CHENNAI: Feel free, jump higher, you can keep going for hours without getting any pain whatsoever!” Mohammed Wasif’s voice rings clear across the open air bright space of Airborne, Chennai’s first exclusive trampoline park. The sunlight filtering through green canopies and netted-walls creates vibrant patterns across the colourful spread of trampolines of all sizes.
The mild background sounds of traffic across Khader Nawaz Khan Road add to the feeling of being outdoors, minus the heat thanks to the high canopy. Airborne has added the one thing it was lacking so far — fun, fitness and recreation all rolled it into one, or more, hours of crazy jumping!
Remember the times when we would go to birthday parties, or amusement parks, and fight for our chance on the jumping castle or the trampoline? Well, this is the same thing except, there’s no age limit at all! “If you can walk, you can jump. Anyone from age 3 to 70 can jump around!” smiles Wasif, taking us on a tour around the 2500 sq ft space spread with colour-bordered grey trampoline squares and rectangles. It’s hard to believe that this very space was, just five months ago, an open terrace with no particular purpose, but the entrepreneur in Wasif always knew there was more that can be done here.
Being a fitness and sports enthusiast from childhood, Wasif wished to add a new sport to the city. The idea of a trampoline park took seed when Wasif’s fiancé visited one in Hong Kong. “I researched and discovered that this is made for adults. And this was it!” he says. A year of planning and five months of construction later, Airborne opened to much fanfare last week, and already has some dedicated regulars.
Combining recreation with fitness, trampolining is a popular sport in countries abroad. It relieves stress and activates all your muscles in the legs, stomach and core; it is considered serious fitness regimen if followed regularly. “In fact, you can burn double the calories, without much strain to your muscles — you may feel exhausted but you will never get any pain anywhere, unlike other sports. This is because there is no resistance when you’re jumping; the trampoline goes down and up with you,” he explains. They are now planning on scheduling fitness classes during weekday mornings.
For each trampoline, depending on the size and number of springs, the throw and the jump is different. The more time you spend on the trampolines, the more tricks you learn. Wasif jumps across a series of trampolines and his last jump ends in a swan dive into a comfortably large foam pit, filled with large foam cubes of various colours. There’s also an inclined trampoline along the stretch in one end, with basketball hoops on either end. “Slam dunking while trampolining is a whole other kind of cool! Just yesterday a bunch of guys from school spent so much time here,” says Wasif, showing us some moves and dunking a ball.
He feels Chennai always welcomes anything new, especially when it comes to fun and fitness. “Chennai has many arenas for specialised fitness sports like football, shuttle and cricket. But if I don’t know these sports, I can’t enjoy them.”But trampolining can be enjoyed by anybody, no strings attached! “As adults, sometimes we get bored when we take our kid to the playground. But if you go trampolining, you too will end up having a lot of fun!” he laughs. Wasif also felt this is great way to get away from digital games. Quoting the tagline of Airborne, Wasif says “It’s all about getting the bounce back in life!”
Airborne Trampoline Park is at #10/29, KNK Road, Nungambakkam. For details call: 8838984470
Benefits
Low-impact exercise
Burns calories faster (a 10-min bounce is similar to
a 30-minute run)
Improves your sense of balance
Increases oxygen circulation
Increases energy and sense
of vitality
Firms and tones muscles