NO LOVE LOST: MEET THE MODERN PIONEERS OF PHILLY PLAZA SKATING

For the uninitiated, LOVE Park is an urban public park officially named John F Kennedy Plaza in the city of Philadelphia. The iconic fountain, granite ledges, and curved steps were perfectly designed for human congregation and skateboarding.

Skateboarding is about as much about community and freedom as it is about tricks and DIY culture. Skateboarders need concrete, and LOVE park had it in abundance. Affectionately named after the iconic "LOVE" sculpture by Robert Indiana, LOVE Park is as important to the East Coast skateboarding scene as Dogtown is to Southern Californians. You just haven’t heard about it until now.

The 90s were the early days of street skateboarding and Philly was home to some of the United States' most iconic skateboarders. It bred a generation of pros and appeared in endless skate videos of the time. When DC Shoes launched in 1994, the tight-knit Philly community was entrenched in the brand culture. And as DC grew from a grassroots skate brand to a global juggernaut, Philly locals like Josh Kalis were central to the vision.

At this critical time in skateboarding's evolution, the DC Lynx OG was the shoe of choice for skateboarders. It was a groundbreaking shoe that brought hip-hop/urban style into the skate shoe game, which was previously dominated by Californian beach aesthetics and vulcanized shoes. In 2004, LOVE Park closed for remodeling and relocation. For many, it was the end of an era.

But this was before Philly-based Sabotage Productions started pumping out nostalgic skate edits reminiscent of LOVE Park's early days. The Sabotage crew was even hopping the fences at LOVE as it was being demolished to capture the very last skate footage on the iconic marble. This footage included some of the finest skateboarding that the East Coast had to offer and caught the attention of DC Shoes when they realized some of the skaters were wearing original issue Lynx OGs purchased from eBay. This new generation's love for DC Heritage styles inspired DC to bring them back.

When DC decided to bring back the Lynx OG and Kalis OG styles in 2018, they consulted the Sabotage crew to help them make them exactly 1:1 to their ancestors that were originally released over 20 years ago.

Who better to consult than the crew who were actually skating the originals in a modern setting, day in and day out? And to bring it all full circle, DC worked with Sabotage on a custom Lynx OG inspired by a heritage colorway with a (first-ever) tongue stash pocket and Sabotage branding, complimented by a beanie.

To accompany this limited release, DC and Sabotage released a mini-documentary (embedded above) and skate edit dropping September 3 (on DC’s YouTube) featuring Brian Panebianco, Josh Kalis, Jahmir Brown, John Shanahan, Kevin Bilyeu, and more.

Since 1994, DC Shoes has been committed to progression—from game-changing skate shoe designs to supporting the most groundbreaking skateboarders, snowboarders, and artists in the world. DC helped shape modern collaboration culture by pioneering partnerships with the likes of Supreme, FTP, Shepard Fairey, and Buscemi. In 2021, DC continues to push the envelope with more exciting collaborations. dcshoes.com @dcshoes @dc_womens

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