A Humble Path to Gold Buckle Greatness for 2020 World Champion Jose Vitor Leme
By: Justin Felisko
ARLINGTON, Texas – Jose Vitor Leme climbed into a white golf cart in the bowels of AT&T Stadium just before 11 p.m. on Saturday night and grabbed his cell phone out of his pocket.
The newly minted World Champion’s iPhone would not stop buzzing as the golf cart hummed its way toward the ramp that exits the home of the Dallas Cowboys onto East Randol Mill Road.
Leme let out a laugh and shook his head in disbelief.
“This is crazy,” he said, looking down at his phone. “So many people are messaging me. I can’t keep up.”
Leme turned his head toward the left and peered inside the arena, giving himself one more glance at where he had just ridden Woopaa for 95.75 points to clinch the 2020 PBR World Championship about an hour-and-a-half earlier.
“This journey is amazing,” Leme said. “This is my dream. My life. But I know there is still plenty of work to do.”
Leme finally had a small moment to exhale and sit back in the aftermath of his title-clinching ride.
The cool breeze amidst the Arlington, Texas, night was a welcome relief to the 24-year-old, who still had dirt on the brow of his forehead.
There were only a few stragglers left strolling down AT&T Way of the 15,000 socially distanced fans who were on their feet cheering for Leme when he became the PBR’s 19th different World Champion in its 27-year history. He is the seventh Brazilian-born, rider to claim the PBR’s top title.
As the golf cart slowed to a stop just before Lot 4, where Leme’s white 2017 Ford F-350 was parked, Leme paused before hopping into his truck to make the quick 2.5-mile, five-minute drive back to the Hilton Arlington.
He looked back at the stadium where he had finally achieved his lifelong dream.
“You see, someday I want to be like J.B. (Mauney),” Leme said. “People love him. The fans. The 90-point rides. He is the best. There is still so much I want to accomplish. I have always said I wanted to be a World Champion, and if I got that accomplished, I know I want to be a two-time World Champion. But, really, I want to be the record-breaker. I want do so something impossible, something nobody has ever done.
“I have that drive. I always want to do better and do the impossible because I know I can do it.”
The PBR will be releasing a documentary on Leme’s successful 2020 season called “Chasing History with Jose Vitor Leme” in the coming weeks on its social media channels.
A LONG BIKE RIDE IN BRAZIL
Leme grew up in Ribas do Rio Pardo, Brazil. He quickly became enthralled with the sport of bull riding and started getting on calves as early as 7 years old.
His father, Antonio, used to compete at local bull ridings in Brazil, and has a ranch with livestock. Jose Vitor seemed destine to be on the path of becoming a bull rider until his parents divorced when he was 13.
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With his parents separated, Jose Vitor switched things up and became focusing on soccer, which he first started playing at 11 years old, and practicing karate, eventually displaying his tremendous athletic ability on the field as a semi-professional soccer player.
Leme, however, still had this burning desire to give bull riding a shot. The problem was, in Brazil, it often takes an invitation to compete at an event or elite level. Therefore, his options were extremely limited at first seeing as he wasn’t fully immersed in the bull riding culture just yet.
When he was 17 years old, Leme finally found an opportunity in Rochedo, which is near where his mother, Silvia, lived in Campo Grande.
The problem was Leme did not have a car or an easy means to get there.
So what did Leme do?
Unlike his easy 5-minute drive to and from the hotel this past week during the PBR World Finals, Leme hopped on his bike and pedaled the six miles, both ways, to compete at his first event.
“As a kid growing up in Brazil, it’s different,” Leme said with the help of Paulo Crimber translating. “It’s not a championship or an association you can ride in. You’ve got to be invited to be able to go somewhere. I was just a kid starting. I didn’t know nobody. Nobody really knew me, and the only little things I had around me was 10 kilometers away. It was kind of a jackpot type of deal, a small deal, and I had to ride my bike that much to get to it. I didn’t have anybody to take me.”
“That was kind of the beginning, the very beginning, of my story. I always wanted to go to a big tour, a big association, but it took a while to make that happen.”
And how did he fair at that first event?
“I bucked off,” Leme said with a laugh. “I got called for a slap.”
A HUMBLE UPBRINGING AND A FRUITFUL PHONE CALL HOME
Leme would continue to ride his bike, walk, or take the bus to find places to compete in Brazil as his love for bull riding grew.
Antonio was excited to share in his son’s passion for the sport. Antonio quickly bought his son a bull rope, boots and spurs.
