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Phil Browne feels his new surf shop, Glide Surf Co., in the Normandy Beach section of Toms River, is filling in a geographic and demographic hole in the Jersey Shore surfing scene.

Phil Browne feels his new surf shop, Glide Surf Co., in the Normandy Beach section of Toms River, is filling in a geographic and demographic hole in the Jersey Shore surfing scene.

Glide, which opened May 7, features products from smaller, more artsy producers, shying from mass-produced surfing apparel and equipment. The result can be called a true boutique experience, in product and in pricing.

“It’s a little bit different than the rest of the surf shops around here,” Browne said. “There’s been almost this pseudo cookie-cutter mold that’s been wrapped around most shops in the area. They sell a lot of the same brands, they directly compete with each other on the same level.”

Browne said the movement for alternative surf shops started on the West Coast, and after leaving the corporate advertising world, the former national surfing competitor felt the need to open a shop reflecting the industry’s evolution.

“I want to make money, but if I can break even for this summer and change peoples’ minds, open minds about riding different stuff and wearing different brands that don’t have multimillion-dollar ad campaigns behind them — ideally, that’s where I set my success goals,” Browne said.

Browne said he initially had some distribution issues working with smaller companies, but said he anticipated that, and appreciates the more personal attention given to his orders.

In addition to offering unique products, Browne’s philosophy to Glide is more personal surfing consultant than salesman.

“Surfers and salesmen have been stuck in this mold — they ride surfboards that are marketed to them. They see Kelly Slater riding this really high-performance, thin … difficult-to-ride surfboard, and they think that’s what they should be riding,” Browne said. “What most people really don’t get is that he makes it look great … but your average surfer struggles on something like that.”

Browne’s shop sells craftsman boards that reflect the more user-friendly boards used in the 1960s, alongside high-performance, competitive-style boards.

Normandy Beach is a prime location for Glide, Browne said, because of the affluent community, the foot traffic on the town’s sidewalks and the lack of surf shops on Long Beach Island between Lavallette and Bay Head.

In addition to location, social media has been an enormous tool for the Bayville native. Browne studied marketing in college, and knew a large-scale advertising push for the shop would be overwhelming, so he used the best free advertising he knew.

“I had over 300 Facebook fans before I even opened my doors, and it grows every day. That’s been my main free marketing that I’ve done for the store. Ninety percent of the people who come in my doors either saw me on Facebook, or immediately friends me or become fans of the shop once they leave the store,” he said. “I think it’s been really successful thus far.”