Charitable Port Jefferson Station Brothers Launch Apparel Company

PORT JEFFERSON STATION, NY — Two brothers who grew up in Port Jefferson Station are on the cusp of launching an apparel company with an eye towards giving back to their community and beyond.

Anchor East Apparel is slated to launch in early March, but only online — at least for now. Philip O'Brien, 33, of Port Jefferson Station, and Patrick O'Brien, 36, of Coram, share the goal of opening a physical storefront in Port Jefferson Village by 2022. The O'Briens intend to share a percentage of proceeds with a pair of charities near and dear to their hearts: the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation and Long Island Beach Clean Ups.

Life on the water is the theme of the apparel, which includes shirts, hats and more. The O'Brien family has been surfing, skimboarding, boogie-boarding, boating, fishing, wakeboarding and jet-skiing their entire lives.

"If it involves saltwater, we’ll find a way to enjoy it," Philip told Patch. "We always joke around; when we were kids, we used to say we have saltwater in our veins."

The brothers came up with Anchor East one late night in spring 2020 during the coronavirus pandemic-caused shutdown. Patrick had just been laid off from his job due to the outbreak, and Philip's hobbies included doing graphic design for ads towards an insurance agency he owns. Philip said he always wanted to dabble in a passion project where he would create designs for an apparel company. On a whim, he and Patrick decided to run with the idea and start Anchor East.

Part of the project would include the brothers giving back to the community.

"We were trying to find a way to rise from the ashes," Philip said. "At everybody’s all-time low, and when things were so crazy in the world, we were trying to do something to bring light into a darker time."

Patrick credits Philip with the original idea, but the brothers eventually found themselves going 50/50 in every aspect from there. Their project was kicked into high drive by early summer 2020, which meant working long nights, off-hours and weekends. In addition to selling merchandise, Patrick said it was important Anchor East is used as a platform and movement.

Patrick was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes at an early age.

"Growing up, there were not many charities or foundations that we were able to give to, donate to, or even receive donations from," Patrick said.

The idea of donating a percentage of every sale to juvenile diabetes research is very important to Patrick.

"Hopefully, one day, there is a cure and we can be a reason there is a cure," he said. "I know a lot of people on Long Island suffer from diabetes. It’s something that I’ve been living with for over 30 years."

Philip also got to choose a charity to give back to. Having grown up by the water, clean beaches on Long Island is a crucial cause to the O'Brien family.

One of the places Philip says he often visits is Pirate's Cove in Port Jefferson.

"While we were there one day, my daughter had cut her foot on a broken beer bottle that was on the beach," he said. "Right then and there, I knew that, ‘OK, I think we have another thing we can start working on and put behind Anchor East to keep this going and get more people invested to say we’re not just a pop-up shop selling a couple of t-shirts.’ We are a movement, and we’re trying to change things over here."

With that, Anchor East looked to partner with Long Island Beach Cleanups. The O'Briens, through their brand, plan to organize beach cleanups and send the recycled materials to manufacturers, which would then reproduce them into bracelets, jewelry, necklaces and other products Anchor East can then sell. A portion of those proceeds would go back to Long Island Beach Cleanups and Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.

"Everyone’s been to the beach, and you see garbage there," Philip said. "It gets everybody frustrated, but you never really see many people doing much about it. I think that’s where things need to change. Let’s be the driving force. Let’s be the ones to show it’s OK to get involved. More importantly, this is something huge we can set an example for our children. I have two children, and Patrick has a son. We want to raise our families knowing it’s OK to give back, and it’s important to give back, especially when you’re in a position to do so."

The Anchor East Apparel website is still being fleshed out, but merchandise should be available within a couple of weeks, the brothers said.

Their long-term goal is to become a Port Jefferson cornerstone. However, more importantly, the O'Briens want to get their mission out.

"We don’t want to be known for just selling apparel; we want to clean up Long Island and give back to the community," Patrick said.