not based on anybody in particular I'm just a huge fan of jesse from bondi rescue so I thought I would do my first piece on the gang he's in , the bra boys. this was actually my English gcse piece! no hate please or copying thank you xoxoxo
baring in mind I have never been to maroubra or even Australia so I highly doubt they act in this way, I just guessed andmade up many details for more facts. So if your from maroubra im sorry...
I had always wanted to be a bra boy.
I grew up in Maroubra in Sydney, Australia, our local community was home to the controversial gang, the bra boys, they terrorized the community and areas around us, many people were scared of the bra boys, I however wanted to be one. Maroubra is a rough area, by the age of 11 I had a gun shot at me, seen drug addicts in the street and had been in the middle of many fights and riots, yes welcome to Maroubra. The bra boys met in their local hangouts or at the beaches to surf, they would protect the community from the other gangs, who would come into Maroubra looking for a fight, often they would leave with blood oozing from their torn skin and large wounds, or very rarely they wouldn’t leave at all, death was common in Maroubra. The bra boys were the best at fighting, sometimes to good; they were the protectors and the terrorisers of Maroubra. Everyone was scared of the Bra boys, except me, they were my idols.
The bra boys are a surf tribe, a gang of friends and brothers, joined by their local area and traditions. They all had fearsome reputations in gigantic waves; most of them had been surfing all their lives, or had been pushed in the surf by the bra boys to get bigger and better waves. They had a reputation for criminal and anti-social behaviour, with many of the gangs appearing on newspapers after being arrested by police or in the middle of a fight. They had a bad relationship with the police, the coppers were always signalling them out when there was a robbery or crime, even when they hadn't committed the crime, this would aggravate them leading to more arrests and longer criminal records. But I still had always wanted to join, why? Because they contained some of the best surfers in the world.
I, like the bra boys, had grown up in the surf, my life at home was tough with many arguments between my parents, so like many Maroubra kids I spent nearly all my time down at the beach surfing the waves. It was like a second home to many people in Maroubra. The water was the only place I felt calm, the cool water splashing against my legs, the sound of the waves crashing over the rocks, the salty taste of my lips, was all comforting to me, I was protected here, safe, comforted, the beach was where I belonged, the beach was also where my life changed for the best and the worse. It was where I became a bra boy.
I had become a bra boy at the age of 13. It was brilliant at first, my mentor was the controversial big wave surfer and bra boy leader Koby Aberton, he was one of the best surfers in Australia, regularly on the front pages on magazines for his surfing, he was no stranger to violence, yes he had a criminal record and had been arrested many times but that didn’t worry me, he was like a brother to me. I was honoured to have him as my teacher. He showed me the bra boys’ way of life, he taught me how to fight and protect myself, and he taught me how to surf the waves that were deemed unsurfable and how to have a carefree life ignoring the authorities. Koby took me on trips all around the world to surf, he was paying for me to go so I didn’t want to let him down, so no matter what I had happening that day I would always go with Koby. My mother always said no to the trips but Koby always persuaded her to let me come, so a lot of school was missed it was great at the time but I didn’t know what it would mean for my future. In the gang I felt so protected, I finally felt like I belonged somewhere, I was part of a proper community for once in my life not the outsider and weirdo, like I was branded in school, nobody messed with me now, they knew they would pay for it if they did.
After a few months though it got a little different, I was shown to the darker side of the bra boys, I was involved in riots, fights and criminal behaviour. The boys were acting weirder around me to, they were fighting with me more and we were not surfing as much, we tended to roam the streets, looking for fights. I had been involved with the police to, with them giving me warnings and orders but the boys never listened to them so I didn’t to. My mum ordered me to leave the gang, but I couldn’t, “once a bra boy always a bra boy" koby would always shout at the beginning of every gathering, drilling the message into my head, so I kept going with them, I should have listened to her, then I wouldn’t have got into this mess. I had been shown the darker side of the bra boys, but I didn’t know it was the only side of the bra boys. Soon after I was told I had to get the tattoos, all the boys have them, the same tattoos "my brother’s keeper" and many more, to be a bra boy you needed theses tattoos, so I had no choice but to get them. One of the members was a tattoo artist so he did it on me, illegally, I was only 14. Despite the excruciating pain I felt I could show no emotion or the boys would throw me out, you couldn’t show emotions as a bra boy, so I kept getting them, tattoo after tattoo which show my old way of life, make people scared of me, brands me a criminal.
I only joined the gang for the surfing, to feel a sense of belonging and protection. I wanted brothers and friends, not a life of crime, the bra boys left me feeling like I belonged in this community, in this world, and little did I know they were just using me, making me do their dirty work in the criminal underworld.
I don’t belong in this cell though, the walls are damp and cold and I can hear druggies and drunks yelling down the corridor whilst the police contain them, there is an air of sadness to, surrounding the cell, suffocating me with sadness and guilt of what I did, this is where normal lives end and criminal lives begin. This is the start of my criminal life, the life I don’t want, the life I never wanted.
I wish I had never become a bra boy.
