Letícia Bufoni

In this Portuguese name, the first or maternal family name is Bufoni and the second or paternal family name is Silva.

Letícia Bufoni e Silva (born April 13, 1993)^[1] is a Brazilian-American^[2] professional street skateboarder. She is a six-time X Games gold medalist.^[3]

Letícia Bufoni

Personal information
Birth name	Letícia Bufoni e Silva
Born	(1993-04-13) April 13, 1993 (age 32)[1] São Paulo, Brazil
Occupation	Skateboarder
Years active	2002–present
Height	5 ft 3 in (1.60 m)
Weight	97 lb (44 kg)
Sport
Country	Brazil
Sport	Skateboarding
Turned pro	2017
Medal record Women's street skateboarding Representing  Brazil World Championships 2015 Chicago Street 2016 Los Angeles Street 2017 Los Angeles Street 2018 Rio de Janeiro Street Summer X Games 2010 Los Angeles Street 2011 Los Angeles Street 2012 Los Angeles Street 2013 Foz do Iguaçu Street 2013 Barcelona Real Women 2013 Los Angeles Street 2014 Austin Street 2017 Minneapolis Street 2018 Norway Street 2018 Sydney Street 2019 Shanghai Street 2021 California Street

Early life

Bufoni was born in São Paulo.^[1] She began skating at age nine,^[4] and her grandmother bought her first skateboard when she was 11.^[5]

"I grew up in the street playing sports all the time. We didn't have computers, no smartphones. All of the kids started skating, so I did too."^[6]

"My dad broke my board so I wouldn't skate anymore. I started to skateboard when I was nine years old; I was skating with all the guys in my neighborhood, and he was mad at me because I was the only girl in the middle of 10 guys. He smashed my board in front of me and said; You're not skating anymore, ever again."^[7] Her father eventually relented.^[6]

At the age of 14, Bufoni moved to the United States with older friends.^[8] She attended Hollywood High School, but left after missing so much school that she was in danger of being expelled.^[9]

Career

In 2007, Bufoni competed in her first X Games at the age of 14 in Los Angeles.^[9]

She is a five-time X Games gold medalist. She tied Elissa Steamer's decade-old record for most gold in Women's SKB Street with her win at XG Shanghai 2019. Overall she earned six straight medals in X Games Women's SKB Street (2010–2014) and the title at Shanghai 2019.^[10]

She has become one of the world's best-known and most influential action sports athletes.^[10] Bufoni was ranked the #1 women's street skateboarder by World Cup of Skateboarding four years in a row 2010–2013 and appeared in ^[11] The Guinness Book of World Records (2017) for the "Most Wins Of The World Cup of Skateboarding. In 2013, she was nominated for an ESPY Award – Best Female Action Sports Athlete.

Bufoni at the 2021 Red Bull Paris Conquest

In 2015, she won the first Street League Skateboarding Women's SLS Super Crown World Championship in Chicago, IL.^[12] She also appeared in the ESPN Magazine – The Body Issue.^[13] She was also the first female skater to sign for Nike SB in 2015.^[14]

In 2018, Forbes named Bufoni one of The Most Powerful Women In International Sports for 2018 (#25)^[15] and made Sports Pro Media's list for The World's Most Marketable Athletes for 2018 (#41).^[16] Further in 2018, she was named to the Forbes Brazil "Under 30" list.^[17]

In 2022, Bufoni set a world record (verified by Guinness World Records) for highest skateboard grind outside the back of a flying aircraft. This happened when the aircraft was flying over Merced, California. A video of this went viral in 2023. The aircraft was a C-130 transport plane, and was flying at an altitude of 9,022 feet when Bufoni did the skateboard grind.^[18]

Bufoni is the official athlete representative for World Skate, the International Olympic Committee-recognized governing body for Skateboarding.^[10]

Racing

A racing fan since her youth, Bufoni raced go-karts at a track on the parking lot of the Shopping Aricanduva mall, which was located near a skate park that she grew up on. She eventually stopped to focus on skateboarding when she moved to America,^[19][20] but occasionally dabbled in supercar racing when available.^[21][22] She built a drift car in 2020.^[19]

In 2022, as she scaled back her skating career to focus on other projects, she began racing in Nitro Rallycross' side-by-side class.^[19] Despite racing without practice, Bufoni finished seventh and sixth in her first weekend at ERX Motor Park.^[23][24] She ran the full 2023–24 Nitrocross SxS season and placed fifth in points.^[25]

Bufoni made her desert racing at the NORRA 500 in October 2023, where she shared a modified Nissan Frontier with Chris Forsberg. The two won the Stock Production class.^[26]

Personal life

On April 7, 2021, Bufoni became a citizen of the United States.^[27]

Competitions

• 2015 – 1st Place: Far'n High Women's Finals – Paris, France
• 2015 – 1st Place: Excellent Mystic Skate Cup Women's Street – Prague, Czech Republic
• 2015 – 1st Place: Street League Super Crown Women's Finals – Chicago, USA
• 2016 – 1st Place: Far'n' High Women's Finals – Paris, France – Paris, France
• 2016 – 1st Place: Mystic Sk8 Cup Women's Open – Prague, Czech Republic
• 2016 – 2nd Place: Street League Super Crown Women's Finals – Los Angeles, USA
• 2017 – 3rd Place: X Games Minneapolis Skateboard Street – Minneapolis, USA
• 2017 – 2nd Place: Street League Super Crown Women's Finals – Los Angeles, USA
• 2018 – 1st Place: X Games Norway Skateboard Street – Oslo, Norway
• 2018 – 2nd Place: World Cup of Skateboarding Street – Vigo, Spain
• 2018 – 2nd Place: X Games Skateboard Street – Sydney, Australia
• 2019 – 1st Place: X Games Skateboard Street – Shanghai, China
• 2019 – 2nd Place: Dew Tour – Long Beach, California, USA
• 2021 – 1st Place: X Games Skateboard Street - Vista, California, USA

Awards

• Nickelodeon 2016 Kids' Choice Sports – Queen Of Swag
• Cartoon Network 2014 Hall of Game Awards – She Got Game

In media

Bufoni is a playable character in the video game Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 5. She also appears in Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1 + 2, an enhanced remake of the first two Pro Skater games with an updated roster of playable skaters.

Bufoni plays a featured role in the music video for "Snapback" by Old Dominion.