Stay On Board on Netflix: Where is Leo Baker now?

Stay On Board is a new Netflix documentary which focuses on the transgender, non-binary skateboarder Leo Baker. But many are asking, where is Leo Baker now?

Telling the story of how Leo - formerly known as Lacey Baker - quit competitive skating so they could transition, Stay On Board joins a string of other recent Netflix hits like I Just Killed My Dad about Anthony Templet and his complicated relationship with his father. Plus The Most Hated Man on the Internet, which tells the stories of Hunter Moore and Charlotte Laws

One of the makers of the film, Alex Schmider, said: "I am really proud of this documentary because it centers Leo and his story in a way that is not trying to speak or represent other trans people’s experiences. It is very much about his own personal journey and what that’s meant to him. And I hope that people getting to know him and his real struggles as an athlete, that they get more insight into this world of sport and trans inclusion." Those watching along and moved by the story have many questions, including where Leo Baker is now and what they are up to. We share everything you need to know.

Where is Leo Baker now?

Leo Baker is now 30 years old and living in Brooklyn, New York. They are sponsored by Nike and skate for their own queer-centric skate company Glue, which they run with business partner and fellow skater, Stephen Ostrowski. 

Speaking about their business venture, Leo told Rolling Stone: “We take our team on trips and do things that we were never able to do because there was not space for trans queer people to be in skating in that way. We’re living our childhood dreams of going on skate trips, filming, hanging out with our team and being around people that are queer or are down for us.” 

Leo is also a musician nowadays, having played guitar since the age of 14. Their song, Hold Me Til We’re Home, plays at the end of Stay On Board. 

Leo said of the song: “That’s my first song ever to come out, and it’s under the artist Leo Popstar. I just think that’s such a ridiculously funny name for the music. I’m like, no one’s taking this seriously. Please do not.” Leo will also release an EP later this year called Crying All the Time. 

Speaking about what else they get up to nowadays, Leo said: “I love to do things alone. I write music. I go to the gym. I like to feel anonymous, almost not there at all."

They added: "Especially now, because I’ve been reading so much Buddhist literature, I’m like, the less of me there is the happier I am. So I’m just going to be quiet in my room, and I’m going to talk to the people I love, and maybe I’ll see somebody for dinner.” 

When did Leo Baker come out as trans-masculine?

Leo Baker came out as transgender and non-binary in January 2020 on their personal Instagram account. The post shared a magazine cover from Chinese publication, dazed, which had the words: "Leo Baker. Ta/They" printed. Leo captioned the post: "New name alert."

Speaking about their struggle with their gender, Leo said: "When I was very young, I was like, ‘oh, I’m a boy. I just am.' It was two different worlds, and for a decade, my life was splintered as I was trying to figure out what I was doing. 

"For years, I’d hated being in public spaces because then I had to be something else, this version of myself I’d created to survive and have success."

Reflecting on finally coming out publicly, Leo said: "Coming out has changed my life in so many ways. I can’t even put words to the feeling of going to a skate park and just being one person."

They added: "I was like, I just don’t care anymore. I can’t keep doing this. People need to stop calling me she/her. Because it feels horrible. So please respect my pronouns."

Leo also spoke about the difficult journey to get top surgery, saying: "From the moment I knew it was possible to get top surgery, I knew I was going to get it. But there are so many hoops you have to jump through to get top surgery as a trans person. You need to get a letter from your doctor, you need to get a letter from a therapist, you need to have been in therapy for all this time. 

"For me, that process was really difficult. Every time it was a failed attempt, it just felt further and further and further away. The amount of times I broke down because it just felt like it was never going to happen—trans health care needs to be more accessible."

Leo Baker: Quitting Tokyo 2020 Olympics

Leo resigned from the US Women’s Olympic Skateboarding Team in 2020 so that they could take hormones and transition genders.

Speaking about quitting the Olympics, Leo said: "Being categorised as a woman in events was just not for me. I’ve been competing for 17 years, and in that space, there’s always been internal conflict. It got to a point where I couldn’t take it anymore.”

They added: "I had been trying to get top surgery for years, and it was just not something I could do because of competing. I couldn’t be on hormones if I was going to compete in a women’s event, and it was hard to schedule the surgery because my competing meant I wouldn’t be able to have the time to recover.

"Also I don’t really care about competitions at all, and I never really have. It’s fun to see my friends there, which is why I liked doing it before. But now that it’s hyper-competitive because of the Olympics, I’m like, this is so bleak. I’m super bored. I don’t want to come here. So it was an obvious no-brainer. If I have the option to not do this, that’s going to be what I choose."

Leo is now happier than ever and is back to enjoying skating for fun. They said: “I feel like I’ve arrived right back where I was at the beginning when I was a kid, and when skating was this pure and sacred thing to me. I’m going to skate, and no one can say anything to me. It’s how I make my living, and it’s how I feel happy."

Leo Baker: Career Stats

• In 2006, Leo placed 1st in street competitions at both the Canadian Open in Toronto and the Slam City Jam in Calgary.
• In 2008 they won the Maloof Money Cup, in Orange County, California.
• In 2010, they won the Mystic Skate Cup, in Prague, Czech Republic.
• They've won the Street League Skateboarding Super Crown World Championship twice (in 2016 and 2017).
• In 2017, Leo was the only skateboarder to be nominated for an ESPY Award in the "Best Female Action Sports Athlete" category.
• In 2018, Leo came in 2nd place at the X Games, in Oslo, Norway.

Who is Leo Baker’s girlfriend, Melissa?

Leo Baker's girlfriend is Melissa Bueno-Woerner and is one of the producers of their Netflix documentary, Stay On Board. In the documentary, we see Melissa share her concerns about how Leo’s transition might affect their relationship.

However, it seems that they're going from strength to strength as Leo has said: "Meeting Mel was super helpful. In the relationship I was in previous to that it was like, the opposite. 

"I didn’t talk about this relationship at all in the documentary, but this particular person had dated other trans people and had bad experiences with them and had a lot of trauma around it. So when I would talk about it with her, she would get super, like, unhinged about it. So I was like, 'OK, cool, I just won’t talk about it with you.' 

"Then when I got out of that relationship, I met Mel, and Mel asked those questions. Then it all just came out. And I was like, damn, I’ve really got to deal with this."

Leo added: "I am happier than I’ve ever been in my life, beyond what I could have ever even imagined."

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