It was a television program that gave her the idea.
It was a friend that gave her the opportunity.
"I was telling a friend that I watched this special on A&E about roller derby," said Disco Bliss. "And she said, 'I'm doing roller derby!' And that was it."
Bliss, which is, of course, her derby name, said skating in the now two-year-old Salt City Derby Girls league has transformed her life in ways she never expected.
"I was self-conscious at first," she said. "But you start feeling strong and confident pretty fast. For a lot of these girls, it's the first time they've felt sexy."
And what girl wouldn't feel sexy working up a sweat attempting to blast her best friends out of bounds in fishnet stockings and miniskirt?
Seriously, these women feel tough and sexy, and that's one of the most attractive aspects of the league to the hundreds of people who come watch their bouts at the Olympic speedskating oval in Kearns.
Salt City Derby Girls gives women the chance to be competitive in a way that few ever considered. The league is made up of five teams, four regular squads — Sisters of No Mercy, Leave It to Cleavers, Bomber Babes and Death Dealers — as well as an all-star team, the Shakers.
Many of the women currently in the league were not athletes before they laced up with the Derby Girls.
"Some have never done sports in their life," said Bliss, who is also the league's compliance chairman. "It's my job to deal with any issue that arises between the girls."
And while each woman loves different aspects of the experience, there is one thing that all of them feel good about.
Salt City Derby Girls is a league created and run by the women it serves. They own it; they pay for it; they make all of the decisions.
"It makes you feel special to be a part of it," said Bliss, who is 28. "It's a growing opportunity for women."
The opportunities provided by the sport range from exercise to socializing.
Bliss said she's lost 20 pounds since she began skating with the Derby Girls, and she said it's not just the exercise that encourages participants to slim down.
"I think a lot of it has to do with the positive atmosphere," she said. "Everyone is very open-minded, accepting and supportive. Whatever you are out in the world, none of that matters here. It's hard in life, in general, to be yourself. But not here."
It's also not hard to let an alter ego take over.
All of the women choose derby names, and, in fact, at a tryout last month, many of the hopefuls showed up at the track with a name before they'd even done anything on skates.
"I wanted to pick a name (first) because I think it gave me a little more confidence," said Ashley Moosman, 26, who recently made the squads after the July 28 tryout. "I'm very excited. ... I think my name will be Ashes to Ashes, but there is a derby registry. I didn't know that, but there is."
She said she admires the women who've built the league from the ground up so women like her can hop on board.
"It's fun to see the people who have the ambition to actually do something like this," said the interior designer.
Why choose roller derby when searching for a hobby?
"I've always loved skating," Moosman said. "But I didn't play sports, and I probably haven't been on skates since I was a teenager.
"I just really wanted to challenge myself," Moosman said. She got the call a day after the tryouts and said she was thrilled. She showed up at practice just to watch her future teammates scrimmage.
"It was really nerve-racking waiting for that call," she said. "But I made it. Now I'll go from there."
There are various levels of competition for those who make one of Salt City's four teams. They skate against each other in scrimmages at Taylorsville Recreation Center and also in regular bouts at the Utah Olympic Oval in Kearns.
In addition to that, there is an all-star team, the Shakers, which skates against teams from around the country. Bliss is on that squad, which will square off against Colorado's Pikes Peak Derby Dames on Saturday, Sept. 8, at the Oval.
The bouts attract standing-room-only crowds, and the Salt City Derby Girls sell T-shirts and other souvenirs, as well as concessions. There is even a party bus that picks fans up at a downtown bar and drives them to and from the bout. The crowds range from families and friends of the skaters to fans of the sport, which really is an experience unlike any other.
The bouts, even the scrimmages, feature announcers Lulu Garou and Johnny Crass. They began announcing for the league when their friend, Brew HaHa, who skates for the Sisters of No Mercy and the Shakers, asked them if they'd be interested.
Garou said they had voice skills and equipment so they jumped on board. Crass said his most important qualification for the job was, "I am a loud-mouthed -----."
The duo see the job as part promotion — it is still a growing endeavor; part explanation — many people in the crowd don't know the rules of roller derby; and entertainment — they provide the comic relief when tempers start to flair.
"I'm the good guy," explains Garou. There isn't really play-by-play calling, as both announcers are careful not to give away floor positions to players in the bout.
Crass is definitely the edgier part of the act, but they both said their goal is to make the experience enjoyable for all.
"We try to pump up the skaters and the crowd by being as positive as we can," said Garou.
Crass said people are surprised when he tells new acquaintances what he does in his spare time.
"They respond with, 'Wow, they still do that? That sounds like fun,"'he said. "Chicks getting violent — you don't have that in every sport."
Asked whether men come to the bouts because of the sexy attire or the athletic skill of the skaters, Crass quickly said it's a combination of the two.
"It doesn't hurt to have hot women in fishnet tights," he said. "Women are interested in it because it's women who own this sport."
Like many of the Derby Girls, Garou and Crass have never had much of an interest when it comes to mainstream sports. Although Crass said he pays a lot more attention to play calling and commentators when he watches sports nowadays.
Both are excited to see the growing interest in the Salt City Derby Girls.
"Last bout we had about 1,000 people there," she said. "I think audiences like that it's homegrown. It's a truly unusual sport. These are true athletes, but they're sexy. Its serious and very fun."
Each of the teams has a following, but the die-hard fans appreciate all of the players — regardless of squads. Maybe that's because, unlike other athletes, these women pay to play.
In addition to monthly dues, they buy hundreds of dollars in equipment and pay for their travel.
Although Bliss said one of the most endearing aspects of roller derby is that, because leagues in other states were created by women just like themselves, they can always rely on derby girls in other cities to help them out with a place to stay, a ride or a meal.
The team recently ponied up a little extra money to hire speedskating coach Eric Kraan to help them with technique and strategy.
"I did a clinic for them, and then in February of this year, they said, 'We're looking for a coach.' They give me a little money, and it is a lot of fun to do," said Kraan, who trains skaters for international competitions, including the Olympics.
"The skate is somewhat similar," he said. "But I put on skates with them one day and got a crash course in roller skating."
He said the small wheelbase of roller skates makes keeping your balance while others are pushing and shoving unbelievably hard to do.
"They are a great bunch of girls, and they work hard. They're not full-time athletes, but they do give it a lot of effort," he said.
He's also come to admire their entrepreneurial spirit.
"It was very eye opening," he said. "They do everything themselves — promotions, schedules, everything. It's amazing to see how hard they work so they can play and make this successful."
Bliss said her job on the board, as well as practicing as a skater, takes up 20 hours a week. But it is worth every minute, she said.
"It's changed my life," she said.
E-mail: adonaldson@desnews.com