f*ck!
Skateboarding has gotten me through
everything I've ever experienced
in my life.
People are like, "Are you Lacey Baker?"
And I'm like, "Yeah."
It's pretty crazy.
I fully can't even, like, look
at footage of me
from, like, age 13 to, like, 18.
Lacey Baker was this f*cking person
that got put together
by just the world around me.
I had to, like, become this person
and then having
all of my dreams riding on that.
How could somebody not choose that?
She's been
a dominant force in women's skateboarding
for a very long time.
You just don't see
anybody else doing what Baker's doing.
Lacey Baker's
first ever gold medal.
Seven X Games medals.
Super Crown champion 2016 and 2017.
A legend in women's skateboarding.
Do you think you could, uh,
drop in on here
and do like two kickflips
before you... before you got to there?
Oh my God. Okay, challenge accepted.
Have you ever tried
that in like a... in like a ramp
where you try to drop in
and do a trick on the flatbottom?
- No.
- It's like a recipe for disaster.
Okay.
I really became obsessed
with skating
once I started trying to land a kickflip.
What is happening?
I remember when I finally landed it,
my whole world just, like, exploded.
It was so like... Just that feeling.
And I still get that feeling
whenever I learn a new trick.
It never goes away.
I f*cking did a front crook!
Oh my God!
The last time I tried that sh*t,
I was like 16 at Westco Park.
- Just... Whoom!
- Yeah.
And then I was like, "Nope.
I'm not doing that trick in my life."
- Oh my God.
- Yeah.
- What, did you get rub in it?
- Yeah.
Skateboarding hits
the big stage in Tokyo.
Right. Skateboarding
is finally coming to the Olympics.
It's a substantial milestone for a sport
that 25 years ago
was considered anything but mainstream.
- How's it going?
- Good. Good to see you.
Yeah, you too.
- How you doing?
- Good. How are you?
- You been good?
- What's up?
So we're here today
for the USA National Team announcement.
These skaters,
through their own dedication
to something that they love,
have now provided themselves
an opportunity to get
the Olympics in Tokyo 2020.
It's the first time skateboarding
ever has been in the Olympics,
so I want to make it there.
Still can't really believe it
to see how far skateboarding has come.
So this even
being an opportunity is insane.
Alexis Sablone.
It's the ultimate competition.
It's a huge honor.
So yeah, I mean,
I think I would regret it forever
if I didn't try
as hard as I could to get there.
But it's weird,
and how it will change skateboarding
is a question mark.
Next up, Lacey Baker.
Another veteran
of the women's contest scene.
It's a pretty historic event.
Lacey has been seen
putting it down for years.
You have to qualify to make it,
so there's gonna be a lot of competing.
It just makes me feel nervous.
So, congratulations.
Yay.
Thanks.
...see what you're gonna do.
These are your 2019 USA Skateboarding
Women's National Team.
Thank you.
I definitely saw Leo
as very talented early on.
You could tell that there was...
there was a determination there
that was beyond his years.
Lee is
one of the most skilled people
on a skateboard.
They do riskier tricks
that are, for most of us, like,
no one can do that first try.
No one's trying to do that
in a competition.
There's a lot
of confidence in the tricks,
but also, there's a lot of technical skill
threading tricks together, like,
one really powerful flip trick
and then a really hard manual trick.
It's a very specific style
of skateboarding,
and it's one
that requires crazy perseverance.
Leo's consistent
because he practices a lot.
Seeing him try a trick for two hours,
it's kind of inspiring
to see someone skate like that.
You have to have mind and skill.
Like, you have to be one with your board,
so you can flip it, catch it,
land in the manual,
- and then flip it back out.
- Whoo!
You know? And that takes a lot
of mind power. That's like what Lee does.
We're looking forward to watching
their level of skating
continue to increase.
- I love you.
- I love you too, Mom.
- On with the guys.
- All right. That's for you.
- Yay, another for me.
- Yeah, that prize is for Mom right there.
It would be really special
for a person like me
just to be visibly q*eer
on such a global scale,
but also, being trans,
I feel really out of place,
um, in that setting.
Hi.
You know what I was thinking about?
Putting a desk in here
and making that into a living room.
The never-ending...
...home-improvement project.
Well, here's why it's an improvement,
because I think it'd be...
It's really important
to be with someone
who, like, really understands you.
Mel is one of the most kind,
loving, and supportive people
I've ever met in my life.
Wait, so we'd get rid of your desk.
Well, my desk is an amplifier
with a piece of wood on it.
So, that's not really a desk.
Okay. And then...
I'm not involved
in the skate world at all,
and until I met Lee,
I didn't know anything.
But we had so much fun together.
He was just really easy
to get close with immediately.
There.
You think you're gonna come?
Yeah, Lee will be there.
I think I get in
on... maybe like the first.
Because I have to sh**t, um,
a skate video thing.
And then... then it's just
the contest weekend, so...
You're coming in on the 26th...
In the industry,
I've always been known as Lacey Baker.
With close friends and family,
I prefer to be called Leo.
Not a lot of people know that,
especially in the industry,
just because it's like...
I mean, I don't know why. I...
It's a process that I'm going through
and like discovering myself and...
I don't know. f*ck. I don't know.
The industry is just a big... thing,
like, for people to know about that.
I don't know.
When I met Leo,
I asked what pronouns he preferred.
And he kind of nervously responded
quickly, like, "Uh, she/her is fine."
He was like,
"No one's ever asked me that before."
Like, I just was, like, avoidant.
But literally, the next day,
it was like, "Actually..."
