Bold Helmets: A Sikh-Owned Company Is Designing Accessible Helmets For Kids Wearing Patkas

No parent should ever have to choose between their child’s safety and happiness. And yet, without the recognition of the rest of the world, large portions of our population have to make this impossible choice every day. For parents of Sikh kids, this can mean telling their children that, no, they can’t go on a bike ride around the neighbourhood or join a contact sport, all because helmets are built without them in mind. 

Tina Singh, the founder of Bold Helmets, grew frustrated by the lack of options available to her kids. Since her kids tied their long hair into top knots and wore patkas, traditional bike helmets couldn’t properly fit over their heads. Something as simple as hopping on a bike suddenly became a battle between safety and faith. Even if a child wearing a patka was to squeeze their top knot into a helmet, it wouldn’t fit properly, compromising both their safety and comfort.

As an occupational therapist, Tina knew that the risks of sending her kids out without a helmet were too severe — nothing was worth the risk of injury if something were to happen. So they tried to make do, as most Sikhs around do. She and her husband, Herpreet, went as far as drilling holes in conventional bike helmets to try and get them to fit comfortably over their kids’ patkas. But, of course, all these little fixes were just bandaids plastered over a much deeper issue: no one was making their products with Sikh kids in mind. 

After years of trying to adjust to the exclusionary norm, Tina had enough. After meetings with an engineer and extensive research, she finally created a helmet that could properly accommodate her children's needs. Bold Helmets are designed to fit around a child’s patka, offering a panel of additional space at the top of their heads while still closely protecting their skulls. For the first time, Tina and other Sikh parents around the world have a safe, reliable option for their kids. 

Bold Helmets first became available online and in limited stores across Canada, where Tina and her family are from. Two years after launching the brand, Tina and Herpreet appeared on the hit television show Dragon’s Den Canada to pitch their idea to a panel of prominent investors. The clip of their pitch went on to amass over 4 million views online, demonstrating once again that inclusivity is not only a priority for Tina and her family but for millions of people around the world. Their mission resonated with audiences in Canada and beyond, and now Bold Helmets can be purchased internationally, including in India.

Bold Helmets is just one piece of a much larger conversation about inclusivity and accessibility. Those two words are thrown around a lot today, and yet, we fail to consider them in their simplest, most daily applications. For those of us who aren’t Sikh, the thought of something as seemingly mundane as a bicycle helmet being uninclusive likely never even crossed our minds. And yet, the millions of Sikhs within India and beyond are affected by little things like this daily. The same goes for other marginalised groups; women in hijabs, for instance, have discussed that the removal of a bicycle helmet can take off their hijab entirely, limiting their options for what they can wear and do. 

The only way forward is to amplify these concerns and give them respect. After all, the passion of one woman who wanted to see her children safely explore fun activities has now given thousands of other kids the chance to do so too. 

Follow Bold Helmets here. 

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