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Video length: 6 min
VIDEO. Golo and Ritchie, the inseparable duo of friends from Grigny
Since they were little, they have been inseparable: Ritchie, mildly autistic, and Golo, his “brother”. A “precious”, funny and caring friendship that we discovered on the networks and which took them to Booba’s Stade de France and now to the cinema. Our journalist Leïla Amrouche went to meet them at their home, in the La Grande Borne district.
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Since they were little, they have been inseparable: Ritchie, mildly autistic, and Golo, his “brother”. A “precious”, funny and caring friendship that we discovered on the networks and which took them to Booba’s Stade de France and now to the cinema. Our journalist Leïla Amrouche went to meet them at their home, in the La Grande Borne district.
Golo explains with emotion: “Ritchie, he’s my brother, he’s not my best friend, he’s not my best friend. Ritchie, he’s my brother.” Their bond dates back to their childhood in the Méridien district of Grigny. “That’s where we hung out, we stayed there,” says Golo, showing the emblematic places where they spent their free time playing improvised football.
Even if they did not have “Nothing”, they were happy in this carefree childhood. Golo already had a talent for videography: “I’ve always made videos. Even when I was hanging out there, I made videos. Sometimes we did little scenarios.”
It was a video taken every day that started it all. Golo says with humor: “One day I went to the grocery store. Ritchie, he was on his bike. I said to him, ‘Drop me off at 8 to Eight.’ I get on the handlebars and I have my phone like this and I make a video.” Ritchie’s cult replica “Take your hand away!” caused a buzz on social networks.
Since then, their daily life full of humor and kindness has gone viral. “We send a lot of awareness messages,” underlines Golo. Their family ended up joining: “In the beginning, it was a bit of a hassle (…) But then, as soon as she saw why, how, we didn’t make fun of her. And that’s it. Now, she trusts us.”
Their popularity grew until they performed at the Stade de France in front of Booba. “After the Stade de France, it was incredible. Until today, he hasn’t let us go,” rejoices Golo. Their next step? Cinema with a film about their friendship by bike between Marseille and Grigny.
Despite the notoriety, Ritchie remains himself according to Golo: “He stays in his element, on the bike, it doesn’t make him hot or cold. Afterwards, that’s why we love him. That he doesn’t change anyway.”