Michael "Pancho" Locke, the former star of the cult MTV show Dirty Sanchez, has died aged 47. His close friend Nigel Hunt, founder of the San Portablo clothing brand, has paid tribute to a man he described as central to Port Talbot's thriving creative and alternative scene.
A Life Remembered in Port Talbot
Locke, who was born in Neath, found fame on the outrageous stunt and prank television show alongside Matthew Pritchard, Lee Dainton and Dan Joyce. In the decade since his television career, he became a backer of the San Portablo clothing brand alongside his friend and founder Nigel Hunt.
Hunt, who described Pancho as being like a brother to him, said the sudden loss had left those who knew him devastated, but the extraordinary outpouring of support from the community has helped them begin to come to terms with their grief.
He said: "I loved him like a brother, really, like a son. To see the outpouring of love as people have been finding out the news is really helping, I think, all of us to cope."
Community Support and Tributes
Hunt said that on Saturday people have been coming into the shop to offer their condolences, bringing cards and flowers, including people who had not even known Pancho personally.
He said: "People today are just coming in and giving us cards and flowers. Everyone's coming in. People who didn't even know him are coming up to us. It's really nice. His family is here now because people just feel compelled to come."
Hunt described Pancho as a hugely talented skateboarder and footballer who had an effortless ability to make people laugh. He said: "He lived a magnificent life. He was a very talented skateboarder and a talented footballer, and he had the ability to make people laugh without trying. He was really nonchalant about it. He did magnificent things and had the career he had not through luck but through talent, grit and hard work."
Central to the Creative Scene
Together, they had helped build San Portablo, a clothing brand which became part of a wider subculture in the town, supporting musicians, comedians, artists, photographers, poets and anyone trying to make something of themselves.
Hunt said: "We've built a clothing brand and that sort of subculture in Port Talbot that is really thriving. Pancho was central to it; encouraging comedians, bands, bars, poets, anyone who's having a go, photographers. He has been central to this sort of evolution of the scene. At the last In it Together festival, we stood together and looked at the sea of colour, of people wearing our brand, it was such a proud moment for both of us. He was so so proud of the brand we created."
He said he hoped the community could now come together to continue that work in Pancho's memory. "Seeing Port Talbot be named Town of Culture is something now I'd like us to do in his name, really. And I think that we can," he said. "I think we can tell our story. That will be really good for Port Talbot and its culture going forward."
Remembering a Friend
Hunt said he had already heard from friends and fellow creatives who wanted to organise tributes, with gigs and other events expected to take place in Pancho's honour. He also spoke candidly about the shock of losing someone he had been so close to, revealing he had been at the scene where his friend was found.
He said: "I was on the scene where he was found and to see my best mate like that was something I'm not sure I will ever get over. To be that sort of helpless, that you can't save him. I loved him, and there he was in front of me, and I couldn't wake him up. I couldn't do anything."
Hunt recalled how his brother, who had known Pancho even longer through skateboarding, had visited Pancho after returning from Barcelona. There had been plenty of laughter, he said. "It was a total shock, losing him. It was just days ago we were laughing together," he said. "Like everyone, he had his demons. He just couldn't fight them any longer."
Hunt acknowledged that Pancho, like everyone, had his difficult moments and had sometimes made mistakes, but said those who loved him would remember the person behind them. "Sometimes you think he's a genius, but a lot of the time he's an idiot," he said affectionately. "It is hard to put into words how much he will be missed."
For Hunt, the support shown by the community has been a reminder of just how many lives Pancho touched. He added that he hoped to see the community carry forward the work they had started together, ensuring Pancho's influence on Port Talbot's culture would not be forgotten.
