Every story in INSIDE so far has taken us somewhere else: Miami, New York, Marbella, Bali. This one brings us home. COCO Padel was born in Stockholm, and so was ASCARO. Both brands started from the same restlessness: a feeling that padel had grown fast but stopped growing in style, design and imagination. So for this chapter we didn't have to travel far. We only had to look up.
Thirty metres above Regeringsgatan
ASCARO sits on the roof of NK Parkaden, about 30 metres above Regeringsgatan, in the middle of the city. That is the car park of Nordiska Kompaniet, the department store most Stockholmers have known all their lives. The rooftop covers around 3,000 square metres, with four padel courts, a 300-metre running track, an Eleiko-equipped outdoor gym and a lounge area. Below are shopping streets and office windows. Above are only sky and the city's copper roofs.
ASCARO's founder, Oscar Arrsjö, played padel for around ten years before starting the club, after discovering the sport in Spain. What drew him in was the social side: padel is played in doubles, and he saw it as a natural way to get to know people. The club launched in spring 2021, and its stated mission is to take padel closer to the sun again, out from under fluorescent hall lights and into open air.
Black courts, open sky
The courts set the tone. There are four of them, all black. Two have a roof and heating so play continues on rainy or cold days, and all four are lit for play from early morning until late evening. In a city where winter pushes most padel indoors, that matters. On a clear evening in June, playing with the skyline as your back wall is hard to beat anywhere in Europe.
More than a court
ASCARO calls itself a social club, and it means it. Around the courts are spaces for yoga, mobility work and free weights, plus a sauna and ice bath with views over the city. A restaurant and bar serves a Mediterranean-inspired menu for lunch and dinner. The club's own description captures the mood well: people lifting weights next to people lifting a glass. DJ sessions, brunches, company events and private events fill the calendar, and only a year and a half after opening, Dior staged a takeover on the rooftop. Padel had arrived in Stockholm's fashion conversation.
Stockholm turned out to be only the start. ASCARO now also runs clubs in Kuala Lumpur, Phnom Penh and Doha. The idea that began on a Stockholm car park roof now travels.
Two Stockholm answers to the same question
Here the story gets personal for us. ASCARO and COCO both came out of Stockholm wanting to do padel differently than the big brands. We arrived at opposite answers. ASCARO's clothing line was a reaction against the very colourful padel apparel coming out of Spain, so Oscar made everything black. COCO went the other way and made colour our signature: bold colourways and graphics, with design and detail in every racket.
We think that is exactly what a healthy padel culture looks like. One city produced two brands, and each has its own idea of what padel should look and feel like. Both refuse to accept that a padel racket or a padel club has to look like everyone else's.
Visiting
NK Padel & Social by ASCARO is at Regeringsgatan 47, top floor. It is open 07:00–22:00 on weekdays, 08:00–22:00 on Saturdays and 10:00–22:00 on Sundays, and courts are booked through Matchi. Racket rental, balls, changing rooms and towels are available on site. Of course, we'd suggest bringing your own racket. Ideally one with a bit of colour.
