The trailblazing career of Leticia Bufoni – the undisputed queen of skateboarding

Leticia Bufoni is a professional skateboarder from Brazil who has achieved international recognition for her skills and accomplishments in the competitive world of skateboarding.

She is a three-time X Game gold medalist and the first woman to win the Street League Skateboarding World Tour. Bufoni’s incredible strength and composure arguably make her the best female skater today.

She has been featured in the ESPN Body issue and has endorsements from some of the leading skateboarding brands, nevertheless, she has always kept it 100% and followed her passion.

Bufoni is also a philanthropist, working with charities internationally to promote the skateboarding buzz in underprivileged areas. She is a role model for female skateboarders, inspiring many young women to take up the sport – which remains a male-dominated industry.

Bufoni was born in São Paulo on the 13th of April, 1993. The young Brazilian began skating at the age of nine after she insisted her grandmother buy her a skateboard. “ 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,” shared Bufoni in an interview.

Brazilian streets are not known for their good asphalt and smooth tarmac. Growing up in and skating around São Paulo was a challenge, where the slightest mistake can result in a very painful crash. Uneven ledges, bumpy roads, ditches, and potholes, are every skater's dream! (Not…)

“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,” Bufoni told Thrasher Mag.

Her father eventually rectified her and saw her immense talent. At the age of 14, Bufoni moved to the United States with older friends. She attended Hollywood High School but left after missing too much school.

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In 2007, Bufoni achieved her first X Games title at age 14 in Los Angeles. Such an important moment in her skating career as she proved to herself and everyone around here that she truly has the “juice” of a champion! She tied Elissa Steamer’s decade-old record for most gold in Women's SKB Street.

The Brazilian champion was ranked the No.1 women’s street skateboarder by World Cup Skateboarding four years in a row from 2010-2013. She also holds the Guinness Book of World Records (2017) for the “Most Wins of the World Cup of Skateboarding”.

In 2018, Forbes named Bufoni one of the most powerful women in international sports for their 2018 awards. She was also named on Forbes Brazil “Under 30” list. Her positive influence is recognized worldwide, and she is now a symbol for future female skaters to follow.

She has become one of the world’s best-known and most influential female athletes in the world for her inspirational trajectory in the world of skateboarding. She had to overcome Brazil's lack of infrastructure and opportunities, only to come back stronger and help build a strong foundation for future Brazilian skaters.

The world's best female paid skater knows where she came from and how hard it was for her dreams to flourish. Bufoni constantly gives back to her community and continues to be a positive role model to this day. She has 5.4 mn followers across Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.

Bufoni is now the official athlete representative for World Skate, the International Olympic Committee-recognized governing body of Skateboarding. Still skates with the same power and ambition as that 9-year-old girl from São Paulo.