Skateparks In Chennai
Madras Wheelers Skatepark
Located in the city of Chennai previously known as Madras. It was built by the 100Ramps Skatepark Construction Co. and Holystoked collective based in Bangalore. In my opinion this is definitely one of their finest creations. In terms of obstacles this is a very balanced skatepark with rails, ledges and ramps to satisfy the needs of both street and park skaters.
The skatepark’s design allows you to drop in once and pump around the whole park since there are ramps on both ends. The builders implemented a volcano feature in the center which can be used as a little speed bump or a ramp to do airs and grabs. There’s a section at the park where the ramps form a half-bowl/pocket. You can roll in and skate it like a halfpipe or grind the coping and exit to a different section of the park to continue your line. There are multiple options for skating some obstacles. For example: the mellow hubba can be grinded using the transition (good progression step for beginners) to get to the coping and lock in the grind. The same hubba can also be grinded on the opposite side by doing an ollie into a grind or slide. In the same section skaters can choose to grind/slide the flat-to-down rail or the other hubba for frontside tricks (regular stance). You can also skate a cool bank to bank with an integrated manny pad/ledge which is located across the park. Personally, that obstacle really triggers my creativity. I’d love to try to do a manual on the manny pad and then pop a trick into the bank or vice versa… Pop out of the bank and land into a manual on the manny pad (and do a trick out! Heheh).
Google Map location - Madras Wheelers
Pic Credits - Karthik GP
Auroville Skatepark
This skatepark is built in the center of the jungle in the so called “City of the future.” Auroville is sort-of an experimental city born with the ideal of becoming a home for people from different states and countries. It allows people to live there in peace and harmony without any fear of unnecessary judgement from the fellow residents. The people who live in Auroville are all treated with the utmost respect regardless of their race, religion, nationality and gender. Besides that, people can also enjoy the tropical and relaxing environment of the South Eastern part of beautiful India.
The skatepark doesn’t have many obstacles but it does have two mini-ramps– a metal and a concrete one. The concrete mini ramp build in Auroville is claimed to be the first mini ramp ever built in India by Auzalan construction co. in 2001. The concrete ramp has smooth transition, a metal coping and it is slightly steeper in relation to the metal one. The second mini-ramp is made up of metal sheets and is also super smooth. It could perhaps be more suitable for beginner skaters since it’s slightly more forgiving when you fall. If you feel hungry during midday you can easily fry some eggs and hash browns on the blazing hot surface of the ramp… So that’s a plus! Another cool feature at the skatepark is the large flatground area. As a skater you may or may not know the struggle of finding a perfect ground to practice your tricks (depending on where you’re from). In Auroville Skatepark it’s a given! There’s no limit to the possibilities of skating on a flat surface: pop over stuff, draw imaginary manny pads with chalk (like Daewon Song), learn new tricks, do some powerslides and of course play S.K.A.T.E. with your buddies. You can also use the quarter pipe as a little gap to flat ;).
Google Map Location : Auroville Skatepark
Pic credits : Vivek
Mahabs Skatepark
This park is located close to Mahaballipuram in a small fisherman village called Mahabs. It is a hidden gem built by the one and only Holystoked collective in 2017.
The Mahabs is a well-known spot for surfing among many tourists from across the globe. Many local boys and some girls shred the perfect waves on a daily basis. However, there is one girl that stands out the most… Kamali!
The skatepark which I’m going to describe to you is built on Kamali’s doorstep. This little girl is an incredibly talented individual and believe it or not, she is only 10 years old!
Fun fact: A skateboarder who is now considered to be one of the most iconic representatives of the sport came to visit India to attend a commercial shoot. He is most known for his insane stunt called “The Leap of Faith.” That stunt involved doing a melon grab down a humongous 17ft drop at a school in San Diego. He has also appeared in Tony Hawk’s videogame series called “Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater”. During his trip to India he met Kamali and decided to stay a little longer to teach her some tips and tricks. His name is Jamie Thomas!
The skatepark is not very big but it is a brilliant place for beginners and skateboarders of all ages. The ramps and transitions are very mellow and forgiving so it’s ideal for learning some new stalls and grinds.
