DGK

DGK stands for Dirty Ghetto Kids, and the name isn’t a marketing pose: it’s what other skaters called Stevie Williams and his crew when they were broke kids at Philadelphia’s LOVE Park. Williams took the insult, kept it, and turned it into a brand in 2002. The company is distributed by The Kayo Corp — the outfit Williams set up with Troy Morgan — and is based in Los Angeles.

History

Before DGK there was Gold, the wheel brand Williams co-owned with Eli Soto; the board company grew out of that. In September 2009 Josh Kalis, the other big LOVE Park name, left Alien Workshop for DGK, and in December 2010 Rodrigo TX walked away from Flip to do the same. 2011 brought “Fresh ‘til Death,” a joint project with Zero that included a US tour and the “Dirty Zero Kids” deck series.

2012 was the year everything shifted. In October the brand launched the “Free Fabes” campaign to cover Fabian Alomar’s legal costs, and on 11 December it premiered “Parental Advisory” at The Avalon in Hollywood, handing out Ben Baller pinky rings to the whole team and closing the night with Juicy J and Trinidad James. Three months later Transworld gave DGK its Best Team award. In July 2014 Boo Johnson and Marquise Henry turned pro and “Blood Money” landed, posted by Thrasher on 18 July. “SAVED” (2017), “Zeitgeist” (2022) and “Amen” (2023) followed.

In 2023 the brand paid for the indoor skatepark Josh Kalis built in Grand Rapids, Michigan, floored with granite slabs salvaged from the original LOVE Park — roughly 1,600 tiles Kalis laid himself, according to Jenkem.

The team

Stevie Williams still leads it, alongside Josh Kalis, Chaz Ortiz, Boo Johnson, Kevin Bilyeu, John Shanahan, Will Mazzari and Brian Reid, all with boards in the current pro range. Rodrigo TX rejoined in June 2024 with the “Family First” video. Marquise Henry, Dane Vaughn, Dwayne Fagundes, Lenny Rivas, Marcus McBride and Jack Curtin round out the roster. Wade Desarmo, Rodrigo Lima and Keelan Dadd all did time here.

The boards

Pro decks are 7-ply maple with stained veneers, full bottom graphic and top screens, each rider on his own shape (Kalis rides the JK01). DGK also makes completes, trucks, wheels, bearings, hardware and grip, so you can build an entire setup from one brand. The collab list tells you where the company comes from: Onyx, Bun B, Beanie Sigel and Rolling Loud on the hip-hop side; Bruce Lee, Rosa Parks, Kool-Aid, 7-Eleven, G-Shock, Fila and adidas outside it; plus the Williams & Abloh project with Virgil Abloh.

Who it’s for

If you want a street deck at normal pro pricing and don’t mind a graphic you can read from across the road, DGK fits. If you’re after plain wood and minimal artwork, look elsewhere: this brand runs on gold, big logos and hip-hop references, and it does that on purpose. Line it up against the rest in the deck catalog.