Why Josh Kalis Dropped California for Love Park?

Late ’90s, Josh Kalis had everything a skater could want in California: a spot at Toy Machine, then Alien Workshop, pro friends, the sun. Yet he’s packing up for a granite grind in Philly where the cops hand out fines. Why?

A kid split between two cities

Josh Kalis was born April 27, 1976 in Grand Rapids, Michigan. But he grew up riding the line between two cities: Philly with his mom, Dallas with his dad. It was when he hit up his mom in Philly that he ran into Jamie Thomas. Thomas called him back to Dallas and offered him a spot in California.

Kalis landed in San Diego and stayed with Jamie Thomas, right across from the Alien House. First Toy Machine, then Alien Workshop. On paper, the path was set: California, where careers are made.

Love Park, the square the city didn’t want

Love Park, officially JFK Plaza, was built in 1965 across from City Hall, with Robert Indiana’s iconic LOVE sculpture installed in 1976. Granite slabs, stairs, benches, a fountain. Skaters started hanging out there in the ’80s.

The city never really wanted them. In the early ’90s, under Mayor Ed Rendell, crackdowns tightened. In 1995, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported $300 fines for skaters.

Kalis and Stevie Williams, the duo that puts Philly on the map

Stevie Williams, born in 1979 in Philadelphia, is the local kid. He already has a part, “Lil’ Stevie,” in Element Fine Artists Vol. 1, filmed in Philly. When Love Park reboots after a quieter period, Kalis says he went “to bring Stevie” along. Paul Rodriguez summed it up in 2013: Kalis “introduced Stevie Williams to the world.”

The late ’90s were the golden age. Kalis skated the square in Timecode (1997), in Alien Workshop’s Photosynthesis (2000), and then in The DC Video (2003). In 2000, Love Park even became a level in Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 2. Rob Dyrdek, his buddy from Alien and DC, said straight up: when Philly was reborn, Kalis moved in and “blew Philly up.”

The war with the city hall

As the spot gets more famous, the city tightens the screws. In 2001, Mayor John Street’s administration cracked down on the ban, right as Philadelphia hosted the X Games (2001 and 2002). Early 2002, work was announced to make the square unskateable.

On October 28, 2002, Edmund Bacon, the urban planner who drew the square, hopped on a board at 92 to make a statement. His line: “All my damn life was worth it, just for this moment.” In 2004, DC Shoes offered to pay for the park’s upkeep so skaters could keep riding. The city said no.

So, why did Kalis pick Love Park?

The answer comes from him, back in 2023 at the Chrome Ball Incident. Two reasons. First: Love Park reminded him of the EMB scene in San Francisco, that spot where everyone gathered and pushed each other. Second, more personal: going back to Philly was a huge nod of respect to Ricky Oyola and the local old guard. “I was never supposed to come back there,” he says.

And behind all that, a simple attachment: “Philly had my heart.” For him, nothing in New York could top Love Park. He didn’t leave California for a career plan. He returned to his mom’s city, to the square where they told him he had nothing to do, and turned it into the most filmed spot on the East Coast.

What’s Left of the Square

In February 2016, Mayor Jim Kenney lifted the ban for five days, just before the demolition. The square was rebuilt between 2016 and 2018, with no boards in sight. Part of the original granite even ended up in Malmö, Sweden, where it was reinstalled in 2024. Kalis, meanwhile, left Alien Workshop in 2009 to join DGK, Stevie Williams’ brand. The two from Love Park were back on the same team.

Did you know Love Park from the vids or from Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 2? Drop a comment.

Correction as of October 3, 2026: this article was rewritten. The first version dated back to 1984 with an initial skate ban at Love Park; that date isn’t sourced, and the Philadelphia Inquirer still headline in April 1992 that skaters could stay on the square. It also mentioned Josh Kalis arriving “without a dime” in 1994 from the Midwest, and scenes of altercations, without source. The text now relies on Josh Kalis’ interview at the Chrome Ball Incident (January 2023), Philadelphia Magazine (2016), and Wikipedia (LOVE Park, Josh Kalis, Stevie Williams).