She was just like,
"Yeah, I'm q*eer. I get it."
To have space
to explore those things about myself
alongside somebody
who, like, really understands,
it was like immediate freedom.
There was one night
where he opened up
and just poured everything out to me...
...telling me that he was trans
and he's known for a really long time
but just sort of, like, pushed it down.
It would be impossible for him
to come out because of his career.
And he has to choose
between being his authentic self
and his career
that he's worked so hard for.
It got to a point for me
where I felt like I'm living a split life.
I know in what space I'm gonna be Lacey
and when I can just be me.
You afraid
of some sort of backlash?
Smile for us, sweet ladies.
Right there. Right there.
Nice. Oh, fix the jacket
so I can see the Nike.
Real quick, for your team.
Team official headshot right there.
Right. You work it.
Lee is a good friend of mine
that I've known for years
but is also internationally known
and respected as someone else.
So it's confusing
if I'm talking about "Lee" and "he."
I don't want them
to, like, miss out on the credit
of, like...
...their reputation, basically.
Turn around.
- Sick.
- All right, girls. Yes, girls.
All right. Right there.
I can't really imagine
how it feels for Lee.
I mean, even for me, it's just like,
"Okay, ladies."
Like, it doesn't fit what you're doing.
It feels like you're...
been put in this category,
the ladies category. You're like,
"No, we're just skateboarders."
Give me some... Work it.
I don't want to work it.
AZ, can you make her smile?
Someone make her smile.
- Come on, make her smile.
- Yes!
So, right now,
there's a lot of emphasis on the Olympics.
And that is so far off
from where skateboarding came from.
Slow down! Slow down!
When I started skating
in the '90s,
if you told somebody
that skateboarding was gonna be
in the Olympics right now,
they would laugh in your face
and walk away, you know?
You didn't even call yourself an athlete.
Skateboarding was not a sport.
It's like the anti-jock.
It's for everybody. It's a lot more
than how it's gonna appear on TV.
We were skating
because we love it so much...
...not to win contests.
Getting... getting schooled
by, like, a 15-year-old.
That time period in our lives,
when we were all young,
and there was no money in it,
and we were just skateboarding
'cause we loved it was super special.
Whoo!
Ah! Whoo!
What do you think of that?
- Wonderful. Yeah.
- Pretty good?
Very good. They're experts.
I thought it was only for boys,
you know, but I never saw girls doing it.
That was it. I mean,
we're just like little skaters.
What are you doing?
It's funny because I didn't speak English.
And then,
the only way we could communicate
was, like, punching each other.
So that's... that's how we became friends.
Whoo!
- So, what are you doing, Vanessa?
- Some f*cking sh*t, dude.
Our generation was just all about
going out and skating and learning tricks.
Yes!
And now there's an objective.
And with the Olympics, it's like, "Gold."
So, are you doing two decimal,
or is it on a one to ten?
Um, for the park,
it will be, uh, zero to a hundred.
- Okay, so...
- Two decimals.
- Street should be one decimal.
- One to ten, yeah.
That's rad, though.
It breaks down all the logistics literally
right there underneath, like, each rider.
You guys know the rules
for the trick counting?
- If you're in a transition, it counts.
- Yeah.
Um, if you haven't tapped your tail
on a street trick, it doesn't count.
Olympics is honestly a language
that I don't think any of us know
as skateboarders.
That makes our job really hard,
because it's like,
you have a technical trick
and then you just have
this f*cking massive carcass toss thing.
You know what I mean?
So it's like, how do they measure up?
You need to be pushing boundaries
of skateboarding and what is possible.
Thank you guys for coming out.
Super proud to see where we're headed
in this road to Tokyo 2020.
♪ Electricity
Put it through the concrete ♪
♪ Big sh*t... ♪
At its core,
skateboarding is so difficult...
...that anyone that can do it
gets the respect.
Aw!
Today, you can pick up a basketball,
and you can make a hoop.
I guarantee you would not be able
to ollie in one day.
They should be Olympians.
They should have gold medals.
The narrative I hate
is that we're lucky to be there.
Like, pfft.
"You're lucky to have us there."
♪ All-night reverie
Melting in the city heat ♪
Really solid. Had a great mix.
Skated the whole course.
She got some flip tricks,
skated the rails.
The whole kit and caboodle.
- How's that?
- Good.
The stakes are higher
than they've ever been.
Yeah!
The competition is stronger
than it's ever been.
Ultimately, who has
the best overall top scores
stays on the team.
Yeah. What's up, boy?
I really can't, like,
afford in this moment
to, like, get surgery
and not be able to skate, so...
They're being asked to do something
that's never been done before.
It's like we used to just have
these contests that are just spread out
maybe three, four times a year, you know?
And now we have a set schedule
that's one back-to-back contest.
Even when you're skating these contests,
you still have to focus on working out,
physical therapy. Everything is work.
It's a lot to adjust to.
Even more so for the people
that have been in this for a while.
Definitely getting through
this year of competition
is just gonna be like,
all of my focus and energy
on, like, my physical strength,
my mental health,
and, like, my ability to skate.
The impact of making it
to the Olympics would be pretty big,
and I'm in a position
where I could potentially make it there.
- Yeah!
- Yes!
- And that is time right there.
- Amazing.
Lee is a pioneer in the space.
Hands down, Lee earned this spot.
Lee is one
of the hardest-working people that I know.
I would love to see...
them get there.
I think that they're
totally capable of doing it.
The question is, is their heart in it?
You know what I mean?
Things occurred to me very late,
which is surprising,
considering that I can look back on that
and be like,
"Oh yeah, all that was there."
