Kickflippin’ it like a queen: How these Mumbai girls are making skateboarding their own

What began as a pastime in parking lots and on railway platforms has found a firm footing in Mumbairsquos skateparks Once a subculture known to few skateboarding is gaining a lot of momentum In graffitisplashed spaces where wheels whir and skateboards knock on the concrete beginners try balancing on their new boards while seasoned professionals chase new tricksShruti Bhosle has been skateboarding since she was 14Among them are girls from the Mumbai skateboarding scene mdash unafraid unapologetic and fierce While the hiphop artistes and the streetwear brands dig this revolution social media has amplified it to another extent Videos of girls skateboarding are taking the internet by the storm and rightfully so social media has become a platform for them to selfexpress and spread awareness about the sport As a matter of fact these girls are not simply skating but claiming space and redefining what skateboarding looks likeSisterhood for the skategalsAs a growing subculture skateboarding is gradually drawing more girls to be a part of the sport not just as an aesthetic to be practised but as a shift in the cultural dynamics of the sport For many of them it has become a form of selfexpression along with being a sport While some people prefer to customise their skateboards with their favourite forms of art others make it a lifestyle by pairing it up with streetwear clothing mdash oversized tees and baggy jeans Some prefer to make it more desi by adding in a flair of jhumkasor going all out and skateboarding in a sareeTulika NaagAs Shruti Bhosle notes ldquoWhen I first draped a saree and went skateboarding it was a very unusual experience for me It felt like I was embracing my roots while doing what I love to dordquo The girls in the skateboarding community have formed a support system that is very heartwarming to note ldquoMeeting girls who share the same interests or just simply enjoy skateboarding is always very specialrdquo says Tulika Naag a 22yearold who is a part of the Girls Skateboarding Community of Mumbai ldquoThe scene is definitely growing nowrdquo she adds ldquoGirls are enjoying it and I can see more of them getting into skateboarding Itrsquos not a huge number but itrsquos somethingrdquoRepping it internationallyShruti Bhosle 21 has represented India at international tournaments winning eleven medals across national and international games ldquoThere is barely any financial funding for women in sportsrdquo she says ldquoIrsquom due for a knee surgery before I can be back on the board againrdquo The injury has interrupted her training schedule for the time beingBhosle began skateboarding when she was fourteen overcoming her familyrsquos hesitancy towards her pursuing the sport due to the uncertain career path and the lack of safety involved However she pushed through that doubt with a lot of hard work and practice Her resilience and dedication led her to hone her skills in the field and win the title of the national champion at 19 When she was selected to represent India in the international games a lot of gaps in the support for women athletes became clearerldquoI was overjoyed to see the Indian womenrsquos cricket team get the amount of love and appreciation that they didrdquo she adds ldquoI just wish it was the same for other womenrsquos sports as wellrdquo Since last year Bhosle has also been a part of the Wild Wild Women team mdash an allwomen group of five rappers two Bgirls one graffiti artist and her as the skateboarderWho says itrsquos not for womenAs one of the first girls to learn skateboarding in her locality Sareena Coutinho 20 was taught by her sisterrsquos friend While it was extremely intimidating for a girl to enter a space dominated by men Coutinho knew that she had to carve out a space for herself there To her surprise most of the men in the community were open to teaching her new tricks and helping her outldquoThe boys in the park have never made me feel like an outsider They had been mastering this art for years some of them were the pioneers of the Mumbai skateboarding scene Skating with them was a huge thing for me and they never made me feel any lessrdquo Coutinho recollects ldquoHowever the world outside the skating park still seems to be stuck in the same mindset mdash I have heard various comments being passed on how I should not be skateboarding that it is not a womenrsquos sport or that Irsquoll get hurt easilyrdquoFor Coutinho the community that came with the sport mattered the most ldquoI am trying to expand the community by teaching girls how to skateboard without any feesrdquo she adds ldquoI want to create the same community that had backed me up when I first began Truly the support around you matters the mostrdquoA transformative experienceAhmedabadbased Shivangi Mishra does not see skateboarding only as a sport but as a way of life What started off as a mere hobby to add to the list seemed to stick in a way that nothing else had ldquoI was never a lsquosportyrsquo kidrdquo she says ldquoMy parents were worried if I would ever stick to skateboarding because I was so scared of getting hurt in the process Somehow skateboarding felt very liberating It gave me this high that I could not seem to get out of anything else and it transformed the way I viewed myself and the world around merdquoShivangi MishraMishra further adds ldquoSkateboarding is also one of the things that keeps me coming back to Mumbai over and over againrdquo At 22 she is now working towards She Skate an initiative that she has taken to teach skateboarding completely free of cost to young girls With the expanding hiphop culture in Ahmedabad Mishra is trying to incorporate this element into the sceneArt passed down generationsAntima Bisht 29 takes great pride in the skateboarding workshops that she conducts As a professional who began her journey in 2014 going skateboarding with her friends in the locality drew her to the sport ldquoThere were no coaches at the timerdquo she says ldquoIt was all a community effort I joined a crew that I found at the time and continued skateboarding with themrdquoAntima Bisht teaching skateboarding to her students at Nerul Skatepark PICSAYYED SAMEER ABEDIWhile she has witnessed 35yearolds trying to experience the sport her most enthusiastic learners are ones aged 79 years She began her journey by longboarding which is a sister sport that includes a longer skateboard and skating downhill Bisht also remembers that skateboarding was a novelty for Mumbai back when she started ldquoWhen I started out it used to be an exclusive sportrdquo she smiles ldquoI never wanted to keep it to myself My motto was to have fun but also make the sport accessible to as many people as possiblerdquoShe has been conducting workshops since the last seven years Bisht shares ldquoItrsquos always been something I love to do mdash passing the sport on to othersrdquo She claims that more resources need to be put into the maintenance and upkeep of skateparks to foster a better learning environment for the sportspersonsinthemakingA long way to goSayyed AzharhussainldquoThere are still fewer girls in the sport than what I had expectedrdquo says Sayyed Azharhussain a 30yearold skateboarding coach who founded the Bombay Skate Academy ldquoI just hope that skateboarding as a sport gets more traction from the people as well as the governmentrdquo Skateboarding as a sport still has a long way to go and there is a lot of talent in the city that could represent the sport both locally and globally As Bisht notes ldquoIt has changed quite a lot since we began skateboardingrdquo the revolutionised version of the sport has bold women at the forefront mdash performing kickflips and ollies and making everyone proud