November 21, 2020
Bangalore is a gigantic city located in southern India. It is home to some of the biggest IT and tech geniuses, the best Biryanis (in my opinion), and of course the Holystoked skateboarding collective. I(Andy) cannot talk about Bangalore and not mention these legends.
Holystoked are a group of ambitious skaters as well as skatepark builders. They are one of the first groups of people to start riding wooden planks in India and have been contributing to the progression of the skate scene across the country ever since. Although Bangalore is a big city, local skaters rarely skate on the streets- according to Mahin (the city’s local destroyer).
Here are some cool places where you can skate, and most likely meet other shredders:
The Cave Skatepark
A killer park constructed by the Holystoked Collective. It’s by far the most visited skate spot in Bangalore and definitely has the smoothest concrete. The place is made for park rippers as it consists of 98% transition. You will see local destroyers: Shake, Khadir and Mahin grinding the quarter pipes with super slick coping, popping over hips, transferring over a spine and slashing the gigantic vert quarter pipe. The quarter pipe is actually gigantic (It’s more than 10 feet tall!) and is only regularly skated by a few ballsy people like Khadir, Shake & Kevin. There are two sections which can be used as halfpipes, and can be skated by two people simultaneously and uninterruptedly.
I almost forgot! You guys are probably wondering what the remaining 2% of the park is. Well, believe it or not, to keep the street skaters busy, the master builders have added an exciting element to the park- a ledge! Woohooo! Hahaha, so if you’re a street skater and aren’t a tranny granny you can enjoy some quality time sliding or grinding this marble ledge while the OGs fly and do airs over you.
“The Cave” skatepark is always well maintained and is insanely fun to skate, chill and hang out with some of the best people and enjoy!
Google map locaion - Cave Skatepark
Pic credits - Gautham Nalasingu
Play Arena- this place is basically Bangalore’s Disneyland. Besides having a huge skatepark it is a massive area which offers tons of entertainment options such as: go karting, paintball, a gaming arcade, indoor pool bla bla bla… I won’t go too deep into that since we’re here to talk about skate spots!
The skatepark at “Play Arena” serves as a gladiator’s stadium for skateboarders every year as it has hosted the annual Skateboarding event “Jugaad’ for four consecutive years. I compare it to the gladiator’s stadium mainly because of its large variety of obstacles and sufficient space to welcome armies of skaters representing their native states and countries. The skatepark was built by the legendary skatepark builder Nick Smith.
First thing you’ll see when you enter the park is a gigantic “mountain” of a bank located at the opposite side of the entrance. This roll-in/bank is very tall and gets you tons of speed rolling down it. When I say “tons of speed” I mean people have ollied 15+ boards hauling a** during the longest ollie contest.
Towards one side of the “mountain bank” is a crusty mini ramp with a perfect pool coping but a slightly rough transition which has a bunch of cracks. On the opposite side of the death bank a.k.a. “mountain bank” is a flowy pump-track-like section which goes over a big bump (with a grindable surface) and leads to a big quarter pipe. There are interesting baby quarter pipes and a big, steep over-the-door ramp in that area too.
To the left of that big quarter pipe you can see two bowls: a very deep and gnarly one with a shallow and deep section, and a smaller bowl which is more beginner-friendly and is almost equal in depth throughout. Both these bowls have proper pool coping. There is also a small manny pad which you can skate by pumping from a quarter pipe (next to the small bowl) to get speed.
The “flattest” part of the skatepark is at it’s center. That particular section is a functioning basketball court. But due to its low demand, board riders can enjoy rolling across it to hit the quarter pipes and moveable obstacles such as: a slanted “double barrel” rail, a ledge and a kicker.
There is also a sweet marble ledge in line with noping (no coping), quarter pipes which are very slick and fun to slide. You can grind a small china bank in the middle of one of those quarter pipes (marble edge sticking out of the middle of the transition). There are always some new obstacles being built there so you never know what else you’ll find unless you visit.
Overall, this skatepark has unlimited potential for doing different lines for both street and park skateboarders. The only limit is your imagination. No matter at what level you skate, you will definitely find a section of the park that best suits your needs.
Google map Location - Play Arena
Pic credits - Gautham Nalasingu
Proto Village- There’s a humble mini-town on the outskirts of Bangalore city in the state of Andhra Pradesh. Proto Village (short for ‘Prototype Village’) is its name because it aims to be a living example of a fully functional, self-sustainable and constantly progressing village. At first glance it may seem like any other regular farm/village but… Proto is no ordinary village. Yes, they do have: fields, cows, chickens, goats, and a tractor. Nothing surprising right? Well, they are completely solar and wind powered, have a maker space, a soap making room, an amphitheatre, rain water harvesting technology and much more. By that I mean- THEY HAVE A FULL SKATEPARK! Oh, and Wi-Fi too (not kidding).
This brilliant skatepark in Proto village was built by our own skatelifegoa concrete magician Anveer Mehta. Since it was one of his first big projects, it may seem to have a few imperfections (but in my opinion it feels like a sick D.I.Y. park).
I feel that its minor imperfections are what make it unique and a lot more interesting to skate. To begin describing the skatepark, I’d like to first mention the round bowl shaped like half of a cereal bowl. This bowl is built all above the surface, unlike most other types which require digging into the soil. It has metal coping and a smooth concrete transition. If you drop-in on the quarter pipe right next to the “Cereal’ bowl it will take you to the middle section of the park.
At the dead center you will first encounter a multi-obstacle with the following elements: manual pad, double sided ledge and bank to bank. On either side of this obstacle you’ll find a small square rail on the edge of the park, and a speed bump on the opposite edge. After you’ve passed the middle section, you will see a wide bank ranging from one edge of the park to the other. It has a tiny in-built quarter pipe (cool to fly out of) and a ledge on the top which can be used as a bank to ledge for slides and grinds.
I left the gnarliest part of the park for last. We need to rewind back to the “Cereal” bowl. As I mentioned earlier- it’s been built on the surface, so it elevates higher than the rest of the skatepark. The remaining flat area is intended to serve as a run-up for the fairly large set of six stairs, the ledge to hubba or the square handrail. The handrail is built low and very steep but it is still skateable for those who are confident on down rails.
If you don’t mind leaving the city behind and taking the two hour drive, you should definitely check out Proto Village. The people there are very kind, welcoming and they most likely will help you with accommodation if you let them know beforehand.
Google map location : Proto Village
Pic Credits - Anveer Mehta
School of Raya Skatepark, Bengaluru : This skatepark is built by the OG builders of India, non other than 100 Ramps. The skatepark is built inside the School Of Raya. What else do you want when you are a kid and there is a skatepark in your own school! it can't get better than this. Dr. Suneel Thummala, the visionary founder of Raya is the artist behind this master piece. Having spent half his life in both the United States and India, Dr. Suneel brings a unique perspective shaped by the diversity of education systems in both countries.
Google Map Location - The School Of Raya
Pic Credits - 100 Ramps
CV Raman Park: This skatepark is inside a sports Club in Bengaluru. They often take classes on roller skating and skateboarding. If anyone is keen in learning roller sports, you can get in touch with them. This skatepark is once again built by 100 Ramps.
Google Map location - Power Track Skating Rink.
Pic Credits - Gautham Kamath
Our other Skatepark articles:
Skateparks in Rest of India
Skateparks in Goa
Skateparks in Chennai
Skateparks in Delhi
Skateparks in Mumbai
Skateparks in North east India
Author - Andy Topo
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