And when I was younger,
I remember just being like,
"No, like, I'm a boy."
It's like I knew that
and then it got lost
in the f*cking ether of, like, capitalism.
Lee, for years,
was the star of women's skating.
Anything that was being said about Lee,
it was like, "Female, female, female."
And they just, like, branded him.
Lacey Baker, long blond hair.
They just associated me with that,
like that was
some kind of trademark or something,
but it's never what I wanted.
I remember being in meetings,
it was like a conversation amongst adults,
of them being like,
"All the way down to, like, the name."
"Lacey Baker. It's so marketable."
Hard flip.
Ah!
"Well, you're on the girls' team.
You have to wear girls' clothes."
So, it was lots of pressure
to dress more feminine,
and that's when things
started getting super uncomfortable.
I think it was something
every company wanted him to do.
"Dress this way. Be this way.
You're a skater and a punk,
but, like, don't be that weird."
I would pay to, like,
hear someone be like,
"So here's the girl
we're thinking you should be."
People were
just seeing me as marketable,
wearing all these women's clothes
to sell a product.
They're just like, "Oh, just change
this one thing about yourself."
"Just change this one thing."
And I'm like,
"If I change that, then I level up."
And I'm just like,
"This means I get to skate."
I mean, I was so young.
How could I even see?
- What are you doing?
- Putting socks on.
Thinking about
stealing one of your shirts.
Okay, go ahead.
Maybe this one.
That one's dirty,
but you can wear it.
Mmm.
When he's at home,
he's started to feel this acceptance
within the q*eer community,
like, "I can be who I am,"
and then goes to work
or goes to sh**t a video
or travel to do a contest or whatever,
and there's so much emphasis...
...on the fact that he's a "female" skater.
And for someone's profession
to focus around what your gender is,
and you're not that gender, that's crazy.
He's like,
"I've worked my whole to get here."
"I'm finally able to support myself
doing what I love,
and I can't throw it away
because I need to come out as trans."
To see him go through this is...
I can't do anything to fix it,
and that, I think, is the hardest part.
Right now, I'm on this journey
of what's gonna work for me.
I'm trying to be comfortable in my body.
I'm 27 now, and it's been a long process
to even get to this place,
but I'm just at the beginning
of the road still.
If I was living a different life,
I might just transition
and move to a new city
and live happily ever after.
But I'm in a space where I have to have
a conversation about it with the world,
and I don't want to.
This is my high school right here.
When we had half days,
we would skate behind this Albertsons.
There's just, like,
flat ground around there.
We'd go and, like, skate
after school sometimes.
Adolescence and skateboarding
is, like, all about loading docks.
- Dude, yeah. Kickflip everything.
- Let me see what I can...
What's the highest thing
that I can jump off of?
Now it's, what's the lowest thing
that I can skate?
Yeah, definitely.
Hello?
- Hey, Mom.
- Hi!
- Hi, Mama.
- Hi.
- Smells like home.
- How are you?
- Hi. How are you doing?
- I'm good. How are you?
Oh, I love you so much.
- Good to see you.
- I missed you.
Well,
it looks great in here, Ma.
Oh my God.
There's so much stuff in here. Oh my God!
- I can't believe this, dude.
- Oh my...
- Who in the...
- I've known you this long.
- Babies.
- Dude, look at this poster.
That was your first poster
you were ever put on.
"Kickflips and fish sticks."
Like, what is that?
These are the shoes that Lacey was wearing
when she made it into the semis
at the Tampa Am in 2008.
- Wait, those are sick-ass shoes.
- My mom...
Every time I heard people
referring to him as Lee,
I'm just like, "Why can't I do that?"
It just... I want to do it so bad.
- That is Evan.
- Oh my God, I need that.
Because I know she's a boy.
He's a boy.
I will get it. I will.
Who made this? Mom, who made this?
- I have no idea.
- It is elaborate.
Someone made a serious scrapbook.
Look what it says on the back.
- Skateboard Princess.
- Wow.
Dude. I should change
my Instagram handle to this.
Yes.
Welcome to Northview High School's
Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony.
The first inductee epitomizes
a Hall of Fame candidate.
USA Skateboarding National Team member
for the 2020 Olympics.
Her accomplishments are staggering.
What's up? Yeah.
- Thanks for having me. How you doing?
- I'm doing well.
- Cool. Nice to see you.
- Congratulations on everything.
Thanks so much.
We're lucky. We don't have
a lot of, uh, stand-out females,
but the two we have...
...you and Tatiana...
- Yeah.
- Yeah.
It's nice to have
two world-class athletes around.
- Cool, man, thanks.
- Yeah. Have fun in the Olympics.
That was awkward.
I'm like, "Yeah..."
It's just super awkward
to be referred to as female.
It just feels really weird.
What do you think is in here?
Oh my God. So good to see you guys.
- I know.
- Check it out. Look at you.
Oh f*ck. That's so crazy.
Aw, look how cute you were.
You still are, but like,
you were such a little cutie.
Well, the shop wouldn't be anything
if it wasn't for the actual skateboarders,
and that's been a part of it.
All the kids come in to hang out and stuff
'cause there's, like, not many places
to be around here in Covina.
- Staying out of trouble's kind of hard.
- Yeah.
So this place gives you,
like, more of a home,
'cause us kids that skateboard
come from broken homes, right?
It's just like our family.
Yeah. Yeah.
Trying to make the most of it.
That was always the thing
about skateboarding.
We would be able to go skate.
We could forget about all the troubles
we already have at home.
The Covina skateboarding community,
that's what saved my life.