“It was really funny, because when I was playing soccer, my dad never bought me new soccer shoes or anything new,” Leme said before smiling. “My dad helped me out on the path (of becoming a bull rider) because he really liked it.”
It was not easy, though, Leme admitted.
Traveling to events could be costly, and so too is maintaining equipment.
Leme learned to improvise with his gear as best he could and would reuse tape to tie his boots.
“At times I didn’t have money to buy the equipment for me to do my work,” Leme explained. “We have some kind of bags in Brazil. I cut off the hangers of them to make spur straps, or I would just get some old tapes to get my boots wrapped up and tied on. It was really hard.
“But it paid off, and my dad helped me a bunch, and I owe all that to him.”
Antonio was one of the first phone calls Leme made on Saturday night before he attended a virtual press conference following his title-clinching, win in Round 3.
Antonio was unable to watch Leme’s sensational World Finals victory live three years ago, but a family friend was able to help him watch his son win the world title on RidePass this weekend.
Leme lowered his cowboy hat over his eyes and he attempted to tuck his chin as tears began to stream down his face as the father and son shared in the victory.
“I was kind of a lot like him, really quiet (at first),” Leme said. “He never wants to express his emotions through words or anything like that, but I knew that in his own way, he was really, really proud of me. He never was the kind to say ‘congratulations’ too much, but he did today, and that was really great.
“That’s the reason I came over here (to the United States), to try to give them a better life. And today I’m able to, and it’s something that’s really emotional and touched me really hard.”
Leme concluded the 2020 season with $1.6 million in earnings, and he hopes his father will let him buy him a new ranch or help make improvements to the family ranch. In 2017, Leme used portions of his winnings from the 2017 World Finals event victory to buy Silvia a new house.
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Silvia had Leme laughing on stage when he called home to tell her he was finally a World Champion.
“My mom is the opposite of my dad,” Leme said. “She cannot speak right now. She only cries. She’s just really emotional, and she was crying a lot, but I know she just had no words to describe how proud and how happy she was for me, for this moment I’m living right now. And it’s just amazing.”
Leme’s family likely would have come to the United States to watch their son cap off his historic World Championship season if not for the COVID-19 pandemic leading to travel restrictions all over the world.
Last year, Silvia and Leme’s little sister, Lais, attended the 2019 PBR World Finals only to see Jose Vitor lose in heartbreaking fashion to Jess Lockwood.
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It was then Leme vowed to his family that he would not return home to Brazil until he was a World Champion.
“I told them I was not going to go back home before I got that gold buckle,” Leme said. “Last year, I was going to go, but I had that loss, and I was second, and I just changed my mind about going back. This year, I was kind of waiting to see where I was to make sure I was going to go back a World Champion, and now I got it.
“I can go home and get there and give them a big hug and say, ‘Mom, dad, now I came back home and I did what I went there for, to get that gold buckle. Now I’m a World Champion. Thank you for all you’ve done for me.’”
HEARTBREAK IN LAS VEGAS
Jose Vitor Leme stood just beyond the out gate and began to tug at the riding glove on his left hand on November 10, 2019.
“The champ is here” was blaring on full blast throughout the loudspeakers at T-Mobile Arena as newly minted 2019 World Champion Jess Lockwood climbed aboard Canadian Mist during the championship round of the 2019 PBR World Finals.
Leme tucked his chin and his upper lip quivered as he waited for Lockwood’s celebration to end inside the arena. CBS Sports Network needed to do an interview with him, and Leme understood.
Regardless, Leme could not hide his pain any longer. His heartbreak. His soul-crushing disappointment.
A small tear began to trickle down his right cheek as that reality set in.
The 2017 PBR World Finals event winner had received a standing ovation from the PBR’s loyal fan base minutes earlier.
Everyone in attendance, as well as Lockwood and the other 39 riders in the locker room, knew Leme put forth an unbelievable season even if it did not end with a gold buckle.
But being runner-up for a second consecutive season a year after finishing 422.5 points behind 2018 World Champion Kaique Pacheco cut into Leme unlike anything else. Rarely has he ever displayed that level of sadness or frustration since he went 6-for-6 to win the 2017 PBR World Finals in his United States debut.
Lucas Divino saw Leme struggling and gave him a massive hug, letting him bury his head away from the cameras. Divino is one of Leme’s closest friends. The two traveled together in Brazil, and Divino knew in that moment that his best friend needed someone to tell him to not give up on his dreams.
Divino held Leme tight and told him, “Don’t stop. Keep working. Know you are the best the entire year and next year you will be a World Champion.”
One year later, and Divino was one of the first men inside the locker room to give Leme a big hug.
