The longer, less philosphical answer is this: “Roller Derby Saved My Soul” is the title of a song, recorded by Uncle Leon and the Alibis, that accidentally became kinda-sorta well-known among the world’s independent roller derby circuit.

"Roller Derby Saved My Soul" is now available as a FREE download! Click here to get it.

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Who are you?

The Roller Derby Saved My Soul site is owned and operated by Eight Wheel Industries, a Brooklyn, NY-based company run by Leon Chase—better known to most of the roller derby world as “Uncle Leon”.

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Are you the guy who sang the song?

Yup. Leon Chase wrote it, sang it, and recorded it in 2006 with Uncle Leon and the Alibis.

"Roller Derby Saved My Soul" is now available as a FREE download! Click here to get it.

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Are you part of a larger company?

No. Eight Wheel Industries consists of one guy, “Uncle” Leon Chase, with occasional help from a few independent contractors. It is not owned by anyone else, and not affiliated with any other company or group. We’re a small, self-taught, do-it-yourself organization. And so far, we like it that way.

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What is roller derby?

Roller derby is a rollerskate-based contact sport in which two opposing teams attempt to score points by passing each other in a set amount of time while skating around an oval track. Each team consists of three positions: A jammer, who scores points by passing every member of the other team; three blockers who, as a pack, attempt to impede the opposing jammer’s progress while assisting their own, and one pivot, who leads and sets the pace of the pack.

Roller derby was founded in America sometime in the 1920’s. Since then, it has undergone various incarnations and levels of popularity, often featuring paid professionals of both sexes. At many points—particularly in the 1970s—it existed more as a staged, pro-wrestling-style entertainment event than as any kind of real sport.

In the past few years, roller derby has experienced a major grassroots revival, led almost entirely by independent leagues of female amateurs, operating from a strong, punk rock-inspired “do-it-yourself” aesthetic. This most recent wave brought two important innovations: the introduction of “flat-track” rules, which eliminate the need for costly, specialized track construction and allow any roller rink or gymnasium to be easily converted for roller derby play; and the insistence that roller derby be played as a real, competitive contact sport, without the theatrical antics and predetermined outcomes favored by teams in past generations.

Ironically, even as this new breed of rollergirl has brought a new legitimacy to the actual sport, they have also inspired greater levels of affectation, including campy themed costumes, satirical player names, and a generally more outlandish look, influenced by punk, rockabilly, and fetish-gear styles. Most importantly, they tend to embrace a combination of indie self-reliance and third-wave feminism that has led to a literal explosion of leagues around the world.

As of May 2009, there are over 275 independent women’s roller derby leagues worldwide, 77 of which are official members of the Women’s Flat Track Derby Association.

For a more in-depth introduction to the history of roller derby, as well as it’s current rules, check out the official Roller Derby Wikipedia page.

For an animated video explaining how roller derby is played (and featuring some pretty good music), click here.

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What’s your policy on sizing?

We understand that roller derby is a real sport, played by real women. That means women of all sizes—including quite a few who don’t fit the narrow, unrealistic body standards constantly pushed on us by the mainstream fashion industry. Big, strong women are the foundation of any good roller derby team. So it only makes sense that we would do our best to keep them outfitted and looking good.

Don’t get us wrong—We love all those sleek little jammers out there too. But why should they be the only ones who are allowed to look stylish?

Unfortunately, the clothing industry is plagued with selective shaping and less-than-honest sizes. Every manufacturer has their own idea of what exactly “extra-large” means, and many refuse to make anything bigger than that. Some, such as American Apparel, carry the waif-bias to absurd lengths. It’s too bad—they make quality stuff, and we applaud their innovative labor practices. But after two weeks on tour, selling American Apparel-made clothes to a mostly roller-derby crowd, Uncle Leon decided he was done with them. When you have to stand there and tell a perfectly healthy, 5-foot-7 blocker that she needs a size 3XL just because she’s a little blessed up front, something’s not right. It’s bad for business, and it’s just plain wrong.

So now, for women’s clothing, we use only Bella products. They’re not perfect, but they seem to be the best of a shady bunch. A lot of roller derby leagues use Bella for their own clothing. And Bella has a decent reputation for being fairly true to size. It’s important to mention, though, that Bella’s contoured styles tend to be very form-fitting, and will lovingly hug every curve you’ve got. Some women love them for this very reason. Others can’t stand it. If you prefer a looser fit, we recommend that you order Bella tops one size larger than you would normally wear.

One bad thing about Bella: They do not offer underwear in any size higher than extra-large. And, as our own in-house big-butt consultant discovered, it’s not a particularly roomy extra-large.

As our business progresses, we hope to offer a more varied and (literally) wider selection of underwear. We’re currently on the lookout for a brand of good, stylish, print-friendly underwear that can accommodate some of our more robust customer’s most precious assets. If you have any underwear suggestions—or just want to comment on sizing in general—please contact us directly. This subject is extremely important to us, and we’d love to hear what you have to say about it.

For complete details about all our sizes, check out the sizing page.

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What's your return and exchange policy?

If a Roller Derby Saved My Soul product doesn't fit the way you like, we'll exchange it for a different size or color (when available), or an item of equal value. Or, if you're just not happy with what you got, you can return your purchase for a full refund.

In either case, the unwanted item must be mailed back to us within 30 days of delivery, in decent condition--No rips, holes, smells, or stains. (If the item arrived to you in bad physical condition, you'll have a chance to mention this on the return / exchange form.)

