Share This:

In the ranks of professional skateboarding in the modern day, there are only a handful of dedicated riders who have stuck it out with brands through thick and thin. Josh Kalis is one of them. Having served 22 years as a part of the core DC Shoes global team of riders, this year sees the re-issue of his first ever signature shoe for the brand, the Kalis 1 OG.

There are two things a select few skateboarders dream of achieving throughout their career’s as they carve out a professional path: having your name on a board and having your own shoe. Love Park native Josh Kalis first cut his teeth on the DC Shoes team way back in 1997, among a whos-who line up that included Colin McKay, Danny Way, Mike Carroll and Keith Hufnagel. Following years of skating the original Lynx (almost acting as his unofficial signature at the time), Kalis was rewarded with his own shoe in 2000, the JK1.

The Kalis 1 dropped at a time when skate shoes began taking more and more influence from traditional sportswear sneakers, reinterpreting technologies such as airbags located in the heel. These were perfect for skateboarding – helping absorb impact in an area of the foot where the most longterm damage can often be caused. The stylings of the Kalis 1 has gone on to influence the footwear line-up all the way up to the modern day, so much so that things have finally come full circle with the Kalis 1’s reissue.

In 2000, bigger was better, and a lot of shoes were built to last. On the Kalis 1, several layers of suede and leather were piled on top of each other to protect from continual flip abrasion on the exterior side of the foot. Thicker padding around the ankle and tongue area kept your foot comfortable throughout a session.

The DC Shoes Kalis OG is available online now.

[ratings]

Share This: