Lane Splitting: The Motoboys of São Paulo

By Aiden Leslie

Hi all, my name is Aiden Leslie and I’m a junior at Florida State studying Political Science and International Relations. I have been awarded a grant from the Tyler Center to shoot and produce a mini-documentary in Sao Paulo, Brazil this summer.   

Ever since I was young, I was surrounded by cameras. My father founded a production company and I would often serve as an extra set of hands on shoots. The first time I ever left the country was to Germany to shoot a documentary on content marketing. I always found the camera as a fascinating tool used to tell stories in many different ways. However, the thing I always struggled with was finding the stories that I wanted to tell. That was until I visited Sao Paulo in February of 2024. 

Before transferring to Florida State in Fall of 2024, I was living, working, and going to school in St. Petersburg, Florida. There I made a friend who had been in the country through the Au Pair program, a program that brings in babysitters for wealthier families from different countries. This friend offered to bring me to his home in Sao Paulo, Brazil to experience their culture and lives. Being the adventurous soul I am, I quickly accepted without asking many questions.   

Upon arrival in Sao Paulo, I found myself experiencing what many call “culture shock”. I wasn’t experiencing the tourist version of Brazil, rather the raw and genuine lives of the lower and middle class of this mega city. In fact, I only saw one other American there in my ten days, and that was at the mall in the city center. Where I found myself staying, in a house with a family who spoke no English (and I spoke no Portuguese), was full of wild dogs running the streets, weaving in and out of incredibly busy traffic, dodging the motorcyclists whizzing by. 

The roads seemed somewhat lawless to me - cars refused to stay in their lanes, motorcycles sped by the car and in between traffic with big boxes on the back, turns were made whenever someone felt like it, and instead of traffic cops speed was measured by sensors implemented every few hundred meters. These roads are home to the focus of my project - The Motoboys. 

This summer, I’ll be traveling to São Paulo, Brazil to film a short documentary titled Lane Splitting. The film follows a group of young motorcycle couriers, known locally as Motoboys, who navigate some of the world’s most congested and chaotic roads to deliver essential goods across the city.

These riders, mostly young men between the ages of 18 and 29, work informally and often live in the outskirts of the city, far from opportunity and forced to navigate the poorly designed infrastructure. In São Paulo, public transportation is limited, and commuting times rank among the highest in the world. However, goods must still be delivered, and money still must be made. To circumvent the traffic, this job requires “Lane Splitting” - the dangerous practice of riding in between cars in traffic. Because of this, coupled with 12-14 hour work days and a lack of minimum wage and worker protections, being a Motoboy is one of the most dangerous jobs in Brazil.