Secret Spot Surf Shop — 43 Years in Nags Head
By Karl Galloway
Nags Head is a typical Outer Banks town; windswept, sandy, and marked by small gnarled trees, scrub, and the iconic lighthouses of the region. It’s located on a spit of land a little less than a mile across, on the northern half of North Carolina’s coast. For tourists on vacation, it can be hard to identify the local spots, especially if you’re visiting during peak season, when the population swells from 2,800 to 40,000. But they do exist, often catering to one of the most iconic Outer Banks pastimes, surfing.
Surf shops are important community historical markers and the Secret Spot Surf Shop has been providing gear since 1982 and shaping boards since 1977. Back then it was part retail store and part board shaping shop, under the original owner’s mother. Suffice to say, the Spot has been around for quite a while. Vintage boards festoon the walls, reminders of the sport’s history in Nags Head.
More of a passion than a pastime, most Outer Banks surfers start young, some before they can even walk. Tristin, a local photographer and employee at The Secret Spot said his dad “was pushing him around on a board since before he could remember.”
Surfing means a lot to the Outer Banks, and based on Tristin’s experience it looks like it isn’t going anywhere soon. Which probably means that the Secret Spot will be there, supporting its community just as it has done for 43 years.
Learn more about Surftember here.