There was a lot of great times,
and there was some good times,
but there was some bad times.
There was some...
...heartbreak along the way.
I say I came out of the 1980s
with three beautiful children
and an addiction to meth.
My mom and dad met in rehab.
It's where I was conceived.
When I had Lacey,
I was in treatment.
And I got home,
and not long after, I relapsed.
And then, um,
my sister had locked the door,
and they said,
"You can't have your babies."
And I could hear Lacey
behind the door, crying for me.
Calling, "Mommy, Mommy."
Banging on the door.
I mean, how can I get that
out of my head, ever?
I just feel like I missed out
on so much time with my family.
My dad was a rock star
in bands and very talented.
Also, he was a junkie.
So, you know, it was a rocky road.
It cut his life short.
I mean, he d*ed, like, young.
End up having
to put them through foster care.
I think I was three years old,
and I'd stand outside
and watch my two foster brothers skate.
I would skate all the time
and try to learn how to kickflip.
I love this photo.
Which one is that?
Where it's my third birthday
and you're there standing next to me.
Helping you blow out the candles?
Yeah, and I'm like so little.
- How cute am I?
- Teeny tiny.
You were cute.
I know.
My mom tried her absolute best
to, like, get her sh*t together,
and she did, you know?
Camera real quick, Mom! Ah!
I'm videoing, taping, or whatever.
My mom got us back,
and so I was, like, living at home.
Adjust.
We hardly had anything,
but, you know, she kept me skating
because it made me happy.
She's got that one wired.
My mom would drive me
to competitions once a month.
- That was a majority of my teen years.
- Lacey!
Then I got sponsored.
- Oh wow.
- These are all of the T-shirts.
Oh yeah, from...
My mom collected all the T-shirts
from the Damn Am
and Tampa Am series anytime we'd go.
This you got at a Super Girl,
and you were like,
"Yeah, no.
I'm never gonna rock that stuff."
Wow.
Like, nine months out of the year,
we were on an airplane.
It was hard having the responsibility
sometime as being manager.
Something would not go right
over the weekend,
and I'd get home and get a phone call.
Like, "Why wasn't she wearing this
and didn't have this on?"
And that's where, I think,
a lot of the tension came
because I did find myself making sure,
"Okay. You got stickers, right?
You got your T-shirts, right? Got this?"
And, God, I didn't wanna be that person.
I didn't wanna be that mom.
Because Ant and I went that day.
We were all taking photos of you guys.
I had my dreams
that I wanted to fulfill,
but there was also
my financial situation at home, like...
My mom wasn't exactly thriving.
She was, like, injured
and, like, on workman's comp and sh*t.
And so, like, a lot of the income
was, like, on my skating.
First big, grown-up trip.
In 2008, at the Maloof Money Cup,
I won $25,000.
That's what we lived on.
If Leo had a choice
when they were younger,
they would have never entered
all these contests,
but, up until recently,
there wasn't an option
for women skateboarders
to have a career outside of competition.
No brands really took girls skating
seriously for many years.
So, it was like,
if I win the one competition a year...
Okay...
...that was like the only way
to win some money.
- Second place.
- Second!
This was Leo's ticket out.
Leo was willing to go along
with whatever needed to happen
to make money to survive
and to be a skateboarder.
- Are there more of these somewhere?
- Mmm...
It's amazing
to look back at all this stuff.
I've gone through many a transformation.
Have you tried it ever before?
Like that. Like really grab my arms.
- Just stomp it.
- Ready.
- Whoo! We're just gonna go. Go!
- You ready?
- Do you wanna take a break?
- Uh, three time's a charm.
All right, we're going.
Three time's a charm.
Whoo!
- Thank you so much.
- You're welcome.
How many days have you been skating?
I felt a lack of inclusivity.
I felt like
I didn't belong in skateboarding,
like there was no space for me.
And I know that
there are other skaters that feel this.
I wanna do more events like this,
get more people involved.
Create our own industry
or something, you know?
Just like q*eer skate industry.
Hello, everyone.
Thank you for coming to my event
that we're all here. Whatever. Um...
We'll go around really quick.
Just share your name,
pronouns, and one word
that, uh, kind of describes, uh,
you know, how you are coming
to the space right now.
I'm Gigi. I use she/her pronouns and, um...
...jazz.
I use he/him pronouns, um, privately,
not really publicly right now.
Uh...
Yeah, and I'm excited to actually learn
how to facilitate
learning on the skateboard,
and I'm excited to be sharing this space
with everyone here,
so thanks for coming.
I felt really empowered
after just saying it.
And it made me think, "Well, maybe I can,
you know, just, like,
publicly talk about my gender identity
and, like, what I've felt my whole life."
I hope Lee comes out.
I hope they tell the world they're trans.
You know what that would do for me,
personally? Just being like,
sh*t, like, that's what we need,
is someone who's got a big platform
to be like, "It's chill."
Like, it's chill.
Like... that would change the game.
You want to talk to me
about this outfit you have going on?
I don't know. Just feels good.
Lee had kind of just found
his stride in, like...
You can tell he was feeling
this, like, masculinity.
It was really empowering and cool.
He was like,
"I'm ready to, like, own this."
♪ Comin' out with a bang... ♪
And he was like,
"I want to come into the studio."
"Let's take a bunch of portraits."
And we're just taking photos,
and I'm like, "This is f*cking dope."
But I felt like that was a moment
where he was like,
"I just don't give a sh*t anymore."
I wanted to post it
because I like it.
That was just the first caption
that came to mind.
Yeah, there are
so many comments on this sh*t.
