All language subtitles for Bra.Boys.2007.DVDRip.XviD-aAF

Violence flared again
in Brighton-Le-Sands,

Cronulla, and Maroubra.

Gangs smash cars
and shop fronts

along the city's
suburban beach strip,

leading to the arrests
of 11 people.

A member of the so-called
Bra Boys surfer group

from Maroubra Beach

says most residents
are sick of the attacks.

Premier Morris lemma insisting

the people behind the riots
have declared war on society.

Police are licking their wounds
after a vicious brawl

outside a club at Coogee
on the weekend.

44 off-duty officers
were hurt in the fight

with a notorious beach gang.

A professional surfer
has been charged

over an underworld murder.

Bloodstained drag marks

led police to Mistral Point
at Maroubra.

The victim was shot
and dumped over a cliff.

Police are of the view
that this body was in the water

for anything up to four days.

14 kilometers
from Sydney Harbour

and five beaches south
of the world-famous Bondi Beach

lies Maroubra Beach,

a suburb with a poor history

but one of rich characters.

In 1770, after passing
through the Pacific Islands,

Captain James Cook sailed
into Botany Bay

and discovered and unexplored
continent of Australia.

As he entered the bay,
wild, pounding surf

exploded onto the rocks
around the entrance,

and Cook viewed natives
from the local Yorta Tribe

swimming and fishing
in its waters.

Upon anchoring and landing,

Cook was confronted
by two natives

and ordered his crew
to open fire.

He claimed the unexplored land
for England,

and the British returned
to the same spot

18 years later to colonize
Australia as a jail.

It was a harsh beginning

for the first convict
inhabitants of modern Australia

and for the native Yorta people,

whose lands included
the nearby beach of Maroubra,

a name meaning
"place of thunder."

100 years later, Sydney,
as the city became known,

saw many of the poor forced
to live amongst

the persecuted aborigines
in the bays and caves

around the Maroubra area.

By 1930, dilapidated beach camps
around the Maroubra area

housed up to 1,000 poor
and unemployed families.

To limit the growth
of the camps,

the government purchased land
adjacent to the bays

and relocated
these poor communities

into government
housing estates.

Next came the building
of the biggest sewage plant

in the southern hemisphere,

with the beach bordered
by a rifle range,

and Australia's biggest jail
built on top of a hill,

which from its hilltop location

served as a constant warning
to the community below.

Maroubra, with its challenges,
saw many of the younger members

of the community
born into an environment

rife with domestic conflict,
parental neglect, and drugs.

Over the decades,
the beach and the surf

has been their savior.

At the core of this story
are the Abberton brothers:

Sunny, Jai, Koby,

and their
younger brother, Dakota.

Both Sunny and Jai
have surfed professionally,

while Koby is now regarded
as one of the best

big-wave surfers in the world.

They, along
with their childhood friends,

were raised by the beach tribe
at Maroubra.

Bra Boys, as the tribe
is now known,

have grown to be one
of the most infamous

and recognized surf tribes
in the world.

For years, authorities
have battled

to disperse the beach tribes,

but as the centuries passed
and the tribe names changed,

their culture has survived.

This is their story.

I would honestly say,
without a doubt,

the most localized surf
community I've encountered

is Maroubra.

You guys at Maroubra,
you ain't nothing but trouble.

No, I don't think
we're all bad.

We were just cheeky little
grommets, mate, you know?

You can have a big community

that all sort of, you know,
kind of hangs out.

These guys all hang out,

and they've got each other's
backs, no matter what.

You got to have a brain
that will allow you

to take off on a wave like that,

and that's where these guys
differ a lot

from most every surfers.

He pulled out his knife,
and he stabbed me twice.

I lived in a house where my mom
was a heroin addict

and my mom's boyfriend
was a bank robber.

And they didn't
really control the house.

Me, Sunny, and Jai pretty much
done whatever we wanted to do,

went to school on whatever days
we wanted to.

And the beach was our life.

That's all we
that's all we had, really.

And we didn't
have much money.

We ate Corn Flakes
and Rice Bubbles every night,

which we loved
when we were kids.

Home life for me and my brothers
was pretty hard.

It was four of us,

and we pretty much had to fend
for ourselves.

None of us knew our dads.

We grew up with our mom.

Me and Jai
have got the same dad.

Koby and Dakota
got different dads.

My brothers were definitely
my male role models.

They took care of me,
you know,

took me to the beach every day,

and my brothers'
older friends and stuff.

There was a hard period that
when I left to go on the tour,

I was only 15,
and Koby was still very young.

My other younger brother
had just been born,

so, you know, in one way,

you want to succeed
through surfing,

but on the other hand,

it was still very hard
leaving your brothers behind

to the home life
that we were living.

Not only was he a father figure,
but he was my hero

as to the way
he would surf in the contests;

whereas me and Jai have lived
with each other for a long time,

so me and Jai
would just fight a lot.

But still, it seems to be the
person you fight with the most,

you loveyou know,
you're really close to.

We lived up in the housing commissions,
which we were lucky

that we lived there
in a housing commission near the beach

and not a housing commission
out in fucking Liverpool

or something.

So we lived there,
and we used to just go down there.

Our grandmother lived
one block from the beach,

so we were very lucky to have
my grandmother live there, and very happy.

She used to look after us a lot
at that early stage.

My grandma Mavis Abberton,
who we all called Ma,

she had a big house
at the beach.

And back in the day,
there was a lot of the kids

from around the area
were from broken homes,

and, you know,
so she used to let us

all leave our stuff there.

