How can you know that frogs are skateboarding enthusiasts? They keep on saying “rip it” “rip it” “rip it”. One more skateboarding enthusiast is the founder of Urban Monkey, Yash Gangwal, who has been skateboarding since the age of 12. Along with this, he is also a Hip Hop enthusiast.
He, like most of us, saw that there is very little awareness of skateboarding and Hip Hop in India. He had aimed to fix that, and that is when the Urban Monkey owner started designing and selling caps and skateboards, which turned out to be India’s largest headwear brand.
Even though Urban Monkey is considered a specialist in the cap business, in 2013 they also successfully launched different categories in the streetwear and lifestyle sector.
Over the years, we have witnessed a rise in the streetwear fashion industry worldwide, and it has crept its way into India as well. Earlier, the only people we saw wearing this style were artists and performers. Now, this so-called ‘drip’ has found a way into the masses, regardless of gender. The credit is due to Urban Monkey for making it possible. They specialize in streetwear and Hip Hop clothes and make sure that your street style reaches your closets and you run the streets like the gangster you are.
Urban Monkey started with a small office on Charni Road, Mumbai, and a team of a total of 1 member, Yash Gangwal himself. During that time, he was usually hanging out with the skaters and rappers in Mumbai, barely making any money. However, in 2016 he started to collaborate with Dharavi United and that led to making Urban Monkey a huge success as their products were heavily used in the superhit film, Gully Boy, starring Ranveer Singh and Alia Bhatt. Currently, Urban Monkey sells over 50,000 products annually.
Soon after this, Urban Monkey started getting the recognition it deserved. It managed to collaborate with famous personalities like Raftaar, Bhuvan Bam, Gully Gang, and Rannvijay.
Urban Monkey may seem like it is inspired by Hip Hop, but it is also very popular amongst dancers, athletes, creators, and musicians.
We recently got to see Urban Monkey owner Yash Gangwal on Shark Tank India, where he pitched his vision of streetwear to the sharks on the show and managed to get three offers from Aman Gupta, Ashneer Grover, and Peyush Bansal.
you can also check this out Sweetening the beauty industry- Vineeta Singh
It was a big step for Urban Monkey and the street fashion industry, as appearing on this show enabled the country to see the vision and hard work of people like Yash, who all are working towards uplighting the streetwear industry in the country. It may very well be a new concept for India, but it surely is catching fire and appearing in the closets of every individual.
Since its inception in 2013, Urban Monkey has expanded its approach to design over time into a community-based collaborative process that provides budding creatives from various backgrounds a platform to showcase them to the masses.
We can just sum this up by saying Urban Monkey has drip.
