Nick Colletta proudly wears his city on his sleeve.
The Archbishop Ryan graduate who pursued a second career in acting and stand-up comedy after 25 years as a Teamster is proclaiming his love for his city in a different way. Known for his humorous rants and charity shows about how proud he is to be a Philadelphian, Colletta recently released a clothing line to help others promote their passion for the City of Brotherly Love.
Colletta, 67, took a few punches on his original plan, but just like Rocky, he rose from the canvas.
“I applied for a trademark for the term ‘Proud to be a Philadelphian’ for my show,” Colletta. “I was told I could not patent the entertainment section because Action News had the trademark of ‘Philly Proud’ and the government thought that was too close to what I wanted. But the attorney I was speaking with said he saw that I sold shirts at my show, and he said why don’t I apply for a trademark for a clothing line? That’s when the lightbulb went off in my head.”
Nine shirts and two hats later, Colletta officially opened his clothing line, and requests are starting to pile up.
Some T-shirts focus simply on the pride of Philadelphia, highlighting the city’s skyline. Others promote the city’s rich supremacy of sandwiches. Another category pokes fun at the negative reputation the city receives in the national sports spotlight.
“I’ve gotten a lot of requests for the Santa shirt that I made because I was so PO-ed at the country for getting on us for throwing snowballs at a fictitious storybook character,” Colletta said. “But hey, we’re the only ones to have the street smarts to know the guy’s not real.”
Colletta said he went the distance in providing a high-quality shirt. Each one is 100-percent 7.5-ounce cotton, considered heavyweight.
“It’s one of the best streetwear shirts that you can print on,” he said. “I’m getting a lot of feedback from people liking the shirts.”
Colletta has already started making the rounds. He took his newly printed shirts down to South Philly and presented John’s Roast Pork owner John Bucci with a shirt highlighting all the great sandwiches that are made at the popular spot at Front and Snyder. Anyone interested in purchasing a shirt can contact Colletta through Instagram @proudtobeaphiladelphian.
Colletta has been performing his show “Proud to Be a Philadelphian” since 2023. He offers the show primarily as a fundraiser to help organizations reach their goals. Now he’s offering his clothing line for the city to show its pride.
“I’m doing this for Philadelphia,” he said. “I buried 12 of my friends in the last eight years. There used to be 30 of us. My clothing line is for me to try to give a little bit of a legacy in this city, because I feel this city has given me such a roller coaster of a life. I love Philadelphia with all my heart and there’s no better city in this country.” ••
