Mo Sanders (born 1971), known as Quadzilla L.K. or simply Quadzilla, is an American roller skater, who has competed at international level in roller derby and aggressive inline skating, and national level in jam skating.
Sanders was born in Tacoma, Washington, USA. His father often rollerskated to work, and Sanders spent much of his spare time at the local roller rink. Although largely self-taught, he was also coached by Lann Werner, a champion artistic roller skater. He acquired the nickname "Lanny's Kid", the initials of which appear in his derby name.Alex Cohen and Jennifer Barbee, Down and Derby
Sanders began skating on inline skates in 1991, and became a professional aggressive inline skater in 1993, competing in the X Games."Mo Sanders 'Extreme' Style Proves Popular In 'Rollerjam's' Fourth Season on TNN", PR Newswire, October 4 In the late 1990s, Sanders spent time skating in California, particularly at Venice Beach, and while there he heard about auditions for RollerJam, a television show based around banked track roller derby. On the show, he was known for his multicolored hair, and for his acrobatic moves. He later claimed that the staged nature of the show "sucked" and he believed that it proved unsuccessful because "there was too much drama, too much scripting".
By late 2001, Sanders was back in Seattle and attracted attention for break dancing on skates.Kristin Dizon, "On a roll again: Skating rinks are seeing a resurgence of popularity among young and old", Seattle PI, March 21, 2001 By 2005, he was part of the "Quad Express" jam skating team, who reached the national finals of the Roll Bounce Championship.Judy Chia Hui Hsu, "Underdog Seattle jam-skaters in U.S. final", Seattle Times, September 16, 2005 He subsequently performed at the Hollywood opening of the Roll Bounce film, and this led to involvement with Enchanted, in which he appeared and for which he choreographed much of the skating.Natalie Gordon, "Fun & Antiks 2", Inside Line #4 (June 2012), pp.30-32
With the development of flat track roller derby, Sanders returned to the sport, skating both as "Quadzilla L.K." and, occasionally, as "Barack O'Trauma". He coached the Oly Rollers,"Quadzilla", MOCORD then the Rat City Rollergirls, and bench managed Team Awesome to second place in the national banked track championship in 2008, then Team Legit to take the national title in 2009.Richard Whittaker, "Flat-Out on the Track", Austin Chronicle, June 24, 2009 He traveled internationally to coach various leagues,"Lincolnshire Bombers Roller Girls successful in Great Northern Showdown", This is Lincolnshire, November 25, 2010 and developed both Antik skate boots and Heartless Wheels.Steve Shay, "Roller Derby 4/30 at Southgate Roller Rink, teen girls, adult men, separate bouts", West Seattle Herald, April 20, 2011
Sanders stood down as Rat City's principal coach in 2011,Natalie Gordon, "Fun & Antiks", Inside Line #3 (March 2012), pp.31-33 but he remained active as a skater with Puget Sound Outcast Derby and was a key member of the team which took second place in the 2011 Men's Roller Derby Association Championships.Dainty Inferno, "MRDA Championship: (2) New York Defeats (4) Puget Sound for 2nd Straight Men's Title, 143-133 ", Derby News Network, November 6, 2011 In connection with this, he has appeared in the roller derby documentaries Derby Baby and This Is How We Roll. Sanders also won the "Best Double Threat" title at the Derby News Network's 2011 awards."DNN Best of 2011 Poll: Results", Derby News Network, January 30, 2012
In 2016 he featured in an Australian-based skate documentary called “Wheels will land”
Sanders is known for his ability to jump long distances on skates. His record is jumping over fourteen people.
Sanders, or also known on this league as "QuadZilla," currently plays, and coaches, some of the teams in The Dallas Derby Devils league, which is located in Dallas, Texas. References