He once again held him tight, “You see? You fought. You are a World Champion right now. Congratulations, my friend. You have fought real hard for this.”
Leme made a promise to himself last year inside T-Mobile Arena that he would work that much harder in the offseason. He was determined to reach the pinnacle of being a World Champion this year.
“That was probably the moment I walked away from the arena last year, knowing I lost, and I knew this year I was going to work so hard to make that (not) happen (again),” Leme said. “And I did. I won a lot of rounds. I won of events, and I was better than everybody else. I knew the only way for me not to get it this year was just because God didn’t want me to. But if it was counting on me to do my job, I knew I was going to get it. And here I am. World Champion.”
A COMMITMENT TO BE BETTER
Leme path’s to his first gold buckle was nothing short of relentless.
He began to train, train and train at home in the days, weeks and months following his second consecutive runner-up finish in the world title race last fall.
He would get on practice bulls almost daily, even after he had opened up a 593.09-point lead in the world standings by the second week of September. Even after he became only the third rider all-time to win three consecutive premier series events this past August/September, he refused to become complacent.
Leme wanted to make sure he left no stone unturned in the 2020 World Championship race, and he dedicated himself to making sure he could ride the rankest bulls in the world, not just into his hand, but away from it.
“My crying today is different. That was crying of joy, and that’s different from last year,” Leme said. “It’s hard for anybody to work so hard through the year, and leading most of the year, being No. 1, and then come to that point and finish in second. That’s so tough, and so hard, and most people probably give up on that. All my friends, Lucas and all my other friends, helped me go through that and keep my head up and work for it, because I know as hard as I worked, one day I would get it. It wasn’t last year, but I knew sooner or later I was going to get it.”
If none of his friends were available to practice, he would get on bulls by himself and have his dogs, Angel and Turbo, serve as his bullfighters.
“Every day I tried to keep getting better at my work, at my job,” Leme, who also improved his English in 2020 as well. “I think that’s it. God gave it to me because he see how hard I work, and how hard I work to ride bulls away from my hand, and in my hand, and now I can ride them.”
Leme’s wife, Amanda, saw how hurt her husband was last year in the agony of defeat. She saw him wake up early and train nonstop during the last 12 months to reach this moment.
Amanda stood on the stage of AT&T Stadium Sunday night beaming from ear to ear. She knew her husband would one day make his dreams a true reality. She told him as such last year when he walked out of the locker room on Championship Sunday at the 2019 World Finals in Las Vegas without the gold buckle.
“It is a really different set of emotions from last year to this,” Amanda said with the help of Paulo Crimber translating. We are expecting a baby (boy in February). Our baby is going to be so proud of his daddy. Last year was a loss. This year is a win. He never really changed. Everything he does, he never does halfway. He always goes forward. He did what he was supposed to do and kept his belief in himself. He worked hard, and here it is.”
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Leme’s obsession with excellence paid off tremendously this season even before he departed AT&T Stadium with the 2020 world title.
Leme had already put forth one of the greatest seasons in PBR history before he finished off his gold buckle campaign with a 3-for-5 performance at the PBR World Finals. The four-time PBR World Finals qualifier finished 2020 44-for-65 (67.89%) with seven event wins, nine 90-point rides and 16 round wins. Leme failed to earn world points in only four of the 20 Unleash The Beast events at which he competed.
He was also one event win away from tying Justin McBride’s all-time record for most event wins in one season (8). McBride competed at 34 events in 2008 compared to Leme’s 20.
“That is a special young man,” McBride said during the CBS Sports Network telecast. “I have got to watch over the last 20-plus years all of the greats that have come through the PBR and I have not seen anybody do it in any bigger fashion than what Jose Vitor Leme has done in 2020.”
Three-time World Champion Adriano Moraes witnessed Leme’s rise to greatness beginning in 2017 when Leme won the prestigious PBR Brazil Triple Crown – 2017 PBR Brazil champion, 2017 PBR Brazil Finals event winner and 2017 PBR Brazil Rookie of the Year. Leme’s dominance in Brazil in 2017 led to him receiving a berth at the Velocity Tour Finals, which led to Leme then qualifying and winning the 2017 PBR World Finals.
Circa 2017: Looking back at Jose Vitor Leme’s sensational introduction to PBR fans in 2017
Moraes spoke at length with Leme this past January in New York about how Leme could improve riding bulls away from his hand, and Moraes is proud to see Leme put the work in to add his name to the PBR record books.
