If somebody had told me I would be spending my Saturday night rolling around a ball pit and sliding down inflatable slides, I would have laughed. But here I am: racing through an obstacle course in orange grip socks.
The course throws up a maze of challenges. I stagger across unsteady terrain, slide through holes, squeeze through fake webs, climb wobbly walls and then jump from there, encouraged by two pint-sized kids who reassure me that there is nothing to worry about, even if I fall. And yes. I fall.
I am at the month-old Airborne inflatable park in Marina Mall (Egattur) — a large bouncy castle spread across 7,200 square feet offering an array of activities. Bouncy castles are usually overrun by kids, but here there are enough adults enjoying the experience. “Normally, in most places after a certain age, adults are not allowed to step in. But we made this space adult friendly as well,” says Mohammed Wasif, founder and CEO, Airborne Parks. The adult to child ratio here is 50:50, he says, adding that sometimes it is the parents who don’t want to leave even after the child is done playing.
With footfalls touching 5,000 per week, Mohammed believes that inflatable parks are clearly a hit across demographics. In the UK and the US inflatable parks for adults are venues for parties, cocktail bars etc. They also have touring inflatable park events where the entire setup is taken to different cities across the country. While in India this concept is slowly picking up, Chennai already already has two such parks.
“Experiences like these bring out the inner child in most grown ups,” says LJ Prashant who started Dugout Inflatable Park last month at the Grand Square mall, Velachery. “It’s a stress buster for many and is different from most experiences being offered around the city,” he says adding that the older clients get to let loose in the 7,300 square feet space, without having to worry about getting hurt. The ceiling height is a comfortable 16 feet so even tall clients can jump. Thirty per cent of his guests are above 18 years of age. Most of them are working professionals. “We’ve also had 65-year old grandparents having a fun time here on their grandchild’s birthday,” he says.
At Airborne too, a birthday party is in progress. A father and son are racing to climb a wall. On the way are ‘stepping stones’ that deflate and topple you over if you stand on them for more than a few seconds. “The whole place is inspired by Takeshi’s Castle. It was set up by a team from Romania,” says Mohammed. It is divided into 10 zones, each with its own challenge. There is a gladiator ring, wrecking ball and the big baller arena. “Everything is activity based so there’s never a dull moment,” says Mohammed. To add to the excitement, the lights are turned off for 10 minutes every half an hour, offering a glow-in-the dark experience.
There is nostalgia as most clients have been on bouncy castles during their childhood, says Prashant, adding that now they come to experience it with their children or grown up friends. This could be why activities for kids are suddenly seeing a surge in interest among the 30-plus crowd.
For Airborne call: 7845686446 and for Dugout call: 9962120022.
