X Games coming to Louisiana for first time; local skater set to compete

BATON ROUGE, La. (WAFB) - Hayden Mouton has been on a skateboard for 21 years, and he has no plans to stop. Now, the Baton Rouge skater is preparing to compete at the first-ever Moon Pay X Games Championship in New Orleans.

Mouton is a regular at the skate park off Perkins Road, where he works on a wide range of tricks.

“I kind of like to skate a bit of everything,” Mouton said. “It’s all kind of in my wheelhouse because I grew up skating nothing, so everything is on the board for me — even the weird creative tricks are sometimes the most fun.”

Bringing the X Games to Louisiana

Donald Dunbar, with the Greater New Orleans Sports Foundation, helped bring the X Games to the state.

“It’s a lot of firsts for a lot of us,” Dunbar said.

Dunbar said one goal of hosting the event is to draw attention to Louisiana’s skating community.

“Make sure people understand there is a skating community here in Louisiana,” Dunbar said. “You know, we may not talk about it, we may not be known for it, but it’s alive and well.”

A community open to all

Mouton said skating in Louisiana is welcoming to everyone.

“It doesn’t matter what you look like, where you’re from, how old you are, what your gender is, any of that,” Mouton said. “It’s like if you’re out here skating and putting in the work, then you’re in.”

Mouton has earned a spot in a contest with other Louisiana skaters on Sunday. He said he plans to arrive at the games early to watch the professional competitors.

“Skateboarding just seems so unreal when you’re watching it — even as a skater watching the top people, it can be almost a little intangible,” Mouton said. “But then you see it and realize kind of where the bar could be.”

Dunbar said he hopes the event inspires the next generation of Louisiana skaters.

“It only more lights the fire within them and say, hey, if they can do it, I can do it as well,” Dunbar said. “This event is actually coming to my state, I get to see it in person — so if it’s here, I see these people, and I know for sure then it can be done for me.”

Mouton had a message for anyone thinking about picking up the sport: “If you want to skate, if you’re interested, get a skateboard at the skate shop and get on it.”

Tickets for the Moon Pay X Games Championship are still available online.

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