Interview by Ross Zajac
Photography by Kerr Melville and Jonny Paterson
Hello Chib. First up, give us an introduction.
Hello Ross! I’m Chibuco, I’m a chef from Doncaster, and now I live in Glasgow.
So the original spelling of your name is ‘Xibuco’. Do you ever think about changing it back, to be more badass?
Yeah, my mum said this to me years ago, and I was like, “I could have had an X in my name?” It’s a Mozambican name.
We first met years ago in Carlisle, Cumbria. What made you move there?
I moved there for university, to do fine art. I met a lot of good people, and had a lot of fun.
How different was the skate scene there from Doncaster?
It was kind of like Doncaster, to be honest. It was a classic smaller scene; everyone knows each other, everyone skates together. It was always a good laugh. There are definitely some hidden gem spots in Carlisle, but it’s littered with almost spots that could be amazing if they weren’t completely unskateble. I think skating in places like that really make you appreciate the good spots, when you find them. It was so fun going on missions with Rafa (Pawlowicz), Sam Rimmer and Joe Williams; they were definitely the most motivated to search every corner of the town. Many intense sessions were had on the legendary tiny ledge at Carlisle skatepark.
Ollie up, gap to Sighthill bin crook. Photo: Kerr.
You’ve settled in pretty well in Glasgow; how are you finding it up here?
Glasgow’s great! I’ve been here about a year and a half. I’ve moved around quite a bit since I’ve been here, but I feel settled now, with my housemates Jonny Paterson and Kashif Saghar in Gorbals. There’s actually so much stuff to skate here, and stuff to do in general. The skate scene is pretty big; it’s sick to go out to any of the main spots, and there are always people there.
You have a couple of celebrity relatives; do you feel the pressure to live up to the family standards?
(Laughing) Nah, not really. My brother is a musician who goes by Skinny Pelembe, and my uncle Eusébio da Silva played football for Benfica. My brother actually got me into skating; he would record skate videos onto a VHS off the Extreme Sports Channel. I remember watching Adio One Step Beyond with him and thinking it was the coolest thing I ever saw.
Does your love of art and music influence your skating?
Yeah, I’d say so. I definitely get into moods with music that affect how I want to skate that day. I don’t think I’ve ever looked at a painting or something and thought, “I’m getting technical today” though (laughs). Skating has also influenced my love for art and music. Naturally, a lot of my music taste comes from watching skate videos; they’ve definitely broadened what I like, although I do wonder sometimes, “do I actually like Placebo, or do I just like Mark Appleyard’s part in Sorry?”
You had a brief stint riding for Karma. Was that your first time skating for a company?
Yeah, you and Kashif got me on, pretty much. You were on for years, and Kashif took the time to film me and pester OG (James Hewett) to send me boards. All of those trips were so fun; it was such a good crew. Best of luck to them lot with Casino Skateboards. I’m hyped to see them doing their own thing.
You're now heavily involved in Treatment Skateboards. Tell us about that.
So Kash, Kieran (Monteith), you and myself decided to start our own board brand, Treatment Skateboards. It’s something I’ve always wanted to do, and I’m excited about the way we are doing it. The trip we took to Newcastle to pick up our first boards was amazing; it was so surreal to hold the boards we had been designing. I’m really looking forward to the future of Treatment.
A tight Cowcaddens stair setup gets treated to a Chibuco back tail. Photo: Kerr.
Yeah, shout out Jackie at Native! You’re pretty good at claiming tricks. What’s your stupidest claim?
I guess I am pretty good at outlandish claims, but the best one I made was probably at that comp in Dumbarton years ago. I noseslid this double kink hubba, then came back up to the run up. I turned to you and said, “Ross, watch this”, and tried to nollie heel noseslide it. I’d never landed one before in my life, and tumbled down the hubba. Claiming stupid tricks is always a laugh.
So are you, though! My favourite claim you made was on a recent trip to Sunderland, claiming a switch back noseblunt on a little gap to ledge completely straight-faced, when you’ve never even tried one before.
I suppose you have to reach for the stars… We have an on-going joke where we’re over militant about ‘skate rules’. What popular trick do you think isn’t legit?
Probably nollie frontside lipslides. I do them every time I skate; I actually love them. You described it best, saying when you nollie into a lipslide, it’s kind of like slappying with your feet on either end of the board, and putting one truck on at a time. But still, nollie lipslides for life.
Wallride nollie amidst a residential Glaswegian setting. Photo: Paterson.
Right, quick fire round. Best Donny skater?
There are too many. Daniel Gayler, Tony Watson, Ryan Aitchison and Chewy.
Best Carlisle skater?
Rafal Pawlowicz.
Best Glasgow skater?
Kai Shannon and Martin Maguire.
Most talented sibling?
They’re all so talented! But it’s got to be Doya; he can frontside heelflip nearly as good as he can make tunes.
Least legit trick?
Nollie lipslide, or when you nosemanual and pivot round into fakie manual. The most stinking trick is one you invented, the ‘balanced diet grind’, which is a salad grind where you grab roast beef.
Thanks, Chib, Is there anyone you’d like to shout out or thank?
I’d like to thank Kerr Melville, Lorn Geddes, Blind Johnny (Haynes), you, Kashif Saghar, Kieran Monteith, Jonny Paterson, Cameron Donaldson, everyone on Treatment, OG Hewett, Mum, Rafal Pawlowicz. Everyone!
Follow Chibuco - @chibuco