I obviously knew
that those comments were coming,
so if I was to say,
"I want he/him pronouns," publicly,
the whole world would be like, "Oh my God.
You can't skate in these contests."
The Olympics are in July.
It's, like, eight months or so away,
something like that.
And so I keep telling myself, like,
"It's just so close."
"I might as well do it
because it's so close."
I've been toughing things out for so long,
and that's all I know.
And maybe I deserve to, like,
pay attention to what my needs are.
I don't even try
because I don't feel like I'm...
...I'm good enough.
Yes. Hi. How can I help you?
Hi, I wanted to set up an appointment
for a consultation for top surgery.
Do you have your letter?
Uh...
No, I don't. What do I need a letter from?
From your therapist.
- Okay.
- Clearing you for surgery.
Um, do you have a preferred name?
Nah, Lacey is good.
Okay.
You don't want them to call you Lee?
And what is your address
so I can register you?
I'm sorry. For my preferred name,
can you actually have them call me Lee?
Just L-E-E.
Give me a sec. Let me...
Um, can we book that appointment?
But also, I have, like,
a pretty intense travel schedule,
like, because I compete and travel
for, like, skateboarding professionally,
and, uh, I was hoping
that maybe I could book,
like, two or three appointments.
Just so that...
I can't.
Because I go according to what I have.
Based on my next available...
The moment I discovered
that you could get top surgery,
seven years ago or something,
I've wanted to get it.
But every single month,
I'm traveling nonstop for competitions.
I definitely don't have all the answers
for what I'm trying to achieve.
All right. Is that everything?
I just, like... I'm taking steps
that feel, like, right for me.
Kiss.
I'm excited.
I like when we get to go places together
and stay in nice hotels.
Yeah.
And where are we right now?
We're at the Super Crown in Rio.
Baker. Coast-to-coast.
All these people around him
were so excited
that he was going to the Olympics,
his mom, his manager, me, his fans.
Any single time he went to an interview,
it was like,
"You are going to the Olympics?"
Whole career became, like, the Olympics.
I was like, "Do what makes you happy."
But also,
"When are you gonna go
to the Olympics again?"
"That's crazy, you know?
Do that, like, if you can."
Norway.
London.
We basically have no idea
where we're gonna go, when we're gonna go.
We're in it for the adventure.
Spain. Portugal.
Then on the Dew Tour.
That's an easy day for Baker.
Going for the long nose manual.
Directly after that,
I skated Minneapolis.
Making
their 14th X Games appearance.
Yeah, so that's been four months
of literally nonstop.
Yeah, it's a lot.
We are in Mexico City.
I've thought about
what would happen if I transitioned
and how would that affect
my relationship with Mel.
The uncertainty of, like,
how things will change
and how we will continue
to relate to each other.
I mean, there's no way
that I would never not be supportive,
but it is, like, slightly scary for me.
And I'm not gonna say
I'll feel one way or the other.
Just... I'll see what happens, I guess.
...one of five.
What are we gonna see?
It would be really hard
if we had to break up.
That's not what I want.
But I also wanna be happy
and not be, like, avoiding
what I need to get done, you know?
I feel like watching those skate videos
last night were long overdue for me.
I know. I've been telling you
for a long time that I wanted to show you.
Alexis was like,
"You've never seen Welcome to Hell?"
That was like my f*cking life.
I watched it every day.
What did your mom say?
She said, "The video is amazing.
I gotta admit, I shed a little tear."
"The memories flood back.
I love Melissa, and I love you."
Like, "Blech!"
Cute.
f*ck.
After we get back to New York,
you'll have a month
until you have to go out again, right?
Ten days.
Okay, that's true.
That's actually not very much time at all.
Oh my God,
and then my second appointment.
Oh yeah. That's coming soon.
But I just want to ask about
how I want the scars to look and stuff.
Mmm. Interesting.
I didn't know you could do that.
And then you get to pick, like,
your nipple size and stuff, I guess.
Crazy. What size nipple do you want?
Regular.
Just so it all looks normal?
And then, like, set the date.
Day after Tokyo.
We're going to
the Nike SB video premiere tonight.
A video part is, like,
each skater gets, like, two to three,
maybe four minutes of footage.
And it's, like, their best street footage.
I'm so excited. We gotta go.
You ready?
With a video part,
you put your soul into it.
It's like a reflection
of the way you skate. You pick the song.
Everything about it
is an expression of who you are.
If a competition is like a test,
this is like your thesis.
This is like...
Honestly, like, who are you?
sh**ting a video part
is like having a baby
but lasts three years,
and it's a terrible pregnancy.
You bleed for it,
you break bones, you snap ligaments.
You're putting your whole self out there
for everybody to see.
It's gnarly.
The average kid,
if you go to any skate park
and you ask them who won
the Olympic qualifier over the weekend,
uh, nobody's gonna know.
Ultimately, what gets the most reverence
in the skate world
is what you've done on video.
If I think of a video part
I connected with,
Brian Anderson in Welcome to Hell.
He's rolling up at a hubba.
He looks like he's gonna k*ll this ledge.
Elissa Steamer in Welcome to Hell.
When I was little brat,
I'd just watch her part
and be like,
"I could do that. I'll learn that."
To, like, have a part in a video
that Elissa also has a part in,
it's just like, "f*ck."
How did I get here?
I hope everyone here
enjoys the video.
- Whoo!
- And here it is.
Yeah!
Dude, you ripped!
I loved your part. Oh my God,
I loved your songs. They were rad.
When I'm able to just skate,
and especially with q*eer community,
because I feel a sense of freedom
and connected with myself.
