Football freestyle in India is still at its nascent stage but having said that, the youngsters are taking to the art and showcasing their skills in the best way possible. Strive and strive until you perfect it and get the fame you deserve, remains the mantra.
Nikhil Krishna a.k.a Nikk Freestyler, a 22-year-old Delhi lad, is turning attention with his football freestyle skills. Nikk has major plans to promote the art across the country and provide the the upcoming generation the launchpad for practicing and perfecting the art.
We at the International Business Times caught up with Nikk to discuss about his plans ahead and how he is keen on reaping the benefits of the time when the country is going through a massive football renaissance. EXCERPTS:
IBTimes: Hi Nikk, first of all, we're just done with a highly successful U-17 World Cup. With the interest rising in football, how do you plan to take advantage of it and also put forward the perfect promotion for football freestye?
Nikk: The FIFA U-17 World Cup was the best thing that happened in India in a long time. Not only it shifted the attention of people towards football, it gave people like us a great stage to put forward our skills.
Now, I shift my attention to the Indian Super League [which started November 17]. I'll work with them for the promotional activities and showcase my talents during events, ads, and so on.
IBTimes India: Give me a brief about the market of football freestyle art in India. How popular is it and what are the plans ahead for further development?
Nikk: The freestyle football market in India is still at a developmental phase for now. To be honest, I feel like there is no proper market for now. Whatever opportunities we get, are associated with other promotional activities or some football related projects.
I hope that it grows to be an act of its own, something like stand-up comedy. Maybe not now, but in the future I can see something like this happening for sure and the sports brands can actually use freestyle football as a tool of good promotion. Like they can make a eye-catching video for their brands.
I and my partner Ankit Yadav are working on a platform where athletes like us get work and we help them in getting gigs. And the name of the company will be 'Freestyle works' and it will not only be limited to freestyle football but other Freestyle acts and athletes.
IBTimes India: Guys who are into freestyle football, normally collaborate with a hip hop artist to produce a viral YouTube video. Do you have plans for doing something like that in the near future?
Nikk: Yes obviously, collaboration is must in order to grow oneself and let the other audience know you. But till now I haven't planned anything because I have made a path and I'm following it.
For now I'm focused on spreading this sport/culture among people to choose a healthy lifestyle and stay fit through an app called TopYa!. For viral content I would definitely find people to collaborate with.
IBTimes India: Take us through the steps...(Who an youngster should contact, how much they should pay to join a coaching centre and all...) an individual should take if he/she develops an interest in football freestyle and wants to take it seriously.
Nikk: This is a problem faced by a lot of people who want to start freestyle football. They usually try and find stuff on social medias to learn a few things themselves. The problem here is that even though they may be able to learn a few skills, they are not getting a proper guidance on how to move forward.
Me and my partner Ankit Yadav, work as a virtual coach in TopYa!, an U.S. based company which has recently started its operations in India. It is the world's first and only company that provides a two way interactive virtual coaching system for various sports.
We have a freestyle football curriculum there, through which we want to provide kids a proper training course so that they can learn freestyle football properly.
More on Nikk Freestyler
Freestyle footballer Nikhil recently became a part of Virat Kohli's crew "One8" (18 athletes). It is a brand created by Kohli in collaboration with puma - an athleisure brand crafted for people to #ComeOutAndPlay.
Follow Nikhil on...
Facebook : @nikkfreestyler
Instagram : @nikkfreestyler
Twitter : @nikkfreestyler
YouTube : @nikkfreestyler
