Welcome back to another episode of our Homies & Stories series. Today’s story is all about the OG skatepark construction company of India, ‘100 Ramps’. Well 100 Ramps need no introduction. In one word if I have to say they are the real OG’s responsible for the skate scene and the skate culture in India. It has been a very long journey for them and this is what Darius from 100 Ramps has to say about it. Lets start the story!:
My story with Darius
Vaibhav (Piso) - I remember meeting Darius for the first time in Morjim(Goa) back in 2013 summers. It was the first time ever I visited a skate bowl/transition in my life. It was the Shiva palace bowl at Morjim. To share a brief history about the Shiva Palace bowl, it was built by Albert from Copenhagen. Me even after staying in Goa since birth, didn't know there was a skatepark just 30kms away from where I stay! Me and Darius didn't get much time to talk though, as Darius was busy planning out the extension for the Shiva palace with Poorna, and I was sitting quietly at one place due to an ankle injury.
I have been following his work since then, from the Shiva Palace bowl extension - to here today building top class professional skateparks all around the country & world! All I have is respect to this legend and all others involved with 100 ramps. If anyone thinks it's easy to build a park, I would say you'll should try building one haha!. It takes so much of hard work, care, curing, finishing etc. It's a life changing experience to build one. If there is an opportunity to build a park in your locality you'll should volunteer or build one. You'll learn so many things in building one skatepark than any degree you are pursuing in your professional career haha!
All those who are skating and having fun out there, all skate brands, tutors, skaters who are trying and hustling everyday to make the skate life dream a reality (still a long way to go); even thinking about this dream wouldn't have been possible without the commitment from the 100 ramps team. Full Piso team bows down to 100 Ramps contribution to the skate scene in India 🙏, without you guys things would have been totally different.
I can say with full confidence that if Piso has done some kind of minimal contribution to the skate scene in India, than I would say it'll account to say may be 2% to 5%, rest all was made possible due to the selfless commitment from 100 ramps and holystoked collectives . I hope some day someone makes a documentary on these legendary peeps so that the community out there knows how things were back then. They are the real OG’s behind the skate culture in India. Back then community was small, scene was small, you could literally count total number of proper skateboards in the country haha..... But the fun and the vibes were real, and way different than what it is today. I still miss my old skateboarding days; the memories are still fresh. Cheers to all those who got to be part of the trips, gatherings, events which happened back then. Even today I dream at times about those old days, if you know, you know!
Now lets hear what Darius had to say about 100 Ramps when I got a chance to know more about him and his construction company. This is what he had to say:
Darius Story : The 100 Ramps.
How did you got into skateboarding?
The first time I got on the board was in 2009… I just had a knee surgery (ACL) and 2 weeks after the surgery I went out to meet my friend Abhishek. He had a board which I grabbed onto, and started to push with my crutches still on haha!
Why skateboarding?? What skateboarding means to you? :
I have always loved building stuff with my own hands the DIY way. I remember I grew up sharing a room with my grand dad who loved bikes, tools and building his own stuff … kinda rubbed of on me. Right after my college I built a small Jam room (A music rehearsal studio). Did all the carpentry and acoustic panels myself. So when we started building ramps, that was it… It was better than anything I could have ever imagined.
How you got into building skateparks? Which was your first ever build? How was the feeling after completion of your first build?
It was 2012, as we were skating in play arena with a German dude called Bobenski. We got talking and pooled in some cash to build a mini ramp. Bobenski had little bit of an idea and knowledge on how to build a mini ramp. I remember him being on a call with some friend in Germany trying to figure out how much sand and cement to mix and stuff to build skateparks. It led to one of my epic builds where organization ‘Make life Skate life’ was formed. Levis sponsored some builders and pro skaters to come and build a skatepark with us.
How was 100 Ramps formed?
I started the company in 2016. Then in 2017 Baumi (Germany) got me and Abhishek together. Initially it was supposed to be 3 of us, but Baumi moved back to Germany permanently. So then it was me and Abhishek as partners in the company.
But Baumi played a very key role in getting us to work together and make all this happen.
Tell us something about your company. Your expertise, what all services do you offer? :
We design and build concrete skateparks that’s pretty much sums up what we do.
If anyone wants to build a skatepark, how to get in touch with 100 Ramps? What are the things to out before approaching?:
They can get in touch with us via Instagram or through our website 100ramps.com. Well, I would say every project is a unique project. All we need is how much is the budget and what are the dimensions of the land.
How tough is it to complete a skatepark project? What are the challenges you face in the build?
That really differs from project to project. To be honest we can never predict what the challenges will be for any given project. Delays are a constant recurrence in a build due to so many uncertainties on so many factors in India.
What is your vision behind building skateparks in India?
In 2013 I had a vision to build 100 skateparks in India
Any message would you like to give to the upcoming generation of skateboarders in India ?
I will just say that do not take stuff for granted. Its been quite a long road we all have been on. Right from when we started skating there was just one skatepark in Play Arena, the Auroville mini ramp and the Goa bowl(which the landlord did not let anyone skate) .
So a ‘skate trip’ back then was all about going from Bangalore to Pondy. And all the skate videos we would see on the internet is of skaters packing their bags and boards, getting into a van and visiting different skateparks around the country just seemed like a dream. Well the skaters who skate now can actually make this dream possible by visiting the skateparks in our country. That is actually pretty RAD.
That’s it folks from the 100 Ramps story, see you soon again in another story soon!
Keep Pushing, keep skating.
Vaibhav Rasam
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