Morning joggers and evening strollers at Marina beach are often treated to acts that showcase speed, balance and defy gravity. In the centre of this spectacle is the Skateboarding In Chennai crew, better known as SIC. The eight-year-old collective started by Deepak Shukla and Tanzeem Ahmed has over the years welcomed skateboarders from across the city into its fold, giving them the space and encouragement to pursue the sport.
The Skateboarding In Chennai crew, better known as SIC, at Marina Beach | Photo Credit: Johan Sathya
When Vijay Dominic first picked up this sport as a 16-year-old, people would laugh at him while he practised on the street in front of his house. It made him conscious, and he stopped till he discovered SIC in 2016. Today, 28-year-old Vijay teaches skateboarding to 25 children in Madras Wheelers Skatepark, OMR and G Skatepark, Medavakkam. “I used to coach on and off. Since 2018, there has been a spike in interest in this sport. Ever since, I’ve been teaching every day.”
His students are a mix of leisure skaters and serious ones who want to represent the State. Ten of his students also made it to the Nationals held in Bengaluru last year. They are primarily in the six-to-17 age group; he also has a 36-year-old-student.
A training session in progress at WallRide Park, Hyderabad | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
For Jacob Dan Paul, a former dancer and another member of SIC, it was love at first fall. A few years ago, his dance teacher introduced a skateboard to try out new moves. “I fell the moment I stepped on it. Being on the skateboard, however, was a different experience. So, I ordered one for myself, online.” He started practising at Anna Nagar Tower Park, where he met other skaters. Soon, friendships were forged over the sport. Practise sessions started in the early mornings and rolled into late nights and continue to be that way.
Jacob also teaches children twice a week, but Saturday nights are reserved for himself, when it is just him and his skateboard, mastering new tricks. At Decathlon’s flagship store in Nolambur, where he works, he says skateboards are seeing brisk business, with 30 to 35 being sold every month. Additionally, he also gets enquiries on social media from skaters across different cities asking where they can buy skateboards.
Ever since the introduction of skateboarding in the Tokyo 2020 Olympics held in 2021, more parents are enrolling their children into this sport. Hamza Khan who started WallRide Park in Hyderabad says there has been a 60% increase in the number of skateboarders who frequent his facility. Last December at the Nationals, children from his school won two silvers and a bronze. Before this skatepark was built, Hamza and few other enthusiasts used a stretch of road near the Lakdikapul station. It was dirty and they had to sweep it before using it. ‘It was also seedy at times and we couldn’t really train children there,” says Hamza, who got WallRide Park built in 2017.
WallRide Park was started by Hamza Khan in 2017 | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
Around 100 skaters turn up at the park every month, mostly in the six-to-30 age group. There are a few 40-year-olds as well who have joined, intrigued by the tricks. A number of people who grew up abroad and were exposed to this sport now have the opportunity to refresh their skills at these skateparks.
Abhishek, who set up WallRide Park, is an avid skateboarder himself and has built nearly 35 to 40 skateparks around the country. Abhishek, with fellow skater Darius Bharucha started 100 Ramps, a professional skatepark company in 2015 and has over the years built facilities in Chennai, Hyderabad, Calicut, Udaipur, Ahmedabad, Baroda, Pune, Gwalior, and Goa. All these cities have a skateboarding culture,” says Abhishek who started skateboarding 13 years ago, when the sport was still in its nascent stages in India.
At that point he says there were just four of them doing it in Bengaluru. In 2010 Abhishek started Holystoked Collective in Bengaluru with a few other skateboarders. The collective organises workshops, has a shop which sells equipment, and provides a space for people to roll. “It was always about growing a community and involving the members. We also have artists and musicians who come to hangout and connect with other people. These kinds of places are important,” says Abhishek. In a week 150 to 200 people turn up to skate, of which 20 are regulars. The numbers have grown exponentially and now he barely even knows the newcomers as there are so many.
Love at first fall | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
A sense of community is important, feels Hamza. “When I was learning a few tricks off the Internet, it took me six months. When I started trying them with the community, I noticed I learnt a lot faster,” he adds.
Other than dedicated skateparks, Jacob says skateboarders in Chennai and Mumbai have also been using the ramp built by cafe-bar SOCIAL in their compounds in Express Avenue Mall and Khar. “It was such a great vibe to skate there with a DJ playing music, and people giving shout outs from the bar above. Now the ramp at Express Mall SOCIAL , however, is in need of repair,” he adds.
The long term goal for Jacob, Vijay and other skateboarders is to give back to the community. They want to spread the joy of skateboarding and have their own academies, skate shops, and make funky skateboards and merchandise. “It’s a sport that you need to experience to understand how it can make you feel,” says Vijay, adding that it is hard to explain why he is passionate about it. While it challenges and pushes the skater physically and mentally, he says, it also teaches an important lesson: “To pick yourself every time you fall , dust yourself, get back on the board and never give up.”