You know,
we'd sit there in that garage

for the five days on end,
you know,

hanging out
at the house and just

just swim in the pool,
hanging around.

And she'd just take care
of us all at all times,

make sure we were all all right,

every time
we ever needed anything,

give us whatever we wanted.

Ma's house was like a clubhouse
for all theyou know,

the Bra Boys.

She was pretty much
the grandma to Bra Boys.

If anyone started Bra Boys,
it was her.

I've never met another lady
like her,

who's a lady who could handle
little kids

running around
screaming in the backyard.

We all left
our surfboards there.

I hung there for 15-odd years.

So the boys were more
kind of just like a family and that.

Maybe they had shit going on at home
or something, or maybe, you know,

seeing as we weren't
as comfortable at home,

we said, "Well, I'll just go to the beach
every day to be in the water."

The older crew was Ma's Hell Team
in those days.

And they were all just, like,
the best surfers,

charging the biggest waves,

and, you know, doing all the stuff
that you want to do

when you're a kid, you know,

so we looked up to them.

You know, we were young kids;
we were young hoodlums,

and we named our gang after her,
you know, Ma's Hell Team.

And then the younger kids
named their gang after her.

We started our own little gang
called Ma's Madness.

She gave us her house,
and that was the headquarters,

Ma's Hell Team headquarters.

Along with Ma being that central
figure in their lives,

there are also a number
of older guys

who were to play significant
roles in their upbringing,

like Steve "Blackie" Wilson,

Brad Johnson,

Larry Blair,

and Marty Lee.

But the one who would later
have the most dramatic influence

on the family's lives
was Anthony Hines.

There'd been gangs of different
groups of guys

coming down
and targeting surfers

or fighting with surfers
since the early 50s

or as long as anyone
can remember.

But around the early 1990s,

the gang violence
really started to increase,

and we started
to get weekly attacks

of different gangs coming
to the beach to fight surfers.

We'd had a lot of stabbings
and a few shootings.

It just became a part of our
daily lives, you know.

Just saying,
we had to always be ready,

because you never knew
when it was gonna go down.

There was other gangs around,
you know.

At the time, that's when
the gang mentality

was kind of starting
to take off, you know.

And then it was just starting to
happen all the time, you know,

dances, and, you know,
down the beach,

or even coming down here
and starting to do it.

We justand then
you know,

and as we grew up and got
to go into the pub and stuff,

then it started
happening there.

Growing up, I mean, we had
a lot of crazy things happen,

like guns held to ours heads,

chased down the street
with people shooting at us.

You know, we were
in a car one night,

and people shot up the car,
all sorts of things.

It's good.
It turns us into what we are.

Have you ever been stabbed
or shot?

Yeah, shot.

When we were
when I was 14, 15.

I was stabbed there,
just on the left arm there.

Not to be a coward
and run away.

I had a bat down me pants,
and if...

I only had one of my other boys
there with me.

Why'd you have a bat
down your pants?

I don't fucking know.

When we were growing up, there
was always homeboys and that,

you know, creeping around
down the beach.

Always had to be prepared when
you walk around by yourself.

Pulled this nice silver gun
out of his shoulder holster.

Stuck it right in me chest,

and as I backed off
and went to grab it, he let it go,

and the round ended up
going through both me legs.

Bullet, like, entered
through that one there

and then came out
through that one there

and then just ended up going
straight back into me knee here.

Did the police ask
did they ask you to identify the guy?

Yeah, yeah, yeah,
they asked all that.

And did you?

No, no way in the world, no.

He pulled out his knife,
and he stabbed me twice

and then went to stab me again
but missed.

The knife went in there
that's from the operation

and once in there.

It felt like I just got winded
pretty bad,

and then I grabbed me stomach,

and I felt a handful
of intestines hanging out.

Now that I look back on it,

it's the day that I walked in

and found my mom
shooting up heroin,

and then my mom's
boyfriend hit me.

Like, I come into the house,

and I caught them all in there
shooting up heroin.

I said, "Get out of the house,"

and then my mom's
boyfriend jumped up

and hit me with a baseball bat,
told me to get out of the house,

and I went flying down
the beach, saying "Sunny."

And Sunny just gave me
a big hug and said,

"Look, you know, we've got
our own family of friends."

And from that day forward,
I think it really

it made us all realize that,
you know,

the family life at home
can finish at any time,

but the boys will never die,
you know?

The boys will
always be there for you.

And that's how it felt.

I think, from that day,
it started.

In those early '90s, everything
seemed to be falling apart.

Koby had just been
thrown out of home;

the gangs were coming down
and attacking.

Then, you know,
our only real structure

was Ma's and Ma's house,
but Ma had a stroke,

and she was left paralyzed
and speechless

down one half of her body.

So we knew at that stage
that, as a group,

to survive
and to get through it

that we really
had to do something.

And we knew that
by uniting together

that it would be the only way
that we could get through it.

And that's how it come about.

Sunny actually said,
"Oh, let's all

what about the Bra Boys?"

We were like, "Yeah,
the fucking Bra Boys."

We just came up
with a handshake,

and it was just
like more of, like

it's just a brotherhood for us.

The Bra Boy grip
is like that.

The Bra Boy grip
is like that.

It's pretty much the strongest
handshake you can possibly do.

It's in the tat.

And anyone who's a Bra Boy,

that's how they shake hands
and say hello.

"What's happening?
What's going on?"

It's called slappin' it up.

We were just in Ma's garage,
just talking about it,

and then we're like,
"Fuck, we'll just

"we'll go up,
and we should get a tattoo.

We should get a tattoo,"
you know.

