side of my face and I have a lot of dirt on my face. I think I have bugs on my face right now.

Speaker 2: 58:44

Well, it's not visible in the video. So you're good, okay, thank you, thank you.