Leticia Bufoni

Letícia Bufoni is a Brazilian skateboarding icon who traded vert ramps for race tracks, bringing the same fearless energy that earned her six X Games gold medals to the world of off-road racing and high-speed competition.

EARLY YEARS

Born April 13, 1993, in São Paulo, Brazil, Letícia Bufoni e Silva grew up in an environment that practically begged her to become an adrenaline junkie. Her childhood playground was the Shopping Aricanduva mall, where a skate park sat conveniently close to a go-kart track in the parking lot. While most kids were begging their parents for another round at the arcade, young Letícia was dividing her time between perfecting kickflips and tearing up the karting circuit.

Her father recognized early that his daughter wasn’t cut from ordinary cloth. When she was eleven, he started taking her to skateboarding contests and skate parks, becoming her biggest supporter and chauffeur. By the time she was fourteen, Bufoni had convinced him to let her make a move that would change everything: relocating to Southern California to pursue skateboarding professionally. It was a gutsy call for a teenager from São Paulo, but then again, gutsy was becoming her trademark.

The go-karts at that mall parking lot weren’t just a distraction—they planted a seed. Even as skateboarding became her primary focus, racing never fully left her system. She was a racing fan from youth, storing away that competitive fire for later use.

OTHER INTERESTS

Calling Bufoni “multi-talented” feels like an understatement. When she’s not skateboarding or racing, she’s typically doing something that would make most people’s insurance agents nervous. Her recent projects include skydiving with Red Bull—because apparently jumping out of planes seemed like a logical next step—along with wake surfing, regular surfing, and soccer.

As she put it herself, “I’m always doing something,” and car racing sits comfortably on that list of controlled chaos she calls hobbies. In 2022, she deliberately scaled back her skateboarding commitments to explore these other projects, giving herself permission to chase down interests that had been simmering on the back burner.

Her adventurous spirit isn’t just weekend warrior stuff—it’s calculated and often record-breaking. In 2023, she set a Guinness World Record for the highest skateboard grind outside a flying aircraft at 9,022 feet, along with creating the largest skatepark in an aircraft. Because why do something halfway when you can do it at cruising altitude?

EARLY SUCCESS

Bufoni’s early success came entirely from skateboarding, where she became nothing short of legendary. Her first contest win came at age eleven, and from there, she built a resume that most action sports athletes would need two lifetimes to achieve. By 2015, she became the first female skater signed by Nike SB, a milestone that signaled she’d reached the sport’s upper echelon.

Her skateboarding dominance translated to twelve X Games medals total—six of them gold—making her the most decorated female Summer X Games athlete in history. In 2013, she earned an ESPY nomination for Best Female Action Sports Athlete, and by 2017, she became the first Executive Athlete Ambassador for World Skate, a position she held until 2022.

When it came time to dip her toes back into racing, Bufoni didn’t mess around with baby steps. In 2020, she built a drift car. By 2022, she made her Nitrocross SxS debut at ERX Motor Park, finishing seventh and sixth without any practice—because apparently, showing up and figuring it out is just how she operates. That same casual confidence served her well when she ran a supercar lap at Exotics Racing in a Ferrari 488 Pista, clocking 54.306 seconds and landing 40th on the female Michelin Time Trial Challenge leaderboard.

The racing credentials started stacking up quickly. In October 2023, she co-drove a modified Nissan Frontier with Chris Forsberg to a Stock Production class win at the NORRA 500, proving she could handle endurance off-road racing as easily as she handled a skateboard. She followed that up by competing in the full 2023-24 Nitrocross SxS season, finishing fifth in points—not bad for someone who treats racing as a side hustle.

NOTABLE ACHIEVEMENTS

• 2023: Won Stock Production class at NORRA 500 (co-driver with Chris Forsberg in modified Nissan Frontier)
• 2023-24: Finished 5th in points in Nitrocross SxS season
• 2023: Set Guinness World Record for highest skateboard grind outside flying aircraft (9,022 feet) and largest skatepark in aircraft
• 2023: Clocked 54.306-second lap in Ferrari 488 Pista at Exotics Racing, placing 40th on female Michelin Time Trial Challenge leaderboard
• 2022: Made Nitrocross SxS debut at ERX Motor Park, finishing 7th and 6th without practice
• 2022: Set Guinness World Record for most X Games golds in female street skateboarding
• 2020: Built drift car
• 2019: Tied record with sixth X Games gold medal in Women’s Street Skateboarding
• 2017-2022: Served as first Executive Athlete Ambassador for World Skate
• 2015: Featured in ESPN Magazine Body Issue as first Brazilian skateboarder; became first female skater signed by Nike SB
• 2013: ESPY nominee for Best Female Action Sports Athlete

INSPIRATIONS

While specific racing heroes haven’t been documented, Bufoni’s racing passion traces back to her childhood as a self-described racing fan who spent time at that go-kart track near her skate park in São Paulo. Her father’s unwavering support—driving her to contests, believing in her dreams, and ultimately letting her move to the United States at fourteen—clearly shaped her willingness to chase down whatever interested her, whether it had two wheels, four wheels, or no wheels at all.

REPUTATION

Bufoni brings a rare crossover appeal to motorsports—she’s not a racer trying to build credibility; she’s an established action sports legend trying something new because she can. Media coverage has highlighted her “incredible skills” when covering her supercar performances, and her ability to finish competitively in Nitrocross without practice sessions suggests she’s got the natural talent to back up the confidence.

In the skateboarding world, her reputation is ironclad. She’s influenced an entire generation of female skaters and holds records that may stand for decades. That credibility creates an interesting dynamic in racing—she’s not under pressure to prove herself as an athlete, which might actually make her more dangerous on track. She races because she wants to, not because she needs to, and that freedom shows in her fearless approach.

Her partnership with Chris Forsberg at the NORRA 500 demonstrated she can work within a team structure and earn the respect of established racing professionals. Exotics Racing’s coverage of her supercar lap made it clear they viewed her as a legitimate talent, not just a celebrity guest.

FUTURE GOALS/PLANS

Specific racing plans for 2025 and beyond haven’t been publicly documented, which seems fitting for someone who operates on controlled spontaneity. Her 2022 decision to scale back skateboarding for “other projects” including racing suggests she’s keeping her options open rather than committing to a rigid schedule. Given her track record of jumping into new challenges—sometimes literally from aircraft—it’s safe to assume that if an interesting racing opportunity presents itself, she’ll show up ready to compete.

References:

Wikipedia – Letícia Bufoni
Exotics Racing – Leticia Bufoni Sets Impressive Lap Time
Letícia Bufoni Official Website – About
Glorious Sport – Leticia Bufoni Interview
Red Bull – How Leticia Bufoni Changed Skateboarding Forever
HER WAY Sports Media – Leticia Bufoni