LEXINGTON, Ky. (LEX 18) — Like skating into a time capsule, the ramps and rails of Woodland Park take Leandre Hayes back.
“This story begins in 1998 out Tates Creek,” said Hayes. “I used to play football and when I was leaving practice one day, I saw a young man, Russell Greer, he ollied up the curve, and I'd never seen that before.”
At that time, black skateboarders were few and far between in Kentucky, but Hayes felt drawn to the sport despite a lack of representation. It was Greer’s mom who bought Hayes his first skateboard, and once he got his hands on one, he was hooked.
“Just being at Woodland, I had a crew, I had friends, I'd spend 10-12 hours up here,” Hayes recalled.
Even the wipe outs and failed attempts at tricks fueled his fascination.
“Skateboarding is 98% hurting yourself and 2% 'I landed it!' he joked.
But that innocent thrill didn’t last, and by the early 2000s, Hayes fell into a battle with substance abuse. His wake up call came, of course, on a skateboard.
“I do a trick called a crook around, that's my thing, and when I did it, I snapped my leg in half. It's crazy, I was so drunk and high I thought I rolled my ankle even though my leg was broken,” said Hayes.
Despite the injury, Hayes walked on his leg, damaging it further. Hayes recalled finishing a pack of beer before getting help. At the hospital, a doctor confirmed he'd broken his fibula, tibia, and ankle, even suggesting amputating his leg due to the severity.
Luckily, that didn't happen, but Hayes said the moment changed him.
“For a while, I walked with this limp and I thought the limp was gonna be forever, and I never thought I'd be able to skate at all, skating was the last thing on my mind, so I focused all that energy on my sobriety.”
To Hayes’ surprise, sobriety didn’t only save him, it saved his love of skateboarding and led him on a new path.
“It wasn't on my sobriety BINGO card, that's what I say. When I sobered up, I just wanted to not be an alcoholic, I wanted to stop shaking,” said Hayes. “I didn't think 5 years later I'd get sponsored by a brand in Chicago and they’d turn me pro. I didn't think it'd be the first pro Black skater out of Kentucky.”
The first professional Black skater from Kentucky, Hayes is a sponsored athlete through Pardon My Thrashing and uses his platform to help others.
“Keep believing in yourself, don't give up, man. It's easy to give up.”
Often receiving free skateboards and merchandise, Hayes hands out the items to kids at the park and offers skateboarding lessons. He chronicles his journey on social media. You can find him on Instagram at @hayescleandre where he also promotes his business, Involved Clothing Co.
