Felipe Gustavo (born 22 February 1991) is a Brazilian professional

skateboarder Skateboarding is an action sport that involves riding and performing tricks using a skateboard, as well as a recreational activity, an art form, an entertainment industry job, and a method of transportation. Originating in the United Stat ...

who is specialized in street skateboarding.

Early life

Felipe Gustavo was born on 22 February 1991 in

Brasília Brasília ( ; ) is the capital city, capital of Brazil and Federal District (Brazil), Federal District. Located in the Brazilian highlands in the country's Central-West Region, Brazil, Central-West region, it was founded by President Juscelino ...

, Brazil. Felipe began skateboarding at the age of seven after being introduced to the sport by his two older brothers.

Career

In 2007, Felipe's father sold their family car to buy himself and Felipe tickets to travel to the 2007 Tampa Am contest in

Tampa, Florida Tampa ( ) is a city on the Gulf Coast of the United States, Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. Tampa's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and t ...

. Felipe won the contest, gaining him both national and international fame. Afterwards, he joined the elite team at skateboarding company

Plan B Skateboards Plan B Skateboards is a skateboarding company based in San Diego California, United States, founded by Mike Ternasky, Danny Way and Colin McKay. PlanB has been manufacturing and selling premium skateboard hard goods and apparel since 1991 . Hi ...

. In November 2013, Felipe went professional. His inaugural season at

Street League Skateboarding Street League Skateboarding (SLS) is an international skateboarding tournament series. The league features professional street skateboarders competing for the largest monetary prize in the history of skateboarding, and was founded by professiona ...

in 2015 was slowed by injuries. Also, in 2015, Felipe won the Make the Switch Award at Red Bull Hart Lines in

Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

. In 2018, Felipe won a bronze medal in Street at X Games Norway. Also in 2018, he won 3rd place at the World Skate World Championships and won 2nd place at Tampa Pro in

Tampa Bay Tampa Bay is a large natural harbor and shallow estuary connected to the Gulf of Mexico on the west-central coast of Florida, comprising Hillsborough Bay, McKay Bay, Old Tampa Bay, Middle Tampa Bay, and Lower Tampa Bay. The largest freshwater i ...

, Florida. In 2019, Felipe was among eight men and eight women selected for Brazil's first national skateboarding team. Also in 2019, he won 3rd place at the

Dew Tour The Dew Tour is an extreme sports circuit organized by Coalition 375 LLC, an alliance of elite action sports experts. History The tour was announced in late 2004, and made its debut in Louisville, KY in June 2005. The tour then made stops in ...

Long Beach Long Beach is a coastal city in southeastern Los Angeles County, California, United States. It is the list of United States cities by population, 44th-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 451,307 as of 2022. A charter ci ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

and won 3rd place at the Street League World Championships in

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro, or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of Rio de Janeiro. It is the List of cities in Brazil by population, second-most-populous city in Brazil (after São Paulo) and the Largest cities in the America ...

, Brazil. In March 2019, Felipe tore a

ligament A ligament is a type of fibrous connective tissue in the body that connects bones to other bones. It also connects flight feathers to bones, in dinosaurs and birds. All 30,000 species of amniotes (land animals with internal bones) have liga ...

in his right foot. It took more than a year before he could skateboard without feeling pain. In 2021, Felipe placed 14th in

Men's street Temple Street (Traditional Chinese characters, Chinese: 廟街) is a street located in the areas of Jordan, Hong Kong, Jordan and Yau Ma Tei in Kowloon, Hong Kong. It is known for its night market and is one of the busiest flea markets at ni ...

at the

2020 Tokyo Olympics The officially the and officially branded as were an international multi-sport event that was held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some of the preliminary sporting events beginning on 21 July 2021. Tokyo ...

. Felipe is on the Plan B Skateboards team and the Adidas Skateboarding squad.

Personal life

Felipe currently resides in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

, California. His nickname is Buchecha. Felipe is close friends with American skateboarder

Nyjah Huston Nyjah Imani Huston ( ; born November 30, 1994) is an American professional skateboarder. With numerous sponsorships and competition prize winnings, Huston is one of the highest paid skateboarders in the world. Huston won gold medals at the SLS ...

and Brazilian skateboarder Leticia Bufoni. Felipe considers anyone who skateboards to be "family."

References

External links

Felipe Gustavo
at The Boardr * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Gustavo, Felipe 1991 births Living people Brazilian skateboarders Olympic skateboarders for Brazil Skateboarders at the 2020 Summer Olympics Sportspeople from Brasília X Games competitors Skateboarders at the 2024 Summer Olympics