Skateboarders are usually a very tight-knit community, more so than other brewing sub-cultures. It hasn’t been that long since India’s boarding scene officially made its mark either. Catalysed by Nick Smith’s opening of Sk8 Goa all the way back in 2003, the small yet significant step shook things up for the skate community and things have been moving along steadily, even quickly, since. And it would appear the international skateboarding fraternity is equally excited to expand their cozy family right into our subcontinent, if their kindness over the years is anything to go by. They’ve been helping to build parks, bowls, and ramps spread sporadically across the country.
Cities like Bangalore lead the pack, but it seems like other parts of India are playing catch-up, including more surprising places like Hampi, Ranchi and Kovalam. Suffice to say then that skateboarding in India is not just generating buzz, but is here to stay, with a group of dedicated individuals at the very crux of the scene. Skate crews are doing more than their bit to nurture the sport that is still in its nascent stage. There seems to be a larger cause that everyone is working towards, and that is to turn India into a kick-flip and ollie-crazy country. Catering to the dream that every child who wants to, should have their own set of wheels. With India now boasting multiple skateparks in cities and towns, we’re off to a pretty good start. Scroll down to take a look at them.
Play Arena, Bengaluru
Play Arena claims to have something for everyone, offering 30 different sports in the process. The skate park is just one of many other features, loaded with a 10 ft bowl, a 30 ft run, spines, ramps and funboxes.
Find it here.
Freemotion Sk8, New Delhi
This is built in a compact basement in Freedom Fighter’s Colony, which serves as a great case study for more space-starved cities like Mumbai to explore. It is expertly crafted with multiple ramps and pillars and Freemotion is also laden with new-age graffiti and sells boards and stickers.
Find it here.
Khar Social, Mumbai
The guys at Impresario tied up with Red Bull and Nick Smith to build a community skate park like no other. This is Mumbai’s first skate park and is in the middle of an uber watering hole offering a vibe like no other. It’s become an interesting social experiment in itself, with kids from very varying backgrounds showing up in the day to skate, while Mumbai’s young professionals turn up later in the evening to sit on cushions and drink cocktails as they unwind in the same place that the kids were doing ollies just an hour before. We did a pretty in-depth feature and photo narrative on it here.
Find it here.
Cirrus, Goa
Cirrus likes to keep their location a secret to keep it exclusive, but we can tell you it is somewhere on the highway towards Chapora. It is quite a challenge looking for this underground art, music and skate haven, but the treasure at the end of this hunt is well worth it.
Find it here.
Youth Hostel, Goa
Located across Miramar beach, this setup was spearheaded by Goa’s close-knit skating community, and was sponsored by Vans. With art that is rivaled by the brilliant view, this park is well on its way to becoming India’s favourite new spot.
FInd it here.
Coconut Castle, Kovalam
Coconut Castle is in the front yard of SISP (a not for profit school), they also have a unique skating facility on the terrace. The park was only made possible by the people from the skate community in Sweden, Germany and England, now both areas together are spread over 4500 sq. ft, and it was entirely crown funded. The people at SISP offer free skateboarding lessons for the school drop-outs in the area and it is also free to use the facility during school hours.
Find it here.
Janwar Skatepark
The Janwar skatepark is truly one of a kind. Located in the eastern buffer zone of the Panna National Tiger Reserve, it is India’s first rural skatepark and also the largest, sprawling over 450 sqm. They follow a ‘No Government School. No Skateboarding.’ rule to encourage the village kids to study, and it works. The park was completed in February, 2015 with the support of skate-aid e.V (Munster, Germany), Freemotion (Delhi) and 12 volunteers from 7 countries.
Find it here.
Baba Saheb Ambedkar Skate Park, Pune
This park holds a special place in the history of Indian skateboarding because it is the first park to be built by the city’s official government body. The entire project is a brainchild of deputy mayor Aba Bagul and is estimated at Rs 62 lakhs. The small skateboard community of about 15-20 people use this space regularly to grow and better their game, the aim to is to grow the city’s alternative sports culture.
Find it here.
The Skate Park, Auroville
Designed by two Spanish brothers, Juan and Samai Reboul who also started the Kallialay Surf school, The Skate Park, is a youth hub, a forest island, and a safe environment to bring families, friends and children together in Auroville which also hosts an annual skating competition.
Find it here.
Carter Road, Mumbai
The SkatePark in Mumbai on the Carter Road Promenade was made by Bandra Collective, Altamash Sayed for Bombay SB and Sanskaar Sawant of Homework Book Studio along with with the MMB (Mumbai Maritime Board), the BWRA (Bandra West Residents Association). It has proven to be a great example of how public spaces contribute and enhance the lives of citizens. It is intended to be the first of many dynamic, easily accessible open spaces in the city promoting collaborations to bring together different design sensibilities.
Find it here.
Desert Dolphin, Rajasthan
The Desert Dolphin Skatepark was constructed as a part of the international feature film titled ‘Skater Girl’ on Netflix. Built with the team from 100 Ramps with the help of Indian and International volunteers, the skatepark remains a free public use skatepark, with the aim of continuing the social impact such skateparks have on rural Indian villages.
Find it here.
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