Conversations with Erin Borders

Today we’d like to introduce you to Erin Borders.

Hi Erin, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
Someone once told me I never do anything by halves and looking back, I think that’s been true. My story has been one leap of faith after another. My career path since college has been anything but traditional – I’ve moved from television and film making to software development in the tech industry and I’m very fortunate to be able to say I’ve worked on big projects like Black Panther before my career pivot, and at a high-profile company in the Magnificent Seven afterwards. And the passions I’ve discovered have surprised even myself – I began roller skating 3 years ago and I never could have imagined how it would have changed my life, from the skills I’ve learned to the friends in this invaluable community that I’ve found.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
I think some areas of my life have been smoother than others. For instance, the way I fell into roller skating made me think it was a passion I was always meant to find. I stumbled on a group of acquaintances that were interested in learning at the same time through my sister, and after going out with them once, a stranger reached out to us and mentioned that we might be interested in Rollerslay, which was an LGBTQIA+ and beginner friendly group for skaters. I went to a meetup very soon after and was immediately hooked. The community there was so welcoming and Josh, the founder of Rollerslay, taught us all of the beginner moves we needed to know like moving forward, stopping, and turning. I barely knew anyone there, but everyone was always open to sharing what they learned or learning something new, so I made friends almost immediately and it empowered me to search for tricks to learn in my spare time on my own. Roller skating really took over my life that first year, and I’ve been dedicated to improving and sharing my knowledge with others ever since. It felt as natural as breathing.

In contrast, my career transition felt like it shook me to my core. Realizing that I didn’t love television and film – that the rewards I found there didn’t seem to outweigh the burnout and stress I felt – was the root of so much anxiety for me. Looking back, I think that was the crux of my quarter life crisis; I had never felt more lost and vulnerable at that point and at its worst the stress began to show in my body. I lost hair, couldn’t keep food down, had nightmares. It was a rough time. The pivot to tech was a leap of faith – I saw a tech bootcamp, tried an introductory lesson and thought it was interesting, then signed up without really researching it or knowing anything about the tech industry. That could have backfired on me in so many ways – I didn’t have the money at the time to be making blind financial choices like this. I had school loans I couldn’t pay, credit card debt that was building up, and the bootcamp was just more money out of my pocket. But I was fortunate to have a great teacher and love what I was learning and was lucky to get a good job only a month or two after the bootcamp ended. When I talk to others about their journeys, I feel incredibly fortunate about so many things in my own journey. If the job market had been worse, or I’d had a terrible teacher at the bootcamp, or any number of other things had been different, I don’t know where I’d be right now.

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I’m “self-taught” in so many ways but I couldn’t have gotten as far as I have with roller skating without people in the community taking the time to help me. I’ve had help with everything from how to do certain moves to what type of skate boot and wheel I should buy, and I’m dedicated to paying it forward and helping other skaters wherever I can. My skate pages (@missborders on Instagram and Tiktok) share tutorials on different moves, inspiration for new tricks to try, advice for skate gear, and updates on skate events happening in the area. I post my own skate progress on them as well, even from the early days when I could barely stand up straight, because I think it’s so important to remember that we all have to start somewhere. No one’s born being a roller skating expert. And ever since I’ve started those pages, I’m happy to say I’ve had people reach out to me both online and in person to tell me how a video I posted has helped them – those moments are always the highlight of my week. I’m going to continue to post content there so if your readers have any interest whatsoever in skating, I hope they’ll reach out to me and let me know what other video ideas might be helpful for them!

Who else deserves credit in your story?
Probably my biggest kudos have to go to Rollerslay (@rollerslay) – and Josh specifically – for teaching me when I knew absolutely nothing and, even more importantly, for providing a safe space to learn and grow with other skaters across the skill spectrum who were so open to teaching as well. I’m so glad that was my introduction to the skating community in Atlanta because I don’t think I could have learned so quickly – and been exposed to so many different types of skating – anywhere else.

In that same vein, I have to thank Shades of Sk8 (@shadesofsk8); their tagline is sisterhood on wheels and I think that’s so true. The members of that group have been some of my biggest supporters and introduced me to so many opportunities as well; they celebrate my accomplishments with me and are so encouraging and welcoming, I can’t thank them enough. I’ve had the opportunity to skate in parades, be featured in the news and even perform for a documentary and I know I would never have even known about these opportunities, let alone thought I could participate in them, if not for these two groups.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/miss.borders/
• Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@miss.borders