A skater and stunt man who helped turn a group of friends hurting each other into an MTV series, then carried that fame into a clothing brand built for his hometown, has died.
Friends and family announced the death of Michael Richard Locke, the skater and stunt man known to MTV viewers as Mike “Pancho” Locke, on Friday, Nov. 6, 2026, in a statement posted on the Facebook and Instagram pages of San Portablo, the Port Talbot clothing brand and shop he co-founded. Locke was 47.
“It is with profound sadness that San Portablo and the Locke family write of the passing of the father, son, brother, uncle, friend, skater, stuntman and all-round goodfella Michael Richard Locke,” the statement said. It called him “an absolute Welsh Treasure and San Portablo King” and closed, “Rest In Peace brother, your legend will never cease, it will only gain momentum.”
Locke was a father of two from Port Talbot, Wales. Neither a date nor a cause of death has been released.
The shop closed that day, according to the statement, and the doors stayed shut as the news spread. Fans filled the comments under the tribute post and on Locke’s Instagram account.
“Dirty Sanchez,” the Welsh stunt show that made Locke one of its four faces, ran on MTV from 2003 to 2007, with episodes built around a group harming themselves and each other. The show was described as pranks going further than “Jackass.” The cast paired Locke with Mathew Pritchard, fellow Welshman Lee Dainton and Englishman Dan Joyce.
The four started out in Newport, Wales, and later episodes were filmed elsewhere in the U.K. and internationally. MTV carried the show in the United Kingdom and Ireland, and MTV2 ran it in the United States under the titles “Sanchez Boys” and “Team Sanchez.” The show was broadcast in more than 64 countries, reaching about 400 million people.
“Dirty Sanchez: The Movie” followed in 2006, and Locke and Pritchard later appeared as the Pain Men on Channel 4’s “Balls of Steel.” A sequel film reuniting the original four-man cast has been announced as in development for 2027. Dainton confirmed that project on a podcast earlier in 2026, saying the sequel would likely be “more wholesome,” because the cast are now sober.
A Joke Name With a Point
Nigel Hunt, a former steelworker, started San Portablo about 10 years ago after the Port Talbot steelworks made him redundant. The name was a joke with a point. Port Talbot had spent decades absorbing derogatory remarks about its industrial landscape, and San Portablo handed the town a glamorous, Californian-sounding twist.
Locke came aboard as an official business partner, bringing his stunt-skater fame and creative energy to the brand’s frontline. The business began as pop-up stalls and grew into a permanent flagship store inside the Aberafan Shopping Centre, and the shop grew into a South Wales cultural hub rather than simply a clothing retailer. San Portablo, founded in 2016, marks a decade in business in 2026.
A Tribute From Everest Base Camp
Pritchard, his co-star and a friend of over 35 years, posted a video recorded on a trek to Everest base camp, saying he learned of the death that morning. “My little friend of over 35 years has left the building,” he said. He added that he had known Locke “since he was about 14 years old.” Pritchard, still on the mountain, said he would dedicate the base camp trip to Locke’s memory.
“I’m devastated, I love you Panch, until we meet again rest in power,” Pritchard posted.
The Premiere Panch Knew Nothing About
Dainton posted his own tribute alongside photos of Locke. “When you grow up skating with your friends you’re in your own little world,” he wrote.
Dainton also recalled surprising Locke with his own segment in the spin-off “Pritchard vs. Dainton.” “Premiere night came and his name appeared on screen, Dean Martin’s ‘That’s Amore’ kicked in and the whole cinema erupted. Panch had absolutely no idea. It was brilliant and he was made up. A newspaper wrote ‘A star was born’.”
Open Mics and the Drive Home
Sandro Ford, a Welsh comedian also from Port Talbot, said Locke and Hunt backed him from his earliest stand-up days, telling people to turn up to the shows he ran at the Surge, the Red Lion and Afan Ales and expecting nothing back for it.
Ford said Locke would travel to open mics with him just to watch him fail on stage, then laugh about it on the way home. “People might know him from the TV stuff, but he was much more than that; he was a clever, hilarious, and loyal person,” Ford wrote.
A mural in the shape of a skateboard, painted by street artist Steve “Jenks” Jenkins, has since been unveiled on Water Street in Aberafan, a couple of streets from where Locke lived, Nation.Cymru reported Nov. 9. It nods to skating, “Dirty Sanchez,” San Portablo and his family.
