The Night Is Young

Behind a velvet rope was Ryan Skolnick, 23, a D.J. and promoter: texting, phoning, urging a new wave of fresh-faced arrivals toward the club. “I saw that there was no one taking care of my age demographic in the Hamptons,” said the scruffy-cheeked, tanned Mr. Skolnick, a University of Miami student, explaining his decision to work at the club, sometimes with help from his fraternal twin, Matthew, also a D.J. (he is mainly a producer), who goes by the last name Sterling.

The club scene in the Hamptons has always attracted the young, but this summer the crowd has seemed downright larval — thanks in part to a new breed of promoter, like the brothers, that is barely of drinking age, but has Facebook contacts in the four digits.

Matthew said he had been a D.J. a few times, and Ryan said that he used to promote at Nello Summertimes in Southampton on Saturday nights, but that the party there ended earlier than it was supposed to, after a New York Post article highlighting under-age drinking and drug use led to a police investigation. Now the brothers have moved operations to SL East, though they are vague about their commitment there.

“I do bring a good amount of people every Saturday, but I just do it to help out and have a good time,” Matthew said.

Much like the term “producer” in Hollywood, the job of promoter is veiled in a certain ambiguity. “A lot of people claim to be promoters, but they’re really just hanging out with the promoter and want to sound like they’re cool, like, ‘Yeah, yeah, I work there, I work there,’” said Eugene Remm, an owner of EMM Group, a hospitality, lifestyle and management company that also oversees SL East as well as Tenjune, a popular place in Manhattan. “It’s part of the game with people. They’re not necessarily promoters there; they just want to be able to get access to whatever pretty girl that they want to invite out or whatever group of guys that are their buddies that they want to say they have some access that someone else doesn’t.”

Mr. Remm said that on a typical weekend night his clubs will hire three or four official hosts. “Those hosts have the ability to hire subpromoters,” he said, a category also known as “subs.” “I don’t necessarily know who they hire, or if they’re necessarily paying them. Maybe paid in a couple free drinks and be able to feel like they’re part of the team.”

Asked how he decides who gains admission to his clubs, Mr. Remm passed the buck to his doormen. “We’re willing to lose out on a few dollars in order to justify and maintain the brand,” he said, adding a crowd of young people clamoring to get in can be good for business, even if they aren’t allowed. “It doesn’t hurt us. It only creates a better energy at the front door, which allows us to be more selective as to who we invite.”

At SL East, at least, his safety net appeared to be working. A group of six girls had tried to sneak in through the back exit of SL East, walking with as much confidence as they could with their heels getting stuck in the gravel.

“We need security back here!” a guard shouted.

SL EAST also sporadically employs Jake Truen, 21, who said he has promoted since he was in high school at Half Hollow Hills in Dix Hills, N.Y. In a telephone interview, Mr. Truen said his youth posed a distinctive advantage in the field. “The kids are the ones spending the money to get into these clubs,” he said.