In skateboarding, iconic skaters build careers at iconic spots. For Josh Kalis, that spot was Philadelphia’s Love Park during the late 1990s. “It was the plaza to be at,” Supreme filmer and former Philly resident William Strobeck explains above in part two of Complex’s Evolution of Kalis series. “Love was special,” Kalis concurs. For a few years, Love Park defined an era, with Kalis and fellow pioneer Stevie Williams creating new tricks and new trends, while innovating on traditional skate footwear designs, taking them to the next level. “From the skating to the style of dress to, you know, just kind of the culture that surrounded Josh was all things that really resonated with me and things I related to,” recalls one-time Love Park local Jimmy Gorecki. That legacy has lasted. In the 2010s, Philadelphia skaters, including the Sabotage crew, picked up where Kalis left off. They resurrected his style, searching for old DCs online and dropping clips filmed at Love Park before it was redesigned in 2016, all things that surprised Kalis. “I never in a million years would have thought that what me and Stevie [Williams] did would come back in different generations,” Kalis says. But it has.
To learn more, check out the clip above, watch episode one of Evolution of Kalis, and be sure to tune in soon for part three.
