Stay on Board: The Leo Baker Story trailer drops
Stay on Board: The Leo Baker Story is slated for release on Netflix on August 11. It’s the story of Leo Baker, a trans skateboarding icon, as he navigates the complex and competitive world of skateboarding in the lead up to the 2020 Olympics. 2020 was the first time that skateboarding was included as an Olympic sport, and the pressure is on.
The world of skateboarding operates very much on gender binaries, and when Leo burst onto the scene, he was competing as a she. Leo shot to skateboarding notoriety by competing as a girl. However over the years, and certainly in the direct lead-up to the 2020 Olympics, Leo’s journey into themselves intensified and made competing under such circumstances painful and difficult.
Stay on Board: The Leo Baker Story is an incredibly important queer story that the world really needs to see right now. The trailer clearly depicts Leo in various stages of this journey and alludes to the fact that hard choices need to be made.
Watch the trailer here:
Can Leo continue to hold his title in skateboarding, further his career, and find a way to remain true to himself as well? The dark depths of Leo’s journey are revealed in the trailer when he says that if he waits just one more year, after the Olympics are done, to really start living as Leo, there might not actually be a Leo left to live life.
While this is clearly a documentary with a skateboarding backdrop, Stay on Board: The Leo Baker Story is clearly so much more. It’s a story about mental health, gender identity, and social pressures to be what others want you to be.
From Netflix, Pulse Films, a division of VICE Media Group, and Flower Films Stay on Board: The Leo Baker Story premiers on Netflix on Thursday, August 11. Add it to your list here! Follow us on Twitter and Instagram for all queer stuff!
