The ingrained liaison between man and his mean machine could date back to the day he invented ‘wheel’. The only time a heterosexual man may exhibit his emotions other than seeing his baby for the first time, could be when he talks about his motor bike. He may talk nineteen to the dozen about the treasure hidden beneath that sheath of metal. Once he attains the sheer bliss of owning his dream machine, the next stop is helmet shopping.
No doubt, the power-packed motorbikes customised in vivid race insignias need a similarly stylised head gear. The carnal hunt for the edgy helmets will persist until he lands the right one. The beacon of style for most race fanatics is riding guru ‘Valentino Rossi’. The replicas of his motorbikes and helmets are churning out like hot buns in many a garage in the city.
“I am a big Valentino Rossi fan. His signature helmets are a source of every man’s envy. I had a design of one such helmet with me. When I approached ‘Ghost Ryderz’ a motor cycle stunt team, who also does automobile customisation, to make a replica of the same, they took up the challenge. They had to use around 18 colours on my helmet,” says Mobin Thomas, who had spent around Rs 7,000 for his dream head gear.
‘Retuned’, a company owned by final year engineering students Akhil Ganesh, Vishnu B K and Yedu A Krishnan, is one of the most sought-after automobile customisation centres in the capital city. Their adeptness in style and clean designs are tested on helmets as well. 
“We basically do automobile customisations. Our first customers for helmet designing were the bike riders who customised their bikes from us. They wanted matching designs for both helmets and bikes. Later on requests for helmets started pouring in. Now we get around 6-7 requests per month for helmets,” says Akhil.
In the early nineties Mollywood dabbled with helmeted antiheroes, giving the helmet a negative touch. The classy sunglasses were the only adornment for motor bikers then. Helmets went through an image make-over in 2000’s with the law enforcing its usage. When the suave men go for sleek-sheen blacks, the machine junkies are all for colours. Skulls, graffiti designs, icons (Che Guevara) and even flags are inspirations for the youth.
Auto Queen in Kochi is a riders’ paradise with imported helmets and accessories taking centre stage. From the lackluster equestrian helmets to the Thailand-made THH, there’s nothing Auto Queen does not offer. Automobile junkies from across the state buy bulks from Auto Queen and give it for personal customisations. The shop which was established in 1972 is currently managed by Sabu.
“THH is a helmet company which is available only in our shop in Kerala. Our helmets range from Rs 800-30,000. Riders of R15 and Harley Davidson are ready to spend any amount of money for the right one while there are many others who buy the least expensive because that fulfills their requirement,” says Sabu.
Ghost Ryderz’ a motor cycle stunt team in the city is known for its daring stunts and spunky customisations. Rakesh, the artist of the team does the graphics work on cars, bikes and helmets. “We have done around 30-40 helmets in the last 3-4 years. Even before helmet law was enforced the riders used to come for painted helmets. They mostly ask similar designs for bikes and helmets. There are many who come with pictures of famous helmets worn by international riders and ask for replicas. For personal touches some ask to imprint their names or parents’ names on the helmet,” says Rakesh.
Rakesh says the safety is never tampered in customisation. When asked about women customers, both Rakesh and Akhil had the same answer “never had any women customers for helmets”.
Nonetheless, Amrutha, known for her bravery towards eve teasers and an ardent bike rider says she would like a customised feminine helmet for her ride. “There’s a belief that women cannot handle bikes so to represent femininity I wanted to paint my bike pink. I even had a pink Hanna Montana helmet, which I had customised. I am planning to buy a new bike and paint it pink and to match with it I will customise my helmet as well,” Amrutha quips.
‘Helmet World’, the new shop in the city claims to fulfill all rider needs with its range of helmets, gloves and jackets. Bike junkies, Hareesh and Rakhin have started the venture to promote riding across the city. “There was no good shop for riders in the city earlier. So we wanted to give something new. We have a range of DOT (which meets the international standards) approved helmets in our collection. The graphic designed helmets have many young takers. There are many who have come for an Rs 800 range helmet and have returned with Rs 8,000 ones seeing the style and safety of the models,” says Hareesh.
Though it has raked its share of dust, the swanky helmets are becoming the new fad in town. Vishnu who has customised his helmet and bike says, “Uniqueness was what I was looking for when I customised my bike and helmet and that is exactly what I got in return.” 
An Insomniac's Musings 