Blood on the track: The early days of Roller Derby in Austin, as captured in Hell on Wheels. Credit: Image Courtesy of IndiePix/Crashcam Films

Welcome to Now Streaming in Austin, highlighting locally made titles to watch while self-quarantining.
No one has ever accused Austin of being a big sports town. It’s a dissident town, a punk rock town. So it makes sense that its biggest contribution to sports is punk AF.

In 2001, a group of Austin women got together and kicked life back into the dying sport, and nearly two decades later it has gone from a weird idea to the fastest-growing sport on the planet, and a standout example of one run and played almost exclusively by women.

But it wasn’t all smooth rolling, and by sheer luck Austin filmmaker Bob Ray happened to be on-hand to chronicle the early days of modern Roller Derby in Austin – the bouts, the booze, the celebration, the broken bones and broken trusts – that lead to the city having two leagues: the flat-track Texas Rollergirls, and the banked track Texas Rollerderby.

So, this Tuesday night (July 14) at 8pm Central, we’ll be watching this underdog classic, and live-tweeting the action. Follow Chronicle screens editor (and former Roller Derby correspondent) Richard Whittaker on Twitter @YorkshireTX, and join in using the hashtag #NowStreamingInAustin.

Hell on Wheels

• Amazon Prime (Link)
• Indiepix (Link)
• Vimeo (Link)

Youtube video

Youtube video

This article appears in July 10 • 2020.

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The Chronicle's first Culture Desk editor, Richard has reported on Austin's growing film production and appreciation scene for over a decade. A graduate of the universities of York, Stirling, and UT-Austin, a Rotten Tomatoes certified critic, and eight-time Best of Austin winner, he's currently at work on two books and a play.