ASBURY PARK – Punk is more than guitar-driven music, brightly-colored hair, body piercings and tattoos.

Punk is a fully evolved, diverse culture.

Ricky Tomory, of Monroe, was sifting through racks of vinyl records at the Punk Rock Flea Market in Asbury Park Saturday morning.

“I’m not limited to just punk,” Tomory said. “It’s a lifestyle, the last thing it is is just the music. It is about being yourself and not caring what anyone else thinks.

Vinyl records were the biggest draw at the quarterly flea mall at the Asbury Park VFW post. Tomory’s brother, Bob, was sorting through retailers’ crates.

“For me, it is the sound, the format and the packaging,” Bob said. “And it is more than punk records, I have a few rap albums right here.”

Vinyl crates also included funk, pop, reggae, psychedelic and country albums, revealing that a culture known for aggressive, three-chord music in reality has deep, diverse and eclectic tastes.

Cookman Ave. retailer Holdfast Records sponsors the flea market a few times a year around the city.

“Kids are sick of getting something small, like a CD, with their music purchases – if they get anything at all,” Holdfast owner Joe K. said. “With vinyl, instead of just the music they get artwork.”

For Deaglin Howlett, of Red Bank, vinyl invokes more listener participation.

“There’s something about having to flip the record over,” Howlett said. “I think it’s cool. It’s more physical, you’re more attached to the music.”

Howlett said he identified with the punk scene.

“It’s just the mentality,” Howlett said. “The way you think about things, I think it’s liberating.”

There’s more to the punk flea market than music in retro formats. Vendors sold clothing, jewelry, movies, posters, comic books, action figures and lunch boxes.

“It’s such a big genre,” flea market organizer Tom Laing said. “It’s hard to quantify what punk is, nobody has a good answer. There are so many things it covers, but the community, the people, the youth, that’s what keeps it vital and together.”

The flea markets are a growing event.

“Last time, we had 1,400 people through the door,” Joe K. said. “Previously, we’ve had this at the Stone Pony, but we’re here to try to inject some life into downtown during the winter.”

Joe K. said the next flea market would be held in April, and he would be looking for a new venue.

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“We would like a bigger place,” Joe K. said. “We want to triple our vendors.”

The flea market coincides with a four-night New Years run by local punk band The Bouncing Souls, whose multi-night year-end concerts are an Asbury Park tradition.

For Queens resident Jamie Kiminski, it was one of many Bouncing Souls shows.

“I’ve been to over 40 easily, coming down to Asbury this time of year is almost mandatory,” Kiminski said. “I love punk culture, if I could live weird at my job, I would.”