Fuckin', whoever's solid
won't be scared to, you know,

put their hand up and say,

"Yeah, I'm a fucking Bra Boy,"
you know.

The next thing,
we're all just covered in ink.

Before we knew it,
we were like 50 out, you know?

And then blink again,
and there's 100.

You know what I mean?

Not anyone could just roll up
and get a tattoo

just because you're
a good surfer, you know.

You had to be, like, a standout
type of man, you know.

Like, you had to earn your spot;
that's for sure.

You get a Bra Boys tat
just by being with the boys

for a good, you know,
five or ten years

and showing you're worth it.

You know what I mean?

Showing you're
not gonna mess up

and getting the older guys
to approve it.

There's this responsibility
with the brotherhood.

You drop everything and turn up,
no matter what it is.

Your boys ring you,
you turn up.

It's a brotherhood,
but sometimes it gets

you know, as we've seen,
it gets a little ugly.

You know, it justit turns
into tribal warfare,

localism, whoa.

Some people have a real bee
in their bonnet

about localism and stuff,
but if you took localism away,

the whole thing
would just disintegrate.

You're taking away the fact

that people are actually proud
of where they come from.

You just can't do that.

To have that tight group of guys
that you grew up with

and, you know, you hang around
every day,

that'sthat'syou know,

that's what
Australian surfing's about.

You know, you look at the way
the coast is made.

It's broken up
into headlands.

Places, there's a long stretch
between beaches.

So it's natural.

Surfers have grown up
in their tribes.

That's the way it is.

And you always thought

of the tribe over the hill
as the enemy.

It's the unspoken lore.

And, you know, you can look
at the radical cases

like the Bra Boys, you know?

The Bra Boys, man, they live
in an urban society.

I mean, they're surrounded
by heavy shit.

How do you fight something
like that?

With heavy shit.

The whole reason
why it escalated

to where it did around here

is because
we just stood our ground.

You know, and that's what the
whole thing was about for us,

was standing our ground and
not being walked over by anyone,

because this
was our little place, you know?

We didn't go out
and bother anyone else,

so we didn't expect

for people to come down
and bother us, so...

Like, we've got this reputation
as being troublemakers

or instigators in fights.

I'm not saying the boys
are angels or

you know,
or anything like that,

but it always seems
to happen that way.

We always seem
to just be defending, you know?

The situation at Maroubra was
really starting to become news.

The situation at Maroubra was
really starting to become news.

The defense of the beach and
the formation of the Bra Boys

had earned the area
a fearsome reputation,

which over the next few years
would cause a lot of tension

with the local police.

This tension finally
reached boiling point

after one particular incident.

On December 22, 2002,

professional surfer
and Bra Boy member Mark Matthews

celebrated his 21 st birthday
with 300 of his mates

at the Coogee Randwick RSL.

Some 200 to 300
off-duty officers

from the local
Waverley Police Station

were celebrating Christmas
just one floor above.

Police are licking their wounds
after a vicious brawl

outside a club at Coogee
on the weekend.

44 off-duty officers
were hurt in the fight

with a notorious beach gang.

I didn't know
what was going on.

There was
just some older people,

probably 4040 years old,

hassling a few
of the younger guys.

Some of those people attempted
to gate-crash the police party

on a number of occasions
and were quite well aware

that there were
off-duty police officers there.

And we sort of walked over
and said,

"Come on, what's going on?"

And then I seen
a few people running behind me

and this and that,
and then there was this

there was a bit of a ruckus,
and then it was just on.

Two to three bodies high
of people on the ground.

On top of them
was like a massive mosh

with just punches
flying anywhere.

It was the only, really,
way we could get out of it

was to fight.

There was
no other way out of it

except just fight
your way out of it.

And that's
that was the end result.

Spilled out the front door here
onto the front street.

All the uniform coppers
ended up turning up.

Mate, there was helicopters
with floodlights on.

There was paddy wagons.
There was police dogs.

It was justit was one
of the most hectic things

I've ever seen
or been involved in.

Fuck.

Eight Bra Boys were arrested
on various charges,

but all were later found
not guilty.

No police were charged.

The affect it had
on the community probably just

like, just bred more hatred
for the police, I think,

than there was before,
you know?

Like, they say, likelike,
people were getting off

without getting convicted,

and all the charges
were dropped,

but it was still costing,
like, friends of mine

$30,000 to go to court,
you know?

They were losing the deposits
for their home loans and stuff,

like, and they act like
we got off scot-free, you know?

The thing I was dirty on with
the papers and everything was,

you know,
we get labeled a gang;

we get labeled this;
we get labeled that.

There wasn't one knife pulled;
there wasn't one gun pulled.

It was just a good
old-fashioned brawl, you know?

They call us a gang.
They call us all these names.

And, you know,
it wasn't a gang.

We're not a gang.

We justit was a fight,
and weyou know, we won,

and they're all
licking their wounds.

That's it.

There's always been tension
between the police

and the local surf community,

but I think after
the Coogee Randwick RSL,

it seemed to get personal.

It seemed to get personal.

Whether it's been
the community's attitude

towards the police

or the authorities' attitude
towards the surfing community,

but for over 100 years,

there's been
a real strong conflict

between the surf community
and the local authorities.

Surfers were, like,
the bottom of the

were the scum of the Earth,
you know, vermin.

You know, the police
really gave them a hard time.

There's no doubt
that the media

always saw surfers
as a easy shot, you know.

Like, they still do,
you know?

Inside Australia,
we're still, like

the stigma was alive and well.

Outside Australia,
it was like, they'd

"Oh, yeah, those surfers, man,
they can ride the big waves.

