name: Jori (Hämäläinen, but i prefer not to use my last name in derby
pronouns: he/him
years coaching: On my 9th season in derby, 7th season coaching the All-Stars. Holy shit I’m old!
teams/leagues: Helsinki All-Stars, Helsinki Roller Derby
position: Head coach
likes: Food, coffee, dogs & cats, skating, space, puns & bad jokes, sunsets, summer, PNW, love songs, road trips
dislikes: Early mornings, being hungry, Trump, high places,
skate set up: Just my skateboard; Real skateboard, Ace trucks, Spitfire/Bones wheels
gear of choice: Steaks shinguards have saved my life!
how did you get into derby? Saw my cousin doing derby in FB, went to see a game, got hooked right away.
best derby memory? Has to be Big O 2017, game against Rat City. Always loved their gameplay and how they adapt to your game. This is when we won them for the first time. That had been a big goal for me for years. I cried. Also the time Tush crowd surfed in our bus. Didn’t cry.
what do you do other than derby? Try to skateboard, drive around in our T3, and pile up bad jokes in my phone’s notes. Stare at the moon through a telescope.
anything else we should know? Bananas.
FOLLOW JORI
