Tony Hawk was the most daring skateboarder of all time – until Lacey Baker hit the scene.

At just twenty-five years old, she has already made skateboarding history as one of the first queer women to be sponsored by Nike in skateboarding’s 60-year-history.

It’s hard to pin Baker down. In the same paragraph, Vogue calls her a skateboarder, guitarist, designer, barista, queer, straight, male, female, both, neither, dog-lover, cat-lover, with long hair, pink hair, green hair, orange hair, or no hair.But there’s one thing for certain: She’s got a technical expertise that is unmatched in the skateboarding world today.

But there’s one thing for certain: She’s got a technical expertise that is unmatched in the skateboarding world today.

Nike gained interest in her after she won the prestigious SLS Super Crown World Championship in 2016. Since then, she has been working with Nike to transform skateboarding teams from teams of men with a few token women, to teams of men and women working together.

She’s optimistic about the future of women in skateboarding, partially because more women are joining the sport, and partially because skateboarding is poised to become an Olympic event, which will lend it international credibility and value – not that Baker puts much stock in what other people think.

She describes herself as more masculine and is comfortable with that. She’s always wanted to have short hair, so she recently took the plunge and shaved her head. Her clothing style is purposefully androgynous and minimalist – yet deceptively complex as well.

If she gets an item of clothing, she will alter it to make it her own, even if that just means cutting off the bottoms of shirts or tapering her pants. Everything that she puts on her body must be distinctly Lacey Baker.

In a recent interview, she talked about how quitting her job to pursue skateboarding was the best decision of her life. Read it here.