"They're hardcore.
They charge.

That Australian surf animal
is something to be respected."

Inside Australia, we had
to completely continue battle

just to hold our head
above water in society.

Conflict started
as early as colonial times

with the banning of city's
aborigines swimming in the surf.

When surfers returned
in the early 1900s,

they were again banned

from the hours
of 6:00 a.m. To 6:00 p.m.,

as these hours were thought
to be reserved

for those
in meaningful employment,

and not for scoundrels who
shamelessly bathed in the surf

instead of working.

Maroubra's local council

were the first in Australia
to pass such laws

that effectively drew a line
in the sand

between the establishment
and the surfers.

This saw the birth
of Australia's

first counterculture
surf movement.

As surf culture exploded
in the '60s,

surfers were made
to pay to surf.

If you couldn't afford
the board registration,

you were, in effect,
unable to surf.

The surfers' invasion
of the beaches was deplored

and seen
in much the same strain

as farmers deplored the invasion
of their paddocks

by grasshoppers.

But the most ridiculous law
to keep them off the beaches

was when the authorities
made surfers wear skirts

while in the surf.

The ludicrous nature
of the law

required an equally
ludicrous response.

Thousands of larrikin surfers
turned up to the beach

in skirts, bonnets, and bows,

and within weeks,
the law was dropped.

This is the same
larrikin attitude

that perhaps is still at
the heart of the conflict today.

The Aussie surf culture

has always had larrikin characters
in it, you know.

I guess,
when we were growing up,

I guess,
when we were growing up,

like, maybe it was different
than a lot of beaches,

but we didn't have, like,
a lot of money, you know?

Not many of the people did
back then, so...

We would just find stuff to do

to keep ourselves entertained,
you know,

just writing off
when there was no waves.

Light yourself up!

Can I use that, Kobe?

- What?
- Your six-eight.

No, you'll break it.

You've got a six-ten,
don't you?

Dakota, run this back up.

That's your six-eight.

I got my six-eight.

Pushing social boundaries
is not really new to the boys.

It's that same carefree,
perhaps careless, attitude

that sees the boys push
the boundaries in the surf.

You know, there's
just nothing better

than being with your brothers
and your friends

and all psyching each other up

to see who's
gonna charge the hardest.

It's how we first came about
surfing a break

which was supposed
to be unsurfable.

In early 2003, we had heard
rumors of a wave in Botany Bay

which broke right in front
of the cliff face,

and it only worked
on really big swells.

It was just that crazy of wave,

and we just used
to watch it.

You know, people would call me,
like, a wuss and that,

but I never really
thought of surfing it.

It was just too close
to the rocks.

It was a good wave to watch,

but I never thought
it'd ever get surfed.

And then I saw the fellas
and the guys,

like Koby and that, riding it.

But those guys are just crazy,
so it doesn't surprise me.

The wave's just one headland
across from us.

After checking it out,
it looked pretty good.

So we named it ours.

Look at this.

Had a big crew of, like,
50 guys on the rocks,

just cheering, you know.

Like, fucking everyone
hanging out,

having lunch, just,
like, cheering the boys.

It's just,
like, shift after shift.

Like, one surfer
would come in.

The other boys
are out there going mad.

And then we get back out there,

and just all day
is just crazy surfing.

Did you get my two?

Yeah, it was your two.

Bang one off for the boys, eh?

Bang one off for the boys.
Still got it, eh?

It was really heavy,
because, I mean,

we're charging it so hard
that everyone was wiping out.

But no one knew how
you know,

how hard you can push it

before you get washed over
the rocks.

Fuck off!

Who's had the best wipeout
you've seen out there?

Without a doubt, Richie Vas,
without a doubt.

That kid got just whomped.

It's about the heaviest wipeout
I've ever seen in my life.

I was falling, and I fell
backwards and twisted around,

sort of knocked all the wind out
of me,

and I hurt me shoulder
and I bruised all my ribs.

You know, I got sucked back over
and bounced across the reef.

Keep filming.

Oh, my God.

Richie, Richie!
He's still under.

Richie!

I was gonna roll around,

you know, as me board
just jabbed me in the neck.

Chicks dig scars.

Should I show a little more?

Yeah, go up.

Oh, it'sthat's
oh, it'syeah.

Is that the shot?

Yeah, that's the shot.

Okay, keep your head down.

My mum let me have
the day off school

so I could come
and surf here, yeah.

Good opportunity.

Jess.

Yeah, it was good fun out there.

Is that your first time
surfing out?

No, my second but...

there the first time I've got
barrels and that.

Yeah.

Fuckin' A, I was nervous.

I was shittin' myself.

Got that drilled,
hit the rock, and that.

Touched the bottom.

The boys make it
heaps better too,

because they psych you up more.

They just got you into it.

It looked just so round
and perfect,

you know,
when I come out.

What about being out here
with Koby and the boys,

mixing it up?

Yeah, it's sick being
with Koby and that.

They give you the good waves
and that, so it's good.

We take the younger guys
away on trips

and try and push them
in the surf

because that's exactly what
the older guys did

for me, Jai, and Koby
and our other friends

that were growing up.

And without that, we would have
never found a life of surfing,

so we are trying
to pass that back down

to the next generation.

Jess comes from
a housing commission background,

and he is hungry to do good
for himself.

I've taken him away
on some trips,

and he's charged as hard
as he possibly could every time.

Yeah, we just watch
the swell maps,

and if we see
a big swell coming,

I just ring up Jess and ring his
mum and dad and say,

"Porky, Debbie,
we're going here or there.

Jess is coming."

