Even though we have somehow gotten used to the traumas/sacrifices that so many people have to face when they transition, it still did not prepare us for the journey that Lee Baker would undertake to be his true self.
Baker had been something of a skateboard fanatic since childhood, having been given his first board at the age of two. He quickly became very proficient and gained his first sponsorship at the age of 11. That enabled him to enter (and win) skateboard competitions around the globe.
When he was 19 s financial recession created a temporary blimp in his career, although he did win medals at the prestigious X Games in 2013 and 2014. What was on the horizon however was the very first time that skateboarding was to be recognized as an Olympic sport in the Tokyo Games in 2020, and it gave Baker a big dilemma.
Up to now, Baker had been competing as a female skater, but now that he was about to complete his transitioning he felt forced to make a choice. In the end, he chose to ‘out’ himself to the sport’s authorities which automatically disbarred him from the official US Team. By then he had grown disillusioned by all the rigid rules and regulations, but more importantly he hated still having to be classified as a female skater.
Up to this point in the film by Nicola Marsh and Giovanni Reda, we have already been so swept away by Baker’s charisma and infectious humor that guided his very close relationship with his girlfriend, but now that turned to sheer admiration. To have the courage to pass up the most important event in his career, and do so with seemingly such calmness and fortitude, took an immense amount of courage that I doubt few of us could have done.
It wasn’t either the end of Baker’s skateboarding career or life, but he could never have guessed how it actually worked out with a very happy ending after all. You will have to watch the film on Netflix to see what happened, but more important than that it makes us really appreciate that coming out as trans takes more than a big set of balls (apologies for the comparison).
Stay on Board makes such a great contribution to the continuing dialogue about the transgender community ….. and Leo Baker himself is such a fine example to all of us in the LGBTQ+ community and beyond.
Review : Roger Walker-Dack
Editor in Chief : Queerguru
Member of G.A.L.E.C.A. (Gay & Lesbian Entertainment Critics Association) and NLGJA The Association of LGBT
Journalists. and The Online Film Critics Society. Ex Contributung Editor The Gay Uk &Contributor Edge Media
Former CEO and Menswear Designer of Roger Dack Ltd in the UK
one of the hardest-working journalists in the business' Michael Goff of Towleroad
