“They’re in the know about what’s going on.

Regardless, Brand says the kind of kids she hires are up to speed on what’s hot with beach dwellers now. In Brand’s shoe department, staffers are chosen for their outgoing personalities and work ethic, despite the fact that she affectionately calls one employee “Bum” due to his habit of sleeping right until it’s time to clock in. Brand notes, “It’s a shore-style department store.” Upstairs is what Cathyie Brand, the store’s footwear manager, calls the “fun stuff”: Rows upon rows of surf and skateboards, helmets, wetsuits and niche magazines. Men’s, women’s and kids’ apparel is located on the ground floor, along with swim, footwear and accessories. 35 South, the gateway to now infamous Seaside Heights, it’s no wonder the store requires a minimum of 15 employees on the floor at any given time. Opened by Bill Lammer in 1974 as a bike shop, Brave New World Surf Shop in Point Pleasant Beach, NJ, has exploded to stock everything from apparel, footwear and sunglasses to surfboards, skateboards and décor-bikes sold separately. The one thing Brave New World offered in its fledgling years may be the one thing that no longer appears in the store’s merchandise mix.

Brave new world surf nj