- Thank you.
- I'm so proud of you.
- Everything you do is always beautiful.
- Aw!
- Yeah.
- Mimi!
I've been so influenced by sponsors
and, like, being marketable
for so many years.
I know! Thanks.
What I really feel
like I want right now
is to just focus on skating.
Just focusing on a video part
and never having
to compromise for a contest.
There was a time
when I was feeling really upset
and very, like, depressed
and disconnected from the industry.
And for a long time, I was trying
to escape my skateboarding identity.
I just had, like, a bad taste in my mouth.
The big endorsement deals
in skateboarding
are with the shoe companies.
Adidas, Nike, Vans, all of...
Those are the only people
that pay you, like, enough
to really make a good living.
They support you with contests,
flights, all that sort of stuff.
So, he was talking to sponsors.
He asked for like 500 bucks.
And they were like,
"We just don't have 500 bucks."
Baker has been
a dominant force in women's skateboarding.
It's like, you have
one of the greatest skaters.
Female, male, gender, doesn't matter.
Just, like, a great skater,
winning these contests.
I think he went and bought a pair of shoes
to win the contest in.
That's f*cking insane.
They were
one of the best in the world,
winning in all these contests,
but no one was interested
in putting them on the team
or including them in anything.
I had a career, and then
it just went away for some reason.
And I went to school
and got a job because I'm like,
"Okay, well,
I guess there's nothing for me."
When Leo was younger,
going from long hair to short hair,
watching sponsors drop away,
that was tough.
Well, was that gonna be repeated?
It's a whole different level of worry now.
When do we have to wear this?
Like out there?
- At the announcement.
- So, they only made extra-large?
What do the boys take?
You can't wear that.
You can't.
♪ It's raining men ♪
What is this?
- Can you get Lee to wear this just today?
- I can get Lee to wear it just for today.
That'd be great. That'd be great.
The other return
to the team this season, Lee Baker.
The Olympics boils down
to who's the king and queen of a sport.
And by participating in the Olympics,
we're adhering to this whole binary thing
of like, "There's only women and men,"
when, in fact, we know
there's a whole spectrum of genders
and that a lot of skateboarders
don't identify as a male or female,
and they wanna skate and participate
at this elite level too.
But then they have to pick a gender
in order to skate.
In competitions,
I just get so stripped
of everything about me
that makes me who I am.
Like, I just get lost in, like,
what everyone wants for me.
There's all these factors at play.
My sponsors.
What's good for my career.
What everyone thinks is gonna be best.
"Oh, but the Olympics is so cool."
"It's the first one ever.
This is skateboarding history."
All of these voices that are just nonstop.
"Olympics. Olympics. Olympics."
You have reached
Housing Works Health Services Department.
If this is a life-threatening emergency,
please hang up and call 911.
Otherwise, someone will be right with you.
Thank you.
It's like, "How many f*cking years
am I gonna put this off?" You know?
How much longer
do I have to do this for before I like...
I don't know, maybe forever, you know.
And everyone's like,
"It's the Olympics. It's just one year."
If I wait one more year,
there might not be any more Leo.
There's just like
no escaping the dysphoria.
Just like, my skin's crawling.
Like right now it is, talking about it.
Like going
to the doctors and sh*t,
trying to get the letters
for my top surgery
and, like, that process...
Like, one doctor said no
to the writing the letter,
and it just, like, f*cking destroyed me,
because I'm just like, "Dude, please."
Like, "Just... just give me the letter."
Like, the clock is just ticking.
- How may I help you today?
- Hi.
I'm calling because it says
that, uh, Housing Works
is in my network for insurance.
I have to reach over
to some other staff members.
It may take a while
because we have a dozen or so numbers,
and we have to dial down the list
and get one of them to answer.
- So just give me a moment.
- All right.
I wish that
I just wasn't here doing this.
Then I'm like,
"No, I have to, like, skate,
and I have to show up for, like, my mom
and the community and all this stuff."
You know, but sometimes
I actually just want to f*cking die, so...
That's like... That's it.
No choice
will ever be harder than this one.
I... I just... I can't get myself
to, like, be like, "I'm done."
I just feel like I have to, you know?
Like I feel like making the decision
not to compete anymore
or, like, go for the Olympics
is, like, actually super emotional.
So, does that mean
you are gonna pull out then?
Tonight, eight of
the best women skateboarders in the world
will be embarking on the path
to the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo, Japan.
Make some noise right here
for Lacey Baker!
I don't know.
I feel so happy when I go skate, you know?
Like, every time.
It feels so good.
And I come in this space,
and I just feel so not good.
There's a wound inside of me
that just keeps getting poked
anytime they're like, "Okay, ladies!"
Or like, "This is the women's semifinal!"
Just, like, poking at this part of me
that's just like...
...like, just so done.
I'm just trying
to live my life outside of my head.
And like, go to the skate park,
and half the people are calling me Lacey.
The other half are calling me Lee,
and I just want to skate,
but I can't even focus because it's like...
There's too much noise
in my head about, like,
who the f*ck
I'm supposed to be in that moment.
- Hi!
- Oh my God.
I wanna show you raw clips.
Was it too long?
- What?
- Okay.
You're so stupid. Shut up.
Was the grind too long?
Oh my God. I love your...
Tell me how you feel about this outfit.
Be honest.
This outfit's sick as hell.
Because my... my binder...
Like, you can tell I have tits.
No, it looks like you have... It looks
like you just work out. What do you mean?
Okay, I don't know.
It just like... It's my dysphoria.
Yeah, no. You look great.
Don't even trip about that.
