.

Kima Pro: The Story

The story starts back somewhere around in 2012-13, when Kima decides that he is going to be a skateboarder for life. Who knew this kid was going to stick with this decision for nearly next 14 years and turn a pro skater one day. Yesss!! Today (18th April 2026) Kima turns a pro skater while I am writing his story! In the last 14 years, a lot of things and events have happened, almost like a roller coaster ride. But no matter what, this young kid from Mizoram just kept pushing his limits to absolute insanity! This is Vaibhav Rasam from Piso skateboards presenting to you my experience and story with Kima. He is a team member, family, a homie, a friend.... there are various names for the way we have spent various phases together, staying focused in what we wanted to create for skateboarding in India.

The Beginning: 2008 to 2014.
The way Kima got into skateboarding was through his sister. This story dates back in 2008, where Kima's sister had a skateboard (kind of a toy board, but good enough to begin the journey with). Kima borrowed the board from his sister and began his journey to become a skateboarder in India. Just to give a reference, this was the time where there were just a handful of skateboarders all over India. Even seeing a professional skateboard was a dream, forget about owning it (ha-ha!).

I (Vaibhav) also started my skate journey somewhere around in 2013. I got a skateboard after spending all my scholarship money in buying a skateboard! This move definitely did not go well with my parents, but yes that is how skateboarding entered my life. Back then Facebook was the only way to connect with people and skaters around. Internet used to sell in KB's and was damn expensive. Kima and I got connected via messages and our vibes & energies clicked instantly. We used to discuss a lot on how to share and grow skateboarding in India. We discussed random plans of setting up an academy, taking classes and camps, hosting events, making skateboards accessible etc. These plans kind of looked kiddish back then. Neither of us knew that these plans were going to take shape one day.

The Mid: 2014 to 2018.
Years flew by, a lot of improvements happened in skateboarding. New skateparks were popping up in various cities. Most of the older generation skaters were into growing the skateboarding scene in whatever ways they can. One of the most important turning points I would say was the Jugaad skateboarding competition which started in Bangalore. It was an opportunity for all the skaters around the country to come together and share the joy of skateboarding. This is where Kima and I met in person. Since we both were amongst the silent kids, we got along pretty well. 

Kima almost won most of the Jugaad contests. He was damn good in what he did and had a unique style of freestyle and street skateboarding. Due to lack of skateparks & infrastructure in Mizoram, he had developed this unique style. If anybody has seen his performance we all know it's such a sight to watch! it's more like an art, than a sport when he performs. If you have not watched live - here is the link to watch him in his real avatar. He was/is amongst the top skaters of India. Well all this came at a cost and with the attitude of never giving up. When I spent some more time with Kima, I got to know more about his story and his condition in Mizoram. 

Kima used to skate when the world went to sleep. His day used to start around 2.00am at night. Empty streets were his playground and silence was his music. By around 6.00am he used to be done with his session and it was time to head home. The thing which blew my mind was, this was not just one night or once a week. He did this for years, may be 3-4 years consistently every single night! My respect for Kima grew manifold once I got to know about his journey and his dedication towards what he does.

In the meantime my story was full of injuries and may be missing my semester exams every now & then! I never had a severe injury luckily but had multiple injuries at the same location (twisted ankles). One fine day when I was recovering & feeling frustrated that I could not skate, I thought why not make skateboards if not skateboarding! That is how the Piso skate journey began. There are a lot of wild stories around it, will share with you'll one day when time allows. One of them was, I eventually learnt how to eat food with my left hand(ha-ha!) as my right hand used to always be injured with cuts, wood splinters, raisins, jammed fingers etc. while pressing skateboards. ''I take this opportunity to apologize to my parents for having to raise such a stupid kid in their home....haha!. A small balcony was my lab. It was like Dexter's laboratory for me (If you know, you know, 90's Kid). Below is the photo of our first board which I had pressed, it was a tiny finger board deck. Yep, Piso journey started with this small tiny step. To all the readers who have read this far, 'Please take these tiny steps of exploration and enjoy this beautiful creation of life. Fun & curiosity should go up as you age, not down! Unfortunately it's going down these days.

Coming back to the story, so Piso was formed in 2018, & who knew things were going to change from now on in our lives!

The Present: (2018 to 2026).
By the end of 2018, Piso was a legit skateboard brand built by skaters, for skaters. It was a roller coaster ride for all of us to make all of this happen. Kima became the first rider who got on board & joined the ride. Me who never woke up before 9am, all of a sudden started waking up before my parents. The beauty of discipline and organization was sipping in our life sip by sip. I always say to a few who ask me, ''how was it to build Piso from scratch?..........I always say 'I did not build Piso, Piso built me.''

Both Kima and I started working around with whatever we could do, with minimal or almost no budget, with just one hope that, we do not want to give up on the skatelife. Lot of storms came and hit us, one of them was Covid. Covid really tested Piso's foundation and its core. As we built Piso, years just flew by and a lot of new clarity entered in our lives. Piso team grew both internally as well as externally in this journey of ours. We started expanding and growing form a skateboarding company to something more (To know more on this read Founder series).

In April 2024 (exactly 2 years back from now), Kima calls me up and says "Vaibhav, I am feeling stuck in Mizo. Can we do something?" Without even blinking once I said "Come down to Goa, let's see what we can do. If we go down we go down together." Since then we have become much more focused and have backed each other up. More team members got added and we started working on various different projects. As you all know Piso is working on a new vision now (read here to know more). Then finally the day arrives after 2 years of work where Kima turns a PRO skater!!!!

This brings us to the present date, 18th April 2026! It was an honor to see Kima turn pro, and me being able to experience it a little by playing a small part in his journey. Congratulations Kima! you deserve this. I have a small message for you below.

Hey Kima if you are reading this "It was an honor to share these beautiful years which we spent together in shaping Piso & skateboarding in India. The new vision/work which we have taken up now with whatever life we have left with, makes it even more exciting! Let's see what the future story unfolds. No matter where you are Kima, always remember all this is temporary, be it Piso, skateboarding or life. It's all going to end one day for sure, like how a story does. Without an end there cannot be a story. As long as we have SB in our life, let's live every moment of it! Let's see if we can build a joyful world through the medium of skateboarding." 

To all the readers out there who made it this far, "Live your life before it ends. There is really nothing else we can do with our life. Live well everybody. Namaskaram".

Also in Homies & Stories