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Haul Apparel Athlete Roster 2017
Since 2014, we at Haul Apparel have strived to connect India and Nepal’s creative youth by bridging the gap within a niche of emerging subcultures; these include extreme sports such as skating, surfing and mountain biking, and also arts like graffiti and tattooing. In the past, being passionate about these subcultures did not offer our youth the opportunity for a sustainable form of self-expression or career path, nor did they have the backing of a like-minded community to support them.
So our mission at Haul Apparel has been to fuel India and Nepal’s apparel market with clothing that combines South-Asian culture with Western style. Why? Because we believe that the best way to link like-minded individuals is to provide them with fresh, relevant merchandise that is of the best quality available in the market, but also appeals to their tastes.
On top of this, we ourselves want to give back to the youths that are impassioned by the same subcultures as our brand, and those that have supported our venture. We want to support their ventures and passions too. So as a brand, we sponsor talented individuals across the spectrum of these subcultures, and give them the means they deserve to be at the top of their game.
In this way, we hope that more and more people will be made aware and inspired by the subcultures that these action-athletes and artists are involved in. In fact, in the near future we also plan to invest in the journeys of fledgling musicians in our region. By cementing our status in the apparel market as a fashion brand that encompasses these rich subcultures, we at Haul Apparel aspire to create a new industry that will motivate the upcoming generation.
Picture Courtesy: Milan Shah.
Milan Shah Thakuri
Age : 22
Location: Kathmandu, Nepal
Since starting to skateboard at the age of 18, there has been no stopping Milan. In fact, he has been a game changer, representing the sport as one of the most hardcore skaters in Nepal. Whilst maintaining his reign as the face of skateboarding in his region, he also co-founded Cryptic Crew back home. Most recently, he spent a month in Thailand to expand his skillset, which has evidently reached a whole new level! Since this shift in gear, he felt led to leave his job and now plans to skate full-time, with the dream to make it as a professional in the industry. Looks like 2017’s going to be a big one for Milan!
Picture Courtesy: Kumar Sawan.
Manikandan D a.k.a Appu
Age : 27
Location : Kovalam, India
It was 14 years ago that Appu began surfing on the East coast of India. Soon after, he started his own surf school by the name of Ocean Delight. This school has been a great support to the local kids and surfers of Kovalam, churning out surfers as ace as Appu himself! Currently, Appu is completing a season on the West coast at Vaayu, Goa as a surf instructor. He has also initiated a mission to keep his surfing environment clean, by encouraging cleanliness drives on surrounding beaches.
Picture Courtesy: Kumar Sawan.
Velmurugan a.k.a Velu
Age : 36
Location : Auroville, India
Velumurugan a.k.a Velu is a veteran surfer from Pondicherry, India who picked up surfing 16 years ago. He was actually so keen to learn, that he began surfing on a broken board that he found lying beside a trash can. Over the years, he has travelled to various surf destinations - such as Bali, the Maldives, Sri Lanka, etc. - and has in turn mastered the sport. He now runs Aloha Surf School in Goa, India. This 2017, he plans to travel to the many surf spots that India has to offer, but his prime focus remains on the Andamans.
Picture Courtesy: Shekhar Agarwal.
Suman Tamang
Age : 19
Location : Kathmandu, Nepal
For around 4 years, Suman Tamang a.k.a Khatra has been riding mountain bikes, and has managed to grab a podium at nearly every race he has entered. When he isn’t racing, he can be spotted in the mountains working as a freelance mountain biking guide. For 2017, he plans to compete in all the races found across Nepal and India, and he is also going to attend his first ever Asian Downhill Championship.
Picture Courtesy: Gaurav Sherchan.
Shyam Gyan Limbu
Age : 32
Location : Kathmandu, Nepal
Shyam has been professionally mountain biking since first taking a liking to the sport in 2010. It was after representing the Nepal DH team at the 2013 Asian Mountain Biking series, that he realised how passionate he was about the sport. So in 2014, Shyam started his own mountain biking company, called Gnarly, which promotes the sport in Nepal through organising events and managing guided mountain biking tours. In fact, Gnarly successfully organises about 5 mountain biking events a year, and they especially focus on training kids with their project, Gnarly Squadron. For 2017, he will be organising the Asian Enduro Series in Nepal for the second time, and this year they’re expecting more than 100 participants!
Picture Courtesy: Shekhar Agarwal.
Ajay Padval
Age : 21
Location : Pune, India
Ajay Padval was born and bred as a mountain biker, as from an early age, he was mentored by Indian mountain biking pioneer, Vinay Menon. This relationship has proved to be an inspiration, and has fuelled Padval’s ambitions to go big in the sport. In addition, Padval is also a team rider for Psynyde Bikes, and a trail correspondent for Freerider Mountain Bike magazine. His main discipline is Downhill, but he has also gets his hands dirty in the fields of Cross Country and Freeriding. This 2017, he aspires to participate in more races, and he also plans to sink his tire treads into some unexplored territories. We also hear that Ajay will be shooting some more of the sick videos, like the ones that he’s previously released.
Picture Courtesy: Ten10 Racing Team.
Shankar Sarath Kumar
Age: 25
Location : Chennai, India
Shankar Sarath Kumar is a professional motorcycle road racer and a national champion in the 125cc class.He is also india’s first entrant to the Moto GP circuit He began his racing career in 2008 and has not looked back since. In August 2010, Kumar participated in the FIM UAM Asia GP Indian Championship round as a wild card entry, and based on this performance Federation of Motor Sports Clubs of India offered Kumar a sponsored entry for the Japan round of the UAM championship.This year he will be representing India in Asia road racing in 600cc super sport category and also plans to participate in suzuka 8 hours race which is the most competitive endurance race in the world.
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