Also, my clips are so the opposite.
I'm like, "Can you tell I have boobs?"
- That was sick as f*ck, dude.
- Um, Cher.
- Yeah.
- I quit the Olympics.
Dude, I'm so f*cking hyped
you did that.
- Yeah, me too.
- Me too.
You could be out skating and...
I was just on top
of the quarter pipe taking my run,
and they were just like, "Lacey Baker."
And then I flew home, and I was like...
"I can't do it anymore.
I just can't f*cking do it."
I want to do this sh*t with you guys.
f*ck, yes. This is...
We're street skaters.
That's just what it is.
- Yeah.
- Yeah.
We're skating street.
We're done with the competition.
We're getting clips.
f*cking sent an email, like,
"I'm resigning
from the USA Women's Olympic Team,"
and then I was just like...
Like, I just felt, like, this freedom.
I was just like, "Clean slate."
I mean, I get why people would see that
as a crazy decision.
Oh, it's history, and you could easily go,
and you're going to choose not to?
I could have kept putting myself on hold
for another year
and then, like, another four years
and then another four... like, or whatever
for every Olympics until I die.
Or I could just be like,
"You know what? I'm done."
Know what's crazier
than doing the Olympics?
Saying, "f*ck the Olympics."
I feel like I've served
my f*cking time.
And I should just do what I wanna do.
I stayed Lacey Baker
for way too f*cking long.
I'm just, like, done
with the f*cking split life sh*t.
Everybody knows how big of a deal
it would have been
if he skated in the Olympics,
but for him to be like, "No, f*ck that.
I'm gonna do my own thing,"
is the biggest punk rock thing
you could do.
I'm gonna do something different
that I've never done before
and really hope for the best
because I don't know what's gonna happen.
Like really, I don't know.
So I'm like, "f*ck!
Am I gonna lose everything?"
Fast-breaking developments
in the coronavirus emergency in the US
and around the world.
The number of cases soaring just today.
Eighty million Americans
now told to stay at home.
Here in New York City,
a state of emergency declared as well.
- Ugh! It's not necessary.
- There's probably room in here.
We packed up our whole lives,
and we're heading upstate.
Just 'cause we don't wanna get,
like, stuck inside for however long.
Today,
we learned the 2020 games
will be pushed back to next year,
due to the coronavirus.
Leo was like,
"Hey, let's go look at these puppies."
And I was like,
"All right, we can go look,
but we're not gonna get a puppy right now.
Let's just go look."
Then we were like,
"Oh my God! We're gonna get a puppy!"
Wow.
We're totally opposites in every single
possible way you can imagine.
Pretty cute life, huh?
Don't you think?
Which came out a lot during COVID.
It's not bad.
Let's give Carlos a carrot.
That's what we look forward to these days.
Leo is a total homebody.
Good boy.
I am the opposite.
♪ Gotta have faith in me... ♪
I wanna travel all the time.
I wanna be social all the time.
Yeah.
There's no real, like, way
to plan around anything
'cause no one knows
what the hell's gonna happen.
But for Leo, quarantine came
at the perfect time
for him and his transition.
He said that, "I don't wanna be distracted
by all this noise in life."
"I wanna be focusing on
what's happening in my body
and really pay attention to it."
This whole door opened up
for me to really explore.
It's just easier to be in private.
You can just feel how you feel
and just be who you are.
Just, like, so f*cking overwhelmed.
Just thinking about, like,
how it, like,
doesn't have to hurt anymore.
This is, like,
the biggest thing
that's ever happened to me.
And then I'm just like...
"I love you,
and I don't want you to go anywhere."
"But I would understand..."
But I'm also just like...
It's a lot. It's a lot of things.
Yeah.
- I don't wanna go anywhere.
- I don't want you to go.
Maybe I'll just bring these. Uh, hi.
I'm ready.
Physically ready.
Mentally, not so much?
- Mentally? f*ck, yeah.
- Okay, good.
Mentally, I'm like,
"Get me there now." It's...
- It's been too long.
- Titties off.
- Titties off.
- Operation Titties Off.
Oh God.
Oh my God.
All right. I'll see you later.
- Good luck.
- Thanks.
See you in a few.
I'll be there when you're out.
All right.
- I love you!
- Love you!
- Okay, bye-bye, Leo! Take care.
- Thank you so much.
Good luck with you, okay? Bye.
Okay, so, front seat
maybe so you don't get nauseous?
- I wanna sit in the front, yeah.
- But don't put the seat belt here.
Should we go skate?
I literally am gonna never wear
a shirt again, probably.
No, we gotta hear
some Gaga right now.
♪ The Arizona sky ♪
♪ Burnin' in your eyes ♪
♪ You look at me
And, babe, I wanna catch on fire ♪
♪ It's buried in my soul ♪
♪ Like California gold ♪
♪ You found the light in me
That I couldn't find ♪
♪ When the sun goes down ♪
♪ And the band won't play ♪
♪ I'll always remember us this way ♪
Looks awesome. Want to see them?
Take a look in the mirror.
Oh my God.
Oh my God.
How do you feel?
Better than I've ever felt
in my life.
- Really?
- Yes.
We're putting in our order
of Glue Boards like now.
- We want to do a red dipped...
- Is that basically the logo?
- Like low-res?
- Mm-hmm.
See if you can do the letters
going all the way around the rim.
- Oh, that's a great idea.
- That'd be cool.
One of the things
that I was always so drawn to as a kid,
to like, certain skate companies.
They're all just, like, people doing
what they want to do.
- Are you ready?
- Ready to go.
- Sorry.