They say, "No, no, no,"
and I say, "Yes, yes, yes."

Every time we go away,
Koby's got a rule, like,

if you don't charge, you've got
to get your own way home.

The whole point of me taking him
away on the trips

is just letting him have
the life that I've had.

There's nothing like it.

You can earn massive money
and do something you love.

I picked him
because he's respectful

and he wants to do it.

He doesn't sit back
and, you know,

run off our reputations.

He wants to make his own name
for himself.

The only reason
I do go on trips with Koby

is because I'm focused,
and he has already told me

that if I play up
that he won't take me away.

Because Koby is paying for me
to take me away and that,

and I don't want
to let him down.

Whoa, brother!
Oh, he stole it!

The surf has saved
so many kids around here,

you know, and led them
to a lifestyle in the ocean

instead of a lifestyle
in crime.

Maroubra beach has definitely
been moms and dads

to so many kids in Maroubra.

I mean, you go down there,

and you know you are going
to be taken care of.

Any kid can come down there,

and in a strange way, Maroubra
Beach will take care of you.

I had my doubts.

First of all, I was worried
about the drug situations

and all the fights
and all this,

with all this gang talk.

But now I'm not at all,
not at all.

I'm not onefrightened,
not one bit scared

of my son hanging
with the boys.

Confident in it.
It's great.

Oh, only when he first started
hanging down here.

I didn't really know
what to expect.

He was so young, and then there
was the grommet treatment.

I would come down,

and Joel would be tied up,
screaming, "Ma!"

You know tied to Jessie
or something,

eating dog poo
and things like this.

Or he'd be holed up
in a phone box.

And then I got
to know everyone,

and I have
no issues whatsoever.

As Deb said, they treat them
with respect, the kids.

They look after them.

And I think his life
is down here.

Joel just loves it.

There's always been
a sense of mistrust

with the police in the area.

There is a lack of communication
between the two,

and inevitably,
some of the younger kids

get targeted by the police.

This inevitably leads into them
receiving small fines

for things like loitering, which
can stack up quite heavily,

while they are
in their mid-teen years.

- What happened, boys?
- Busted.

In Australia, the fines are

built into
the driver's license system.

So by the age of 16,
these kids can owe

$2,000 or $3,000 in fines.

What that means is
that they're prevented

from getting a driver's license
precisely the time

that they need one to become
a fruitful member of society.

I was only 13 or 14,

and I was trying to sell
Ecstasy pills.

And a guy put a gun
down my throat,

and I still didn't give it up.

So I basically put my life
in front of those tablets.

Started stealing,
breaking into houses and that,

just to sort of support my habit
type thing.

Started using other drugs,
like ecstasy,

cocaine, stuff like that.

Stopped surfing, stopped
training, stopped football.

I used to play req football
and that.

But now it's just all gone
downhill sort of thing.

And then ended up in juvi,

juvenile justice center
sort of thing.

And when you're in there,
you get locked down in a cage

six hours a day.

Was there a message
from the older guys

down here at the beach?

Yeah, there was.
Can't smoke.

Don't take drugs.

Just surf, just,
you know, train, get fit.

Did they think you were
going to end in jail?

Lots of them said that
to me, yeah.

Lots of the boys said,
"Watch out,"

you know, "You're gonna

"you're only gonna go
one place," you know.

A few of the boys
had already been there;

you know, they'd done that.

And you get back out
into the community,

it's sort of like

it's sort of likeyou know,
it's justit's just weird.

And it's like you don't
fit in sort of thing,

you know, because you are used
to being inside and that.

And it's just not
the way to be, man.

It's no life to live at all.

How old are you now?

I'm only 15,
just turned 15.

There has always been
a fork in the road

for youth growing up
in Maroubra.

It's no different
for today's generation.

They can either choose a path
to glory through the ocean

or a path to destruction
and fall off the rails.

All dressed
in black, black, black.

With silver buttons,
buttons, buttons

all down her back,
back, back.

Being a local member of
the community for over 30 years,

I saw a lot of the older crew
who got into crime

end up in Long Bay Jail,

which was practically
in our backyards,

in particular, a violent
standover character

by the name of Anthony Hines,

who I knew
from his early teenage years.

Hinesy ended
serving five years for rape.

After Tony served his time,

he triggered
a series of devastating events

that would change
the course of the lives

of the Abberton family,

who I also knew
since they were kids.

Hinesy was always dark.

There was always something
dark and brooding about Tony.

And he was okay
to talk to one-on-one,

but he was just
on another planet as far as,

he's in the community
but not really part of it.

He had his own thing
happening in his head,

and it certainly wasn't
to do good by people.

Tony Hines had
something in his mind

about Jai
and two other blokes

having slept
with his girlfriend.

Out of the three guys

that Hines had
this obsession with

he wanted to get revenge
one of the guys is now dead;

another guy has been bashed
within an inch of his life

and his sanity,

he was that batted around
the head by Hines.

And thirdly,
Jai was the next guy in line.

That seemed to be Hines' plan.

What you got to realize was,

Tony was a really good friend
of mine

since a young age, you know?

For me, I was feeling
that such a good close friend

put me in a situation like that.

Hinesy just followed them
up to this girl's car

and told Jai
to get in the back.

The girl drove off
with Hines in the front seat.

Hines pulled a gun,
put it behind his head,

and whispered to Jai,
"We're gonna do this."

What Jai knew Hines meant
by "we're going to do this"

was to rape that girl
in the car.

Gun came out.

Jai just acted instinctively,
grabbed the gun.

It went off as they were
grappling with the gun.

Jai just said he shut his eyes

and just kept
that trigger squeezed.

