Come Sunday, in an alley leading off Road No 36, Banjara Hills, you’ll find a bunch of boys and men gliding along the street on skateboards. The more seasoned will pull a few tricks on the funbox (a raised platform) while others cheer and pull a few themselves. This is the small but growing breed of skateboarders in the city.
Mostly including teenagers and young men, the group of about two dozens also sports a few in their middle age. But once on the board, it only matters how skilled you are.
Last Sunday, a smaller group of eight showed us why it’s cool to skateboard. An initiative by the sports apparel company, Quicksilver, the group uses the store premises for training and the alley behind the store for practice.
Tribhuvan Kokkula, the most experienced and the trainer for the band of boys, has been skateboarding for the past seven years. A doctor by education, Tribhuvan discovered the joyride when he was training to be a doctor in China. “I saw guys on campus skateboarding and asked them to show me how it’s done. Once I picked it up, I was hooked.”
Since coming back, Tribhuvan has given up his doctoral practice and has been focusing on skateboarding instead. “This is my passion. I train those interested for the company (Quicksilver). I hope that more people get interested so we can start bringing in sponsors, and maybe some of them can go professional.”
Though still growing in the country, it isn’t an invisible sport that is practised among just a few. “Places like Delhi and Pune have many takers. In Bangalore there is even a skate park,” shared Aryaman Madireddy. Having discovered the sport two years ago, the 16-year old is now hooked as well. With his board examinations just done, he hopes he can spend more time practicing.
Along with him was his friend Satyaraj, who says he was introduced to skateboarding first through Aryaman and then the internet. “I started skateboarding about two years ago as well. What’s great is that Hyderabad has slopes that make it fun to skateboard on.”
Rattling off names of skateboarding biggies, the kind of boards that are used and the physics involved, it’s clear they are more than just interested.
“The bases to most tricks is the ‘ollie’ which is where the tail of the board is used to propel the skateboard off the ground,” Aryaman reeled off while we walked to the practice space.
Quicksilver, which opened a store about a year ago in the city, has since been organising the skateboarding meets. Randall Alvares, whose been with the store from the same time, is another skateboarder who loves his board. Telling us about the sport, he explains, “There are three kinds of boards that are used; the longboard, that you can use to glide, and the skateboard, that you use for tricks, are the most used. The longboard comes with bigger wheels that make it easier to use on any terrain while the one used for tricks has smaller wheels that need smooth surfaces.”
One can buy an assembled board or customise their own by buying the parts separately, he added.
While most anybody can pick up the sport at any point of time, Tribhuvan said the best time to start is at age five. “You are younger, more unafraid and won’t get injured as much,” he pointed out. Manan Khan though, at 12, is perhaps the youngest member in the group. Handling the Go Pro camera for recording the sessions besides learning how to skateboard himself, he’s been into the sport for the past four months. His mother, who comes along with him once in a while, is happy her son has picked up the board. Ask her if she has any reservations about his choice of game, she said, “It’s quite safe and there are trained people who look after him. Anyway, it’s what he likes, so it’s up to him.”
And among the few who struggle at perfecting the art that takes years, there are also a few quick learners in the group. Like Prince Karthik. Barely a year into the sport, the teenager has managed to semi-perfect a hop on-and-off the funbox.
Skateboarding meets take place at the store located on Road no 36 every Sunday, 3:30pm onwards. Anyone is welcome, the group re-iterates. Girls take a hint!