- I wasn't ready for that.
Oh!
I love that.
Every time we smoke in the video.
Glue Skateboards,
it's a company I'm starting
with my friends Stephen and Cher,
celebrating q*eer skateboarding.
To me, it just feels like
a f*cking sick company.
Me and my friends
made the company we want to ride for.
Go.
Maybe I wouldn't be who I am today
if I never saw Baker.
Maybe subconsciously, I'm like,
"Oh, I'm a girl who skates too."
The moment I found out Lee came out,
that's kind of when I realized like,
"Our favorite f*cking skateboarder
is, like, trans too."
"Like, that's f*cking crazy."
Get under it?
- I should take off the wrapper, right?
- Yeah.
Boom.
Yeah.
Sick. Yeah.
Better backdrop.
What up, Mom?
Oh my God, Leo.
Hi.
I love you so much.
I love you too, Mom.
- I don't even know what to say.
- Me either. It's been so damn long.
- Oh my gosh.
- They left it here.
- I know.
- Oh my gosh. It's a Leo shrine.
When you competed
at the Battle of the Berrics,
I just knew
that was your last contest ever.
- Without you even say anything.
- For sure.
I'm like, "That's the last time
I'll ever see that name in lights."
Yeah.
It's the last time I'm gonna ever see
that name on a T-shirt.
He's so f*cking brave
to do what he's done
to live his true self.
And I think about kids
that never have that opportunity
to have a parent that
they could come to and say,
"You know what, Mom? I'm gay."
"You know what, Mom? I'm trans."
And it's okay.
Coming out over at Nike
was really scary.
But I was just like, "This is what's up."
Oh man.
And they were like,
"All right. Let's f*cking do it."
It's just surreal
to see it up there.
But I didn't actually know
that there were gonna be
giant, massive billboards, you know?
I just started seeing them around.
So, basically, we're just capturing
a few facial poses.
The neutral and then eyes closed.
- Joy, disgust, and so on.
- Okay.
So it's like that.
Having Leo in our game
inspired people trying to figure out
who they are.
It gave them a sense of validation.
It's like f*cking mind-blowing.
I'm like, "I played this game.
I know I can be a pro skater."
"I wanna be a pro skater
when I, like, grow up."
Then I became a pro skater,
and now I'm in the game.
I learned a lot
through those years of struggle.
You know, like
the hard work ultimately paid off.
People were just like,
"Yeah, you're still skating and ripping."
And so, people started to be like,
"Oh, like, yeah, we wanna invest in that."
And now there's just like a clearing
for so many new possibilities
that just I did not have
in that life I was living.
Ooh!
Back in first place.
And sitting there
watching the Olympics
and feeling absolutely f*cking elated
that I'm not there.
It's like, I know what's best for me,
and I think I knew it all along.
Even when I was,
like, really, really young.
Leo's done a really good job
of being visible for a lot of people.
That's what real representation is,
Is people feeling like
they have permission to be themselves.
I'm getting a pro shoe from Nike.
- A pro shoe? Like...
- Like my own model.
You know...
- Oh!
- Aw!
I'm so proud of you.
Oh my God. Leo.
Hello?
Hi.
- Hi.
- Oh, hello, puppy.
- We need stickers.
- Let's get stickers.
I feel like we should do
only Glue stickers, whatever...
Yeah, for sure.
The way that I felt for a long time
about my pre-sponsored self...
Gonna look sick.
...it's like I'm just now
getting back in touch with that person.
There's no more, uh...
like, facade.
Skating, at this point,
is a multibillion-dollar industry,
and you can count on two hands
the amount of, like, professionals
who are, like, gay, q*eer, trans,
or even, like, women also, you know?
- It's crazy.
- You can, like, name them all.
Epic Glue party.
It's about to start.
Oh my God.
All right, kickflip.
All right. Whoever gets
the first kickflip gets a board,
but you have to do it in 30 seconds.
Oh!
Oh, there it goes!
All right, we got a winner.
I really look up to Leo, honestly.
Ju, like, the freedom
of doing whatever you want
and being whoever you want.
Not being afraid to show your true self.
Dude, they're doing everything.
Doing everything they should be doing.
I think Lee's legacy
will be bringing
some much-needed authenticity to skating.
Okay, that's great.
Right here. Whoa, turn around.
Lee becoming so popular and famous
and everything just shattered everything.
I know what it's like
to, like, not have anyone to look up to.
But there's trans people everywhere,
which is something I wish
that I knew as a kid.
Everything leading up to right now
is one version of being trans,
but there are so many versions of it.
I don't have the answers.
I only have, like, my answers
that I've gotten so far.
I just think it's really important
to have compassion for yourself.
And that, like,
every iteration of yourself counts.
I'm just, like, one f*cking person...
and I just happen to be trans.
And I think that, l
just existing should be enough.
At the end of the day,
I'm just a f*cking skater, so, like,
I just gonna skate.
And, like, enjoy it.
Because it's like, life is so brief,
so I don't wanna waste any more time.
♪ Lifeless ♪
♪ Barely holding on ♪
♪ I feel it moving on
And dragging me along ♪
♪ I need to ♪
♪ Remember all the times you told me ♪
♪ Everything will be all right ♪
♪ Am I a human being? ♪
♪ Am I known as she? ♪
♪ I need you by my side ♪
♪ Don't leave me here alone ♪
♪ Please hold me till we're home ♪
♪ Please hold me till we're home ♪
♪ Oh ♪
♪ Hold me till we're home ♪
Stay on Board: The Leo Baker Story (2022)
Moderator: Maskath3