GET FAMILIAR: Nocturnal Skate Shop, Philadelphia, PA

Philadelphia skateboarding is a little bit like a cockroach, and we mean that with as much love as humanly possible. The City of Brotherly Love has been anything but familial to the skate scene over the past few decades, kicking skaters out of Center City’s three plazas, LOVE Park, City Hall, and Municipal in quick succession. And even now, with a sanctioned section of Muni built for the skate scene, there’s always been one hub for local skaters to call home.

Nocturnal Skate Shop has been a staple in the Philly skate and sneaker scenes since it opened its doors off South Street in spring 2000. Now 26 years into its run, Nocturnal has gone through more than a quarter century of storefront moves, ownership shifts, and skate trends, but the store has always been there to hold it down for the Philly skate scene, with new product, events, sponsorships, jobs, and more.

The shop’s latest sneaker collab takes the shoe wall to the big leagues, teaming up with Nike SB for one of four City Pack colorways. Highlighting one shop each in China, Japan, Europe, and North America, the City Pack is the first shop collab collection on the new Nike SB Air Force 1 silhouette.

With Noc’s AF1 colorway dropping this weekend with a block party to celebrate, we figured it was only right to give you a closer look at the shop itself, from history and local lore to collabs, and, of course, plenty of skate footage from the Nocturnal family.

South Street’s Finest

Nocturnal was founded at the turn of the millennium by legendary pro skater Kerry Getz on 4th Street, just south of South Street. Sub Zero, a previous Philly skate shop open during the city’s iconic ‘90s LOVE Park era, had closed recently around the corner, and Getz and his friends decided to step in with a new clubhouse for the city’s skate rats.

Opening its doors just a few years before the debut of the Nike SB line, Nocturnal was Philly’s early go-to spot for line-ups and lucked-into surprise cops. At one point, Philly heads will remember that sneakerheads had become such a nuisance to the shop employees that Quickstrike pairs were kept on display behind the counter, with no trying on allowed for the exclusive colorways.

Over the years, Nocturnal moved onto South Street and then back around the corner to 5th Street, where it currently sits, in true skate community fashion, with an interior built by a former shop manager-turned woodworker and a mural on the south wall by local artist (and skater) Jim Houser. And beyond just Nike SB, DC, Vans, new silhouettes from Villager PM, and the rest of the classic skate shop offerings, the Nocturnal shop wall has recently expanded to include runners, trail shoes, and lifestyle models from adidas, Nike ACG, New Balance, and more.

Nocturnal’s Collab History

Nocturnal’s new Nike SB Air Force 1 City Pack collaboration is the shop’s first time teaming up with Nike SB, but with more than a quarter-century of Philly skate history, the brand has plenty of partnerships under its belt.

Starting on the skate side of things, Nocturnal’s latest major collab arrived just before the Air Force 1, joining Chocolate Skateboards’ city series with a set of Philadelphia logo boards in Eagles green. Noc’s shop deck offerings have always worked with local and legendary skate artists, most notably with the man behind Alien Workshop and Habitat’s 1990s aesthetic, Don Pendleton.

On the sneaker side of things, Nocturnal has served as a hub for the resurgence of DC Shoes in the modern era, with local pro skaters and shop mainstays like Jahmir Brown and Kevin Bilyeu bringing models like the Lynx back to the downtown scene. In 2022, Nocturnal got in on the action, dropping a collab pair of the KALYNX in black and red with the Noc “N” logo on the lateral heel.

Footy Party

From shop manager Jake Todd’s work behind the camera to Palace pro skaters Jahmir Brown and Jamal Smith on the shop’s past employee list, to current shop workers Mark Del Negro, Jackson Deets, and team members who have never actually clocked in for a retail shift, it’s hard to knock Noc’s skate bona fides. Like every edition of GET FAMILIAR, we’ll leave you with a little bit of skating to get you hyped for Saturday’s SB Air Force 1 drop and block party.

Zach Harris

Zach Harris is a writer based in Philadelphia. His work has appeared in Rolling Stone, Vice, Complex, High Times, and more. He is obsessed with skateboarding and bowling. He is still looking for his first 300. For tips, reviews, and anything in size 10.5 - zach.h@soleretriever.com