What Roller Derby Taught Me About Having People's Backs
BY THE AGENCY AUSTIN - BETH ROUNTREE
Long before I became a real estate advisor, I was Knottie Knoxville of the TXRD Hellcats, one of Austin's local competitive roller derby teams.
Honestly, it was a long time coming. I was always a rough-and-tumble tomboy. I grew up skateboarding with the guys, riding BMX bikes, and getting into anything physical I could find. I was a roller skater as a kid, and for years pretty much every birthday was spent at the skating rink. When I was about nine and didn't have weights, I lifted my TV. That part of me was there long before roller derby had a name for it.
Then one night I saw Rollergirls on A&E, turned to my husband, and said, "That's me. I want to do that."
There wasn't any hesitation. I knew. I waited about six months for tryouts, got picked to train, and got drafted to the Hellcats. Knottie Knoxville was born.
And apparently, that confused people.
Off the track, I was the person helping people, taking care of my teammates, and making sure everyone was okay. On the track? People feared me. I was a jammer and third blocker known for my elbow blocks. And when I hit, I hit hard. I owe the power in those elbows to my Krav Maga training. People used to say hitting me was like hitting a refrigerator or running into a wall.
Back then, I heard some version of this phrase more than once: "You're normally so nice, but you're so fierce when you're on the track."
To me, those things were never opposites. I was never fierce just for the sake of being fierce. I was fiercely protective of my teammates.
It's My Job to Take Care of My People
As a blocker, my job was pretty simple: protect my jammer, shut down the opposing team, and get them the hell out of the way.
But good roller derby wasn't just about hitting hard. You had to pay attention. You had to know where your teammates were, anticipate what was coming, recognize an opening and react quickly. You had to communicate. You had to trust the people around you. And you had to understand that what you did affected everybody else on that track.
I took that seriously. If somebody needed me to hold a position, I held it. If my jammer needed an opening, I made one. If somebody was coming for one of my people, I intercepted. That was my job.
Looking back, I realize that's still a pretty good description of how I'm wired.
If Something Doesn't Make Sense, I Can't Let It Go
That wiring shows up in real estate in a specific way. If something in a transaction doesn't make sense to me, I have a really hard time just letting it go. I ask questions. If the answer creates another question, I ask that one too. I'm not going to assume something is okay simply because everyone else in the room seems comfortable with it.
And sometimes that means telling a client something they don't necessarily want to hear. Maybe I don't love something about a house they love. Maybe I think we need more information before moving forward. Sometimes it's as simple as, "Something about this doesn't sit right with me. Let's figure it out."
Caring about someone is exactly what makes you willing to say that out loud. I'm not interested in creating conflict for the sake of it. But I'm not afraid of an uncomfortable conversation when my client's interests are involved, and when things get complicated, I will not disappear.
You Have to See What's Coming
Roller derby moves fast. There isn't time to stop everything and have a meeting about what everybody should do next. You learn to read the track, anticipate what's developing, and make decisions while everything around you is moving.
Real estate can feel surprisingly similar. A transaction has a whole lot of moving pieces and people, and things change. Problems surface. New information comes in. My clients shouldn't have to figure out how all of those pieces fit together. That's my job. I want to catch a developing issue before it becomes their problem, ask the question nobody else has asked yet, and know what matters, what doesn't, and what we need to do next.
Community Was Everything
For all the intensity on the track, some of my strongest memories of roller derby are about the people. TXRD brought together wildly different personalities and created a community where individuality wasn't something you had to tone down. You could be exactly who you were.
A team didn't work because everybody was alike. It worked because everybody brought something different and trusted one another enough to use those differences together.
That has stayed with me. I'm an Austin native, and I've watched this city grow, change, and reinvent itself. What I've always loved about Austin is its personality: the people, neighborhoods, businesses and communities that don't fit neatly into a box. I don't think people should have to fit into one either.
Real estate is personal. The right home, neighborhood, investment, or decision isn't going to look the same for everybody. My job is to understand what matters to the person standing in front of me and help them make the decision that's right for their life.
I Still Have My People's Backs
I don't wear skates to work these days. But Knottie Knoxville didn't exactly disappear. The intensity is still there. So is the loyalty. So is the instinct to pay attention, protect my people, anticipate what's coming, and make some room when something is standing between them and where they're trying to go. There are just fewer elbow blocks involved now.
Roller derby showed me what happens when people genuinely know someone has their back. That's what I want my clients to know, too. You should know who is beside you. You should know they're paying attention. You should know they'll tell you the truth. And you should know they're ready to fight for you like it's personal.
Because to me, it is.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Mary Beth "Beth" Rountree is an Austin native and real estate advisor with The Agency Austin. A former TXRD Hellcat known on the track as Knottie Knoxville, Beth brings the same loyalty, awareness and fierce protectiveness she once brought to her teammates to the clients she represents today. Reach out to Beth.
