When Leo Baker started professional skateboarding in the early 2000s, skateboarding was primarily a hobby for punks. There were no Olympic trials for national teams, and advertisers were only beginning to notice the benefits that could come from marketing sneakers and t-shirts for kids who did kick flips.
Leo was a prodigy, but as a young skateboarder he wasn’t transgender and non-binary. Wrongly, he was seen as someone who could become the poster child for young women in skateboarding.
The documentary “Stay on Board: The Leo Baker Story”, directed by Nicola Marsh and Giovanni Reda, uses a combination of archival material, observation and interviews to show how Leo pursued a career as a decorated professional skateboarder while managing the stress of gender dysphoria. and public misconception.
When the documentary begins, it’s the year before the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo. Leo qualified for the United Women’s First Team and he is in conflict with this decision. The public’s misconception of his gender causes him great pain, but he fears coming out will end his career. Supported by his family and friends – many of whom are also gay veterans of the skateboarding scene – Leo eventually chooses to live openly as a transgender person and retires from the Olympic team.
The directors made a compact film, but their images pack a punch. Leo is a dynamic and generous subject, and he allows filmmakers access through an intimate struggle, as he is publicly abused and seeks support from his loved ones in private.
This is a candid look at one person’s experience of coming out, a human document that shows the bravery and resilience of queer people seeking to break free from the categories imposed on them.
Stay on Board: The Leo Baker Story
Unclassified. Duration: 1h12. To watch on Netflix.
