Letícia Bufoni is a five-time X Games gold medallist who’s breaking down barriers in women’s skateboarding. When Bufoni started skating, she was the only girl in her area interested and participating in the sport. As a result she faced some resistance from her dad who didn’t really approve until he saw her love and talent as she won the first contest she entered.
At 14, she travelled to Los Angeles to compete in the 2007 X Games, however, after the contest, she never got on her flight home. She chose to explore the scene in LA after realising it was the place to be if she wanted to become the best skater she could. Bufoni made the daunting decision to relocate to California alone.
In 2009 she claimed first prize in the Maloof Money Cup and after that her career took an upward trajectory. She won three X Games gold medals in 2013, turned pro in 2017 with Plan B Skateboards and won gold in Street at the X Games in 2018, 2019 and 2021.
The Brazilian icon became the first woman signed to the Nike SB team, the first woman on the cover of The Skateboard Mag and she also starred in her own reality TV show in Brazil, becoming a spokesperson for female skaters around the world. She was also selected to be a member of Brazil’s first-ever national skateboarding team.
gsport writer Lonwabo Nkohla caught up with Bufoni during her visit in the country (South Africa).
Leticia is an absolute pleasure to have you on our shores all the way from Brazil. What brought you to South Africa?
I wanted to come to South Africa to skate because I’ve been here twice, I was here to shoot a commercial and then the first time I was here was to do a contest and I just wanted to, you know, meet the skaters, go to the spot and the skate park and get to know a little bit of the culture.
Let’s take it back very quickly. You picked up a skateboard at the age of nine in an area where it was not common place to see a girl on a skateboard. What inspired that?
The reason that I started skating was because all my friends were skating, but I was the only girl, and at the time my dad hated skateboarding because I was the only girl and he thought skateboarding was for guys. So I had to convince my dad that skateboarding is for everyone and not just for guys. So it took a little bit to convince him. He broke my board in half, but I managed to, after almost a year, I managed to convince him to take to my first competition and since then, he’s just been a big fan of skateboarding, he’s been supporting me.
What are your thoughts on the skateboarding scene in SA?
I’ve seen a lot of girls skating in the two days I’ve been here, it’s really surprising because I know how hard it is to skate in South Africa, there’s not that many skate parks. There’s not that many support and it’s kind of like how it used to be in Brazil when I start skating, there was not that many girls skating. So to come here and see a lot of girls skating was really a surprise. I’m really stoked to be here and I hope I can, you know, inspire even more girls into skateboarding and kind of showed them a little bit of my story and about the skate culture.
What would you say to encourage a girl to pick up a skateboard? An amazing sport that doesn’t come to mind when young girls are dreaming?
I would just say if, if you love something, not just skateboarding, it can be anything, soccer, can be surfing. Anything you love, just follow your passion, follow your heart, and, you know, go out there. Don’t let anyone tell you that you can do it, just prove them wrong.
How does the backing by important companies like Red Bull help shape the scene?
I’ve been with Red Bull for over eight years, and I don’t even call it a partnership but a family, because it helped a lot to be the athlete that I am today. They support our dreams and they give us altitudes to be the best in what we do. And you know, it’s amazing that Red Bull is so focused in the young generation and helping young athletes and it’s just amazing to be part of that. I hope we can keep inspiring more people into skateboarding, or other sports.
From the icon itself, what are your hopes for the skateboarding scene?
I definitely want to help the women’s scenes, I want to help grow more and have more support from the brands and from events and more skate parks and I just want this sport to grow and people to go out there and have fun. Skateboarding is for everyone, as long as you love it, just do it.
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