Bloodstained drag marks
led police

to Mistral Point at Maroubra.

20 meters below the cliff,
they found the naked body

of 37-year-old standover man
Tony Hines.

Koby's older brother
Jai Abberton

has been charged
with the murder.

When we first found out
about Jai getting arrested

after the murder,
we just didn't know how to act.

You know, it was just
that uncertainty

of what to do next.

You know, what now?

How is this going
to affect our lives?

And will our lives
ever be the same again?

Six months
into Jai's incarceration,

Koby was arrested by police

for refusing to assist
with the investigation.

He was charged with accessory
to murder after the fact,

hindering
a police investigation,

and attempting to pervert
the course of justice.

When Koby was arrested
as well, I think it just put

it made me feel
totally just numb.

You know, like,
it was incomprehensible

to maybe lose two brothers
to a prison cell

for the rest of their lives.

But I think it was

it made the whole community
feel numb,

the whole extended family,
you know.

Koby faces the Supreme Court
and is granted bail

just days before
an international surfing contest

at Maroubra beach.

When Koby was released three
days before the pro contest

and he drew Kelly Slater
in his first heat,

the whole atmosphere,
the whole tension on the beach,

it was just
it was electrifying, you know.

Here was his chance to say
"You want to have a go at me?

"You want to take
my livelihood away?

"You want to lock me
behind bars?

Well, give it your best shot."

The sponsors tried
to pull his wild card.

His own sponsors
threatened to dump him.

But he was at his home beach,

in front of all of his friends
and the people who mattered,

surfing against
the world champion.

This was it.
This was game on.

Who's going to win?
Kelly or Koby?

Koby.

Kelly or Koby?

Koby!

Good on you, mate.
Good luck.

I had a funny feeling

when I came down
for the Snickers contest,

because I don't remember exactly
what people were saying,

but it was just, you know, like,

"Koby is gonna kick your ass,"
and all this stuff.

Andand, you know,
I'm almost turned around, going,

"Yeah, well,
fuck you too," you know.

And Koby is just,
like, laughing.

But at the same time,
he's kind of serious,

because he wants
to beat me in the heat.

And it was just
a funny little scene.

When he won and came down
to the water,

the whole beach
surged forward

and just formed
a big tunnel for him.

And it was just
it was amazing, you know.

He'd done it.

With his back
up against the wall,

he was representing him
and the whole family

and the whole beach

against the world's best.

And it was amazing.
It was amazing.

Koby beat me
in that first heat we had.

And then the next day,
or maybe that afternoon,

I was surfing,

and somebody left
a note on my car.

It said, "Koby is going to kick
your ass again tomorrow,"

and, you know,
"Fucking beat it, Slater,"

or something like that.

And I just thought
it was so funny.

I was facing 15 years in jail
if I was found guilty.

I was facing 15 years in jail
if I was found guilty.

I'm just ringing up to see
how that swell is in Tahiti.

I just thought, "Fuck it.

"In between
all these court appearances,

"I'm going to go and surf
the biggest waves I can,

the biggest waves
in the world."

I took Mark with me,

and we surfed some
of the maddest waves ever.

When Koby was going
through this court,

and him and Mark were just
all over the globe

surfing crazy waves,

that's definitely
when he shone,

and it shows through
all the covers he got.

It's not because
he was going through court.

It was because
he surfing crazy waves

and stepping up
above everyone else.

And him and Mark were sort of
just going at it, you know.

I mean, like, hammer and tong,
everywhere they went,

they just got the best shots.

Me and Mark, a good rivalry.
It's dangerous, but it's good.

Mate, no one stepped it up
more than Koby, you know.

He was like, "This is it.

"I'm gonna go out
with a bang.

"I'm going to throw it
all on the line

just in case I never get
the chance to do it again."

And after his performance
at Jaws,

Koby teamed up with big wave
legend Laird Hamilton,

who would go on to tow him
into one of

the biggest barrels
ever ridden in Fiji.

Koby had his thing going.
It was his birthday.

"It's your birthday;
today's your birthday."

You know, and he was like
he was gonna get his present.

So he got his present.

I was glad to be
the fortunate one

to be able to give it to him.

I enjoyed it.
It was nice.

And I had a front row.

I was looking straight
in the barrel at him.

And it's funny;
I listen to Koby talk,

and he thinks a lot
like I think.

When you get to meet
people like that,

those are the people you want
to spend some time with.

So when he opened up,
you know, an invitation to me

to come Down Under
and do some surfing

with him and, you know,
his boys, I was,

"I'm going to take him
up on it."

The period that me and Mark

were chasing
those really big waves,

I've been waiting
for that my whole life.

And it was really fulfilling.

It was a shame that I had

so much bad stuff going on
in my life,

because I really didn't get
to appreciate it.

That was the best one all day.

- Huh?
- That was the best one all day.

100% of the times
whenever I was in court,

there was a big swell.

And I would just be
sitting in court,

wouldn't even be watching
the judge, just going,

"The waves are pumping.
I've got to get out of here."

Just throw my hat in, you know,
walk out the door,

and get on the next flight
to wherever I had to be.

People don't understand
that when I'm in court

thinking about these big waves,
that's what I do.

That's my job.

You know, I'm not thinking
about going surfing.

I'm thinking about going
and doing my job

and getting paid

and supporting my family
and doing what I do.

Koby was so angry
and frustrated

and had all this stress
on his mind.

And when he got in the surf,

he was just, you know,
that kind of "fuck it" attitude.

You know what I mean?

Like, he would just put
all that anger and aggression

and all that frustration
into his surfing.