The mini skatepark can be divided into two sections and it’s made in such a way that you can skate it going back and forth. The first section can be the starting point for your line. Let’s pretend that you’re going to skate it now… There is a miniramp with two medium sized quarter pipes. You can continue skating there or follow the little exit with a speedbump on the side which leads to section 2. The quarter pipe opposite the one you dropped into first has two sides (so it’s sort-of a spine). As you roll towards the second section you’ll approach a bank. At the opposite end you’ll see a little quarter pipe. You can try some fun lines popping a trick into the bank and then hitting the quarter pipe with a grind or a stall. Or you could also incorporate another obstacle in your line on your way out of the bank (not the one where you cash checks :p) by grinding or rolling on top of the long mellow quarterpipe on your left hand side. Get creative and slash the coping on the corner ramp on the way back to the bank. It may take you a little time to get used to the skatepark’s size and flow, but when you do, it’ll be worth it! That’s not all! Time for the gnarly highlight (in my opinion)- THE VOLCANO! It’s called that for a reason… It looks like a conical mini-mountain and has a rock in the center. I’m guessing the rock is meant to be used for stalling or picking tricks. The transition around that obstacle can be used as a speedbump too. I hope you manage to get something crazy on it!
Google map location : Mahabs skatepark
Pic Credits : Vivek
Marina Beach
It’s a beautiful plaza by the beach, with a large variety of different obstacles packed into one area. I think this place resembles Venice Beach (California) since they both offer skaters the opportunity of feeling the gentle ocean breeze while shredding fun obstacles next to the beach. It offers multiple stair sets of different sizes: a long set of 5 stairs, a big 3 block, a huge set of 10 stairs and a long but mellow set of 3 stairs. It is possible that there are more stairs there which I didn’t notice but those four are definitely the highlights.
If you enjoy filming lines (as much as I do J) this spot is ideal for you! There are spherical rocks dividing the road from the plaza which beg for tricks to be popped over them. Going over the ball and then hitting the marble ledge on the side would look insane on video! Speaking about ledges… There are many of them there and they are just perfect! The set with the five stairs has an out-ledge on the front side (regular stance) which can be grinded/slid on or possibly even manualed. By the way, I can’t forget all my manual bros/sisters. Just before that five stair, on top of a little one stair pad stands a Mahatma Gandhi monument which can serve as a lovely ground to balance your wheelies/nose-wheelies.
I may be getting a little carried away with describing this spot but it truly does looks amazing to skate in my opinion. I dream about it every day.
Google Location : Marina Beach
Pic Credits : Vivek
Anna Tower
This spot is located at the Anna Nagar Metro Station. According to my source, this spot is relatively new so It’s uncertain whether or not you’ll be able to skate there without getting kicked out. However, the ground there is perfect and the obstacles look very promising too. It is a large public park with many trees and a well-maintained garden. People mainly come to visit the tall spiraling tower called the Anna Tower. As you first step foot in there, you are welcomed by a not-so-yellow-brick-road (in fact, it’s mainly made out of tiles, but the ground varies in each section of the park) which takes you to all the different “attractions”. Two of them being fun-looking skate spots.
The first spot is a type-of roller skating arena. If you look at it from above, it looks like a UFO landing pad or a bullseye. The smooth circle of flat ground is surrounded by rows of marble benches/ledges which are great for sitting… I mean skating! Haha! The skate ground is located on the lowest level, so you can start at the top, and skate the multiple stair sets which lead down to it eventually. Once you’ve reached the bottom you can also utilize the last stair as a manual pad. That stair can serve as an excellent teacher of manuals and grind/slide tricks to beginner skateboarders.
The second spot is located a few pushes away and is quite similar to the first one. There are seven rows of seats in the form of ledges which overlook a small stage. The stage is about a foot and a half tall. Luckily, it has a marble edge. So don’t forget to bring your wax! This stage is the missing piece to a manual skater’s puzzle since it fits their needs perfectly. It is neither too high nor too tall.
The public park may have more hidden gems located there, so go out there and find them! If you do, feel free to share the information about them with us J. Enjoy!
Google Location : Anna Nagar Tower
Pic Credits : SICK
Our other Skatepark articles:
Skateparks in Rest of India
Skateparks in Goa
Skateparks in Bangalore
Skateparks in Delhi
Skateparks in Mumbai
Skateparks in North east India
Author - Andy Topo
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