Kochi’s 'Loop' Is Defining A New Era For Indian Urban Recreation and Street Culture

As a true blue Kochi girl, it is with a sense of pride that I declare the fact that it is a veritable melting pot of interests and subcultures. From wonderful musicians to truly unique entrepreneurs, we’ve got it all. You might remember coming across the following video on the Homegrown Feed during Onam 2023, which exemplifies the growing popularity of street culture in the state.

The street subculture has truly taken deep roots in Kerala and ventures and initiatives opening up to provide better avenues to professional and amateur enthusiasts. There is also a lot of nuance that is closely entwined with the Malayali identity that has given rise to a truly unique form of music and street culture that is unique to the locale. Southside origin tracks such as Malabari Banger which combine the Malabar Muslim music form with modern rap or the sound of MC Couper who spits in Malayalam at breakneck speed.

But most recently, a skatepark has opened up at Atlantis. 'Loop' is a professionally designed skate bowl, that has been created to promote the skill, adventure and sport of skateboarding, as well as related activities. This includes roller skating, skimboarding, BMXing, parkour and even break dancing and fashion events. The park is open to people of all ages, amateurs and professionals alike. The founders of the skatepark hope to build a passionate community around the space to organise events and opportunities for the community. 

As a venture, Loop is a dream project executed by a group of adventurous skateboarders of Kerala, who have come together as 'Thought Station Studio'. While talking to Homegrown, Raeez Hyder,one of the founders of Loop mentioned, “The existing prospects of one seeing skateboarding as a sport in Kerala is a hundred-to-one shot., “The existing prospects of one seeing skateboarding as a sport in Kerala is a hundred-to-one shot. But one of the defining aspects of skateboarding is the sheer amount of styles one can pursue. And one of the quintessential and the most fun styles is bowl skating. Here at Loop, we hope to redefine the art of bowl skating in Kerala and beyond, by creating this professional skating bowl. This was the thought behind curating a technically and artistically designed platform where skateboard aspirants can piece together in their own way.”

The launch of the skate park was marked by the Fire Bowl festival hosted by Loop over the New Year's Weekend from 29-31 December 2023. The brand positioned the festival as an inaugural celebration to open up opportunities for professional and amateur skateboard enthusiasts, as well as for aficionandos of other related adventure sports and related subcultural events. From workshops to showcases, and competitions to music and streetwear pop-ups, the event was a way for Loop as a venture to let people know that they have truly arrived!

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