“I am very excited, very pleased that he finally got it,” Moraes said. “But I am not surprised. I knew it was coming. I am very proud he was able to overcome these bad couple of weeks at the end of the season he had compared to what he was. I am very proud, but not surprised. I knew it was coming, and I am very, very very excited that he was able to wrap it up with a 95.75 ride. I am very, very thrilled.”
One of the rankest rides Leme made in 2020 outside of his emphatic 95.75-point ride on Woopaa wound up coming away from his hand when he rode 2019 ABBI Classic champion Chiseled for 94 points in Salt Lake City, Utah, on Aug. 22.
Leme then conquered two-time YETI World Champion Bull Smooth Operator for 94.25 points on Sept. 12 in Billings, Montana, as he won both the 15/15 Bucking Battle and the event title that weekend.
Coincidentally, what wound up slowing Leme down was not the rankest bulls on the planet, but rather a worldwide pandemic. Leme had to miss the next two UTB events, putting a halt to his winning streak, after coming in contact with someone who tested positive for COVID-19.
During a year of uncertainty, Leme never worried about COVID-19 cancelling the remainder of the season. He was confident the PBR and its Commissioner Sean Gleason would keep the sport moving forward.
“I really never kind of got too worried about the COVID or anything like that,” Leme said. “I didn’t think about any of that through the year, because I knew God has a time for everything. And if it was God’s time – God puts something down, right, and nothing’s going to change. And I didn’t let that bother me none.”
2008 World Champion Guilherme Marchi finished runner-up in three consecutive world title races before ultimately winning his gold buckle 12 years ago.
“It is amazing how he rides, so strong, focused, confident, everything,” Marchi said on Sunday morning. “It is amazing. He deserves it. It is beautiful. At the house, he has been working hard the last two years. He finished second and was very close. Now he make his dream come true. I am very proud of him because we know how hard he has been pushing himself. Practicing every day. Getting on all kinds of bulls. Rank bulls. Easy bulls.
“He told me, ‘I want to learn how to ride any caliber of bulls. Hard bulls. Easy bulls. Bulls away from (my) hand.’
“What we see this year and all year long. All the events he win. The three events straight. All the 90-points. That is what he has been doing. He is proving to himself how good he is, and he proved to everybody he is the best in the world. I am happy because I know where he come from. Since he first started riding bulls as a kid, he wished to be a bull rider. Since he start, he has been pushing himself. He wanted to be the best. He wanted to prove to himself how good he is.”
Leme finished 656.09 points ahead of world No. 2 Joao Ricardo Vieira, who was unable to compete at the World Finals after testing positive for COVID-19.
2018 World Champion Kaique Pacheco shook Leme’s hand in the locker room late on Saturday night once Leme’s round win aboard Woopaa officially eliminated him from world title contention.
Pacheco was the last man mathematically alive in the world title race on Saturday night, and he ultimately finished sixth in the world standings two years after he held off Leme for the World Championship.
“He’s amazing,” Pacheco said. “He’s just had a great year. He’s the guy who won the most events, most rounds, almost broke a lot of records. And I’m his fan. He rides great. He’s been awesome. Fun to watch.”
There was another fellow World Champion on Saturday night who made sure to seek out Leme inside the locker room.
Lockwood, the man who indirectly caused Leme so much heartbreak one year ago, had a massive grin on his face.
“You deserve this, champ,” Lockwood said before shaking Leme’s hand.
Lockwood said he knew Leme would come back motivated to not let himself feel that kind of disappointment again in 2020.
“When you’re neck-and-neck like that, and you lose, of course it’s going to piss you off and you’re going to want to do better next year, which is what he did,” Lockwood said. “He’s done incredible, and he’s a World Champ. He’s so damn good. I’m looking forward to next year so much, just to ride with him and compete with how good he’s riding at this point.”
‘THIS IS THE GREATEST MOMENT OF MY CAREER – SO FAR’
There was a subtle, but extremely telling moment Saturday night on the center stage inside AT&T Stadium in the aftermath of Leme’s 95.75-point, gold buckle-clinching, Round 3 victory.
Leme was amidst an interview with Kate Harrison on CBS Sports Network when he reflected on his historic season and said, “This is the greatest moment of my career, so far.”
So far?
Leme had just reached the pinnacle of the sport, and he still believes there is more to accomplish and do? Instead of reveling in his success, the newly minted World Champion already was thinking about what is next and how can he be that much better even though he had just put forth one of the greatest seasons in PBR history.
“I say that because I’m not done yet,” Leme explained later. “I’m still riding, and every year, I try to be better than I was. I want to try to break all my own records, and I want to win one, two, three, four, as many as I can, because to me, I think I can be better every day. And if I did good this year, next year I’ll be working harder to do better than I did this year. And that automatically gives me a chance to break my own records, be 97 (points), win another, another, another gold buckle. That’s what I want.”