Koby leaves Tahiti

with his final court appearance
in less than 24 hours.

How do you think that will
affect the surf community

if Koby does
go to jail tomorrow?

Fuck.
It'll really suck.

It'll affect
you know, I mean,

hopefully it doesn't happen,

but if it does, you know,
we're just gonna lose

one of, you know,
surfing's biggest

psycho charging pioneers.

You know what I mean?

Definitely one
of the heaviest guys

to come out of Australia

and one of the heaviest guys
in the world.

And one of the heaviest guys
in the world.

My last day in court.

So this afternoon, I'll either
be in jail or be a free man.

We'll see how it goes.

I'll be happy just
to get on with my life again,

start trying to do
good things for my family,

make money and buy houses
and, you know, sell them

and get my little brother
a good education

and help out the family
with money,

because before this,
we were doing really good,

better than my family
had ever gone.

It's okay.

Koby will receive a maximum
of 15 years behind bars

if found guilty.

Yeah, brother.

All right, Koby.
Congratulations, man.

How do you feel, Koby?

Feel good.

Well, what happened today was,
the Crown prosecutor

has formally withdrawn

the charge
of accessory to murder.

And he did that on the basis

that they felt that they just
couldn't win that charge.

There simply wasn't
the evidence there.

And what's left are some

what are known
as backup charges.

There is a backup charge
of pervert the course of justice

and also hinder police.

And I think what will happen
in the fullness of time

is that they'll probably
go away as well.

But we won't know that

for about another
four or five weeks.

Guess what.

I got off court today.

Beat all the charges, Ma.

Not guilty.

I'm a free man, Ma.

Are you happy?

Thrown out of court.

We went to court today.

Threw it out.

How good's that, eh?

No jail for your favorite
grandson, eh?

Good relief, eh?

One down, Ma.
We got one down.

One to go.

Jai's six-week trial
is nearing an end.

He has already spent
20 months in jail.

I got off the accessory
to murder charge,

which is a really big charge.

But then I was still
really worried about Jai,

because he had
a 30-year sentence, you know?

The last thing I wanted to do
was to see Jai

go to jail for the rest
of his life.

Everyone was stoked
and really happy.

It's like sort of
one chapter is over,

but it was kind of still
in the thick of the book.

So we've still got
a lot to go through.

Did Tony Hines threaten
to rape your girlfriend?

It was a bad situation
to be put in, you know.

But I'm not going to sit here
and run Tony down

and say,
"Oh, he's done this,"

because it's a fine line
between telling the story

and telling on someone.

The only person I
the only people

I had to tell the story to
was the jury.

The jury knows the story.

I don't have to explain
the story to anyone else.

Tony had a lengthy
criminal record,

Tony had a lengthy
criminal record,

including entries
for violent sexual assaults

and other serious violent acts
on totally innocent people.

He was a very
complex character.

He could be charming,

and that was
part of his danger.

Through his charm
and his intelligence,

he could put himself
in positions

that would make the people
who were around him

in serious danger
without realizing it.

Just nervous.

Jai is really feeling
the pressure after.

It's been a four-week trial.

He's lost 10 kilos during the
during the trial.

So, you know, we're just
really feeling for him

and anxious on a result.

Obviously,
a good result, but...

pretty much got a feeling

that we want it
to be over, you know?

We're just praying
that justice is served,

and Jai's gotJai's got
a not guilty verdict.

It's just being away
from your loved ones,

being away from the ocean,
you know.

All the young kids
and that out there, you know,

like, "they never will go there"
kind of thing,

like, for uswe're surfers
and for any kids out there.

This was always
going to be difficult.

The circumstances
of the events themselves

painted a poor picture.

But it was important for us
to be able to get out

the facts that are behind
the events that happened.

Oh, mind fuck,
that stressed.

I'm going to make phone calls
to people to say

looks like we're going
to get one today.

How long you reckon
it might be?

I don't know, mate.
It's just fucking...

It's just too much
to bear right now, you know,

to think about exactly
what could happen either way.

You know, he could either
be free or facing, you know,

a long time in jail.

So it's just

Fuck, it's just

Don't worry about it,
all right?

Since I was a kid,
I've never been apart from Koby.

Since Koby was born,

like, the most I've ever been
apart from Koby

is maybe four months
when he went on a holiday.

You know, three months
he'd only usually go for

so that I was never really apart
from Koby.

So I'd see Sunny
because he was coming out,

and I'd see the boys
would come out,

so it was good, you know?

But I'd miss Koby a lot,
you know?

From when we were kids,
you know,

we were always
in the same house.

We were always together.
You know what I mean?

Even though he was
rumbling me every day

and bashing me up,
mucking around every day,

it was still just me and Jai,

you know,
when Sunny was traveling.

When Jai went to jail,
I wasinside me was aching.

I wanted to be
with him so much,

but you don't have to see
someone to love them.

You know what I mean?

And that person
doesn't have to see you

to know that you love them.

We had like ayou know,
that's all I'm saying,

that we knew
that it doesn't matter.

Nothing can break us apart.

Seeing my grandmother too,
you know,

that was
one of my worst fears.

You know, like,
would this outcome happen

before my grandmother
passed away, you know?

Would my grandmother
get to see

what really happened
and stuff, you know?

Silver buttons,
buttons, buttons

all down her back,
back, back.

How are you feeling, Jai?

Tell us how it feels
to be free.

I'm on top of the world.

Have you been holding that cross
for that whole time?

I always had
faith in God, always.

So those moments in that car,

it must have been
horrific for you.

No comment now, guys.

