Teams

Frank U!

Garage Headquarters: Tampa, FL

Driver: A. Brooke Haller

Mechanics: Jasmine Camacho, Charles Fair, Kelli Vernsey, Rich Vernsey

Nuts and Bolts:

The members of Team Frank U have two passions in common: a love of roller derby and a love of flamingos – especially flamingos named Frank. “All of the girls on our Soapbox team currently play flat track roller derby for the Tampa Bay Derby Darlins,” says A. Brooke Haller, who goes by the name of Spank Sinatra on the track. “Frank, our mascot, is a blow-up flamingo.” She goes on to reveal that in addition to participating in their all-female, unrehearsed, full-contact sport (and working at daytime jobs in fields like real estate and dentistry), the Darlins sponsor a flamingo at the local zoo: “We adoringly named her Frank after our mascot.”

And now, thanks to Brooke and her teammates Jasmine “Barbie Bash-em-Up” Camacho and Kelli “Mae Lest” Vernsey (as well as devoted fans Charles Fair and Rich Vernsey), another Frank has come into the world – this one’s big, made of steel and fiberglass, and perches on wheels instead of spindly legs. “In Atlanta, we plan on kicking ass and taking names!” Brooke declares, sounding more like her alter ego Spank Sinatra than the mild-mannered GIS specialist she plays by day. But it’s no empty boast: Last year the Derby Darlins took a team to the Red Bull Flugtag human-powered aircraft competition, and their effort with a giant roller-skate plane captured the coveted People’s Choice Award. During a break from practice at the Darlins’ home track of USA’s Skateplex in Temple Terrace, Florida, a mellower Brooke acknowledges, “Above all, what the race really means to us is that we’ll have an amazing time, meet some great folks, and enjoy a two-month-long build process that culminates with an unforgettable weekend. Hey, you only live once, right?”