Nine-time World Champion Ty Murray could relate.
Murray explained earlier on Saturday morning before Leme had even clinched the world title that even an all-time great such as himself never felt exactly satisfied.
“It’s programmed into him,” Murray said. “That shows the level of just everything. Commitment, dedication, understanding, and willingness to make those adjustments to get better. I know that in my career, I never felt like I was as good as I could have been. It’s almost like you retire at some point, not feeling like you ever really got as much as you should’ve got, or could’ve got.
“It’s like an everyday thing that you have to work at. So that’s impressive.”
Leme’s athletic prowess was immediately evident when he showed up three years ago as an unknown, 5-foot-5 bull rider with thick quads, a chiseled body and a knack for landing on his feet after riding bull after bull at his first PBR World Finals.
But what no one knew then was just how committed Leme was to greatness.
Leme’s dedication, focus and drive is making waves throughout the sport, and impressing legends and World Champions of previous decades.
2009 World Champion Kody Lostroh expressed his amazement and belief that Leme will go down as the all-time greatest bull rider if he continues on his current trajectory.
Lostroh believes a champion like Leme can elevate the sport to even greater heights.
“We’ve seen lots of very talented guys in the PBR, but I don’t think we’ve ever seen one as talented and devoted as Jose,” Lostroh said. “What he’s done in the past couple years is special. Not only does he have talent, but he’s got high work ethic that is rare among talented riders.
“The thing about greatness, like he’s shown, is that it’s attainable for everyone if they’re willing to work at it hard enough. And I love seeing a guy pour his heart into a goal like that. Not everyone is blessed with natural ability, but everyone has the same opportunity to put in hard work. The future will belong to those who put in the work like Jose. His story is a building block to keep the level of competition rising. Because right now, Jose has set the bar as high as I’ve ever seen. He will break all the records before his career is done.”
A BEER WITH THE CHAMP
The man who Leme aspires to be in the arena, and the one he talked about in the wee hours of Saturday night on the way to his truck, was the one wanting to spend time with him on Sunday long after the World Finals wrapped up.
The locker room was empty except for three riders – Leme, Mauney and Pacheco. Paulo Crimber and his son, John, also remained.
Mauney had waited for all of the pomp and circumstances inside the arena to end.
He watched Leme hoist the PBR World Championship like he did in 2013 and 2015. He grinned as Leme took a celebratory drink of Coors Banquet out of the prestigious trophy.
The legendary bull rider, and future first ballot Ring of Honor inductee, told Leme earlier in the day he wanted to have a beer with him before he left.
Around 8:45 p.m. the powerful moment finally happened.
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Two juggernauts of the sport who respect each other greatly drank a beer together in private and chatted for about 20 minutes.
Some may say it was a passing of the torch, but Mauney, of course, made sure to tell Leme he was ready to come after his gold buckle in 2021.
But this week, and this year, was all about Leme.
“He is a badass,” Mauney said. “You are the company you keep. Nah, I cracked a beer and I said, ‘This is one thing we are going to do. You are at least going to take a swig and toast on it.’”
Mauney then looked Leme in the eye.
“You are a bull riding bastard,” Mauney said.
THE GOLD BUCKLE ON THE WALL
When Leme got back home to his ranch on Sunday night, he could finally look at the wall in one of his rooms with beaming pride.
Leme had kept a daily reminder of his pursuit of a World Championship at his ranch in Decatur, Texas, for the last two years.
There is a room where he has hung a slew of his prestigious event buckles that he has won in his brief three-plus year career. Whether it is the 2017 PBR World Finals event buckle that came only 10 days after he first stepped foot in the United States, or one of his 13 event wins on the Unleash The Beast, Leme cherishes all of his victories.
However, Leme had kept an empty spot on the wall for a gold buckle.
Every day he wanted to make sure he remembered why he needed to walk outside to his personal practice pen, or spend an hour on the treadmill in his workout room.
Leme will now finally be able to place a gold buckle in that slot once his name is officially engraved on the Montana Silversmiths 2020 PBR World Championship buckle
“It’s going to be amazing,” Leme said. “The spot in the house, I’m going to look at it for a long time. Just to be able to open a door in your house and walk in and look over there and see that the most prestigious title and buckle you can have is right there. I got it. It’s going to be amazing.
“It’s going to be something that’s going to be special forever.”
Follow Justin Felisko on Twitter @jfelisko
Photo courtesy of Andy Watson/Bull Stock Media
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