The family will be issuing
a statement tomorrow.

This juryl mean,
unheard-of scenes,

as far as I am aware.

They stayed and hugged
and kissed him

after they delivered
the verdict.

And if my recollection
is correct,

they even whispered in his ear

that they were so proud

that he had been as brave
as he was.

I got a call,
and I picked up the phone.

And I'm like, "Who's this?"
He's like, "It's Jai."

And I'm like, "What?"

He said, "Yeah, well,
I'm standing

out in the front
of the court house."

He just started screaming
his head off.

It was probably
the happiest day of my life.

I could not believe it.

Well, I'd be surprised
if any other lawyers

or any other person
who's had to go through

the legal system
as an accused

has put on a party
like the Bra Boys

put on for us that night.

Here comes the legal team!
Tunnel!

The party was one of the most
moving moments of my life.

They formed
a guard of honor for us.

They cheered
and shouted our names.

There were women
and children there,

all people
from the community.

And it just really made me
feel fantastic

to have been able to do
something like that

for a person like Jai.

I thank God to this day,
you know,

that my grandmother
got to be happy, you know,

and my grandmother got to see me
get cleared and see that.

And, yeah, it's the best thing
in the world.

Now, the jury
also had the alternative

of finding him guilty
of manslaughter

if they thought that Abberton

didn't think that
the shooting was reasonable.

Instead, the jury let him
walk away a free man.

I always knew that I'd be back
in the water, you know?

But I just didn't know
whether the jury

were gonna see it
for what it was.

It was good to be back.

Had all my brothers
there with me.

It was probably one of
the best times in my life,

just sitting back
and being free again

and kick back, surfing;
it was good.

Tell you the truth, I never
thought it would happen,

so it's the best thing ever.

I used to fall asleep crying
thinking about him,

you know, not being able to surf
with him again.

So you can see
how happy he is too,

so it's mad.

Every time I spoke to Jai
when he was in trouble,

I didn't speak to him much,

but he just really
said to me,

"This is what
we're going to do, Koby.

"We're going to charge
big waves from now on.

That's our lives."

So as soon as he got out,
that's what we did.

We went and just charged
big waves.

We got ourselves ready
with a couple of little trips

that just happened to be
the heaviest waves

in Australia anyway.

But we were pretty much
getting ready

for the grand final,
which was Cyclops,

which is renowned as
the heaviest wave in Australia

and probably the only wave
in Australia that scares me.

We'd seen the wave
and were starting to plan it.

And there was
a massive swell came

that we really had
no idea where to go,

no idea where it was;
no one did.

We don't know
if we go that way into it

and right to there.

But then we don't want
to go there.

We want to get to there,
so if we're in between

Face it like that.
That's how it is.

- Yeah, we know.
- The point is up there.

So when we couldn't go any
further with four-wheel drives,

we launched the skis,
just went exploring.

And after about
an hour and a half...

Hey, there's full-on seals
on the island,

big albino dolphins.

It's hectic out there, bra.

We found this wave about
2 kilometers out in the ocean,

just huge and just going...

It's the sort of place
where you take the wrong wave

regardless of who you are

you know, Kelly Slater,
Andy Irons, Koby Abberton.

You take the wrong wave,
and you're going to eat it.

And when you eat it there,

it's probably
about the worst place

you could wipe out
in the world.

I can't describe it much
but saying

it's barely surfable,
you know.

And that's giving it
a compliment.

It's just so heavy and thick

and big and shallow
and dangerous.

There's not much more
a wave could be

that's any heavier
or more dangerous.

I mean, that coastline is
really known for its sharks,

white pointers in particular.

There are some beaches
not far from there

where there's four or five
tombstones on the beach

for people
that have been eaten.

Cyclops is so scary

because it's six hours
from the hospital,

a four-hour car ride
and two-hour jet ski ride.

So if you hurt yourself
properly,

you're in a lot of trouble.

Through natural selection,

there is only going to be
a handful of guys

that are going to be able
to do it anyway.

You've generally got to be
a pretty red-hot surfer

to start with
to be able to ride this stuff.

But probably the other thing
is the mental aptitude.

You've got to have a brain
that will allow you

to take off on a wave
like that,

and that's
where these guys differ

a lot from most every surfers.

One of these things
with these trips,

that there is a lot at risk
a lot of the time.

And when Koby cut himself
on the third wave,

sliced two veins in his arm,

and we're
in shark-infested water,

we basically had to make
the decision, you know.

Do we pack up and go?

Or do we at least try and do
what we came here to do,

which is surf on one
of the most dangerous waves

in Australia, so...

There's gonna be
fuckin' ten great whites here

in five seconds, bra.

Who cares?
Let's go.

The whole water was just
burlied up with blood.

We didn't see any sharks,

but they were
definitely there.

We hadthe wave was
so shallow and so dangerous

that you couldn't wear
a leash to your board,

because that would drag you
over onto the rocks

and then over onto the reef.

He's in trouble, man.

Oh, you got that.
All right.

Beef's got the first aid kit,

but we'll get a towel around
that now, mate.

No, don't, bra.

The best part
of our lifestyle

is that adrenaline
part of it, you know.

Where it is an adventure,

you are part putting yourself
on the line.

That's how we do
in the desert.

Nah, pretty good trip.

Yeah, it's good just to be
surfing with my brother

and my good mates.

It's just good to be back here
surfing with the boys.

Bringing that up.

The boys were all just happy
to be back together

doing what they love.

But just when they were
feeling on top of the world,

they received
a phone call from home

which would again
devastate them.

It's just sad to see
such a lady

who gave everything

she gave us a house,

