Competitive skaters on competition in Skateboarding
When I started skating there were no competitions and I always skated not against anyone but myself. So when skate competition became a thing in India it was quite an eye opener for me in terms of the progress in Skateboarding in the country. I don't have much to say myself on the subject so I got some questions answered by three of the raddest dudes who sometimes compete against each other.
Mahin (Bangalore)
“I am actually a competitive person just in general, competitions motivate me to push my limits and improve.”
“ have gotten amazing opportunities to travel and skate through competitions it’s been amazing, if I had to choose the best I would probably choose the time I represented the country in an international contest which took place in china I was there among few of the best skaters in the world. I don’t think I have ever had a bad competition experience well obviously there have been contests where the outcome wasn’t what I desired but looking at the bigger picture it’s been all good times because of the great people I meet and interact with.”
What would you like to achieve at the competition level?
“That’s a tough question to answer to be honest it’s the feeling of winning and getting on the podium which I really like, it pushes me to do better. It’s that feeling I’m looking to achieve at competition levels and it’s amazing to see how far it can take you and push you. I never thought I would be at this level when I started skateboarding as a kid,I just started doing it because it seemed cool.”
Best competition skater in the country?
“There are different ways to look at this. On the basis of who has won many contests and performed great at them I would say it’s me, but there are a few skaters from Kovalam skate club and Mumbai with some serious skill and potential who perform really well.”
“Skateboarding is definitely not like other sports but then it really comes down to what people like doing and what gives one happiness, after all we love to skate and that’s what is important. We all skate because we love to not just solely to win contests. People shouldn’t attack others for doing what they like, just like everything even skateboarding is evolving with time, competitions are just a small aspect, skateboarding is much more than just contests.”
“Currently I’m looking forward to participate in the Asian games which are taking place this year in the month of September I’m super excited to see what’s to come and what happens, it’s going to be a great experience.”
Yug (Ahmedabad)
“I compete cause I think it is the best way to progress as you get to see others who might be better than you perform at their best and that motivates you to then come out on top and try to better yourself and yes I’m also competitive in general, coz I think it’s the best way to push yourself to becoming better at your craft.”
“ My best competition experience was in the last jugaad as I’ve been participating in them since the beginning and I think that the last one was the best one so far. Everyone was on their A game and that makes the experience even more fun. I don’t think I’ve had a worst/bad experience as I don’t look at it in that way. I see that if it was bad what’s something that I can do or change to make it not bad and learn something from it instead.”
“ I would like to achieve a medal for the country at some point.”
“ I think there are many good competition skaters here but I think the best one would be either Mahin or Sagar.
What do you say to guys who think Skateboarding shouldn’t have competition because it doesn’t have rules like a regular sport?
“I say that’s a fair argument but if skateboarding has competitions then it gets a certain spot light and brings in a lot of new people to skateboarding and also having competitions increases people’s morale and gives them a goal to look forward to and in this process the progression will increase drastically.”
“Since competitions started in India over the years people have improved so much and each year everyone is better than they were the year before and comparing the skaters now to back then it’s a huge gap and I think it’s amazing how fast people progress.”
Azhar (Mumbai)
“The more I compete the more I grow it doesn’t matter whether it’s a competition or I am battling some Random street spot.”
“I guess it was in wall ride park I had my best competion, worst one in jugaad they gave the wrong decision in my opinion during the contest, because of that I lost my mind.”
Who do you think is the best competition skater in the country?
“Nikhil,Shubham,Sagar,Mahin,Gandhi,jay, satya, kushal “
“Yes skateboarding may have no rules but there are some rules for the competitions themselves. Everyone is free to do whatever they like, if they wanna participate and face the fear or they can choose to be seated in a crowd be the part of cheering. It’s their choice.”
Which competition are you looking forward to participate in next?
“Tampa Am “
How has it been different skating since competitions have started taking place in India, cause when you started skating there probably wasn’t a whole lot of competition?
“Before there were no contest there were no platform for skater to perform and community was not so big. Competitions once skateboarding started getting bigger. Now brands are taking interest and some skaters are getting sponsored more and more skateparks are getting built where skaters can practice. They can now dream to compete in any contest , and be the best skateboarder they can be.”