Once we receive the unwanted item, you will be reimbursed accordingly: For returns, we will electronically refund the entire amount to your credit card or PayPal account. For exchanges, the new item you requested will be sent to you at no extra cost.

To exchange or return a single item, please fill out our Return / Exchange Form.

For multiple returns or exchanges, please contact us for more details.

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The item I want is listed as "Out of Stock". What do I do?

The downside of being an tiny, home-grown company is that we don't have millions of shirts piled up in our warehouse. (In fact, we don't even have a warehouse.) And sometimes it might be weeks before we get another order in.

If you demand instant gratification, your best bet is to look for another similar on the site, maybe in a different color or style. But if you've got your heart set on a particular item, you can contact us and tell us exactly what you're looking for and, at the very least, we'll let you know when we'll have more of them available.

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My league wants to buy a whole bunch of shirts.
Can you cut us a deal?

You betcha. Anyone interested in purchasing more than ten items at a time should contact us with their numbers and sizing requirements, and we’ll be happy to work out a customized bulk rate.

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What kind of payment do you accept?

We accept Visa, MasterCard, American Express, and Discover cards, as well as direct payments from your PayPal account.

All financial transactions are automatically handled by our secure Eight Wheel Industries PayPal page.

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Why do you only accept payments through your PayPal page?

This web site is brand new. And, while we think it looks pretty spiffy, there are inevitably going to be a few bugs to work out. If that means that, once in a while, we have to resize a picture or fix a bad link, then so be it. But when it comes to your private financial information, we don’t want to mess around. Ever.

So, rather than risk any potential danger to your credit card numbers on our site, we let PayPal’s famously secure servers do all the hard work for us. When you shop on our site, our online shopping cart will guide you through your purchases and collect your customer and shipping information. Then, when it’s time to pay, you will be automatically directed to our secure PayPal page. Once your secure electronic payment is made, a confirmation e-mail will be sent, and you will be automatically redirected back to our web site. It’s safe, it’s easy, and it works every time.

For much more information about PayPal’s security services—and about online security in general—click here.

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I don’t have a PayPal account. Can I still pay you through your page?

No problem. When you check out of our online shopping cart, you will be automatically redirected to the secure Eight Wheel Industries PayPal page.

On the bottom left-hand side of the page, look for the section labeled “Don’t have a PayPal account?” and click the link marked “Continue”.

From there, you will be allowed to enter your credit card information using PayPal’s secure servers and complete your purchase. At no time will you be required to join, sign in, or otherwise participate in PayPal’s program, unless you choose to do so.

Once your purchase is complete, you will be automatically returned to our web site.

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Once I make a purchase, what happens to my personal information?

That’s entirely up to you. Just before you check out of our online shopping cart, you will be given the option to “Remember me”. If you check that box, your customer details (Name, address, phone number, and e-mail) will be saved for your next visit, and will automatically show up in your shopping cart the next time you buy something.

If you do not check that box, your information will be deleted from our site after checkout.

Note: You must have “accept cookies” enabled on your browser to use this feature.

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Once I make a purchase, what do you do with my financial information?

We never see it. When you check out, we ask only for your name, address, phone number and email. During your purchase, your credit card numbers are entered (and protected) on PayPal’s secure site, not ours.

Once you’ve made a purchase, we receive a notification with your name, contact information, and the items you ordered. Never, at any time, are your credit card numbers visible to us or stored anywhere on our site.

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If I buy something, are you going to start e-mailing me all the time?

Only if you ask us to. We hate unwanted e-mails, and we don’t think that any of our customers should have to put up with them either.

Just before you check out of our online shopping cart, you will be given the option to “Allow Promotional Emails”. If you check this box, your e-mail address will be added to our confidential list, and you may receive occasional e-mails from us regarding specials, customer feedback, or assorted site-related promotions. If you do not check this box, you will only receive e-mails regarding the purchase you just made. You will never receive any promotional e-mails from our site. Ever.

And if you get on the mailing list and then decide you can’t stand us, just e-mail us back with the heading “Take me off your list” and we’ll do it. For real.

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Are you going to share my customer information with anyone else?

Nope. Your name, address, and contact information will be kept strictly confidential. Always. We will never sell, offer, or give it away to anyone else. Not even if your mother calls looking for you. Sorry, mom.

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Do you sell your clothing in stores?

At this time, Roller Derby Saved My Soul clothes are available only on this site. If you have a store and are interested in carrying our stuff, contact us.

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Can my roller derby league use the song “Roller Derby Saved My Soul” at our bout?

Unless you behave like a real jackass, we tend to grant free use of the song to any non-commercial group who asks. (Though it is always nice—and more legal—if you ask first.)

As long as you’re not selling copies of the song, claiming you wrote it, or using it in a movie or broadcast without the proper licensing, we’re all for it. If you’re interested in using it (free or otherwise), please contact us directly for details.

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Can I use the song “Roller Derby Saved My Soul” in my video?

That depends on what you do with the video. If it’s going straight to Myspace or YouTube, it’s probably fine. But if you want to use the song in a movie, broadcast it on TV, put it on a commercially available DVD, or otherwise sell it in any way, you need our permission. Either way, it’s a good idea to contact us and ask first.

That said, please don’t let all the legal talk scare you. In the past, we’ve been very generous about granting free permission for a wide variety of uses, including league videos, television broadcasts, and even a documentary film. For a complete rundown of all the crazy places “Roller Derby Saved My Soul” has shown up, check out our Media page.

And again, if you want to use the song for any purpose, the best thing to do is just ask.

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Still got a question? Contact us directly and we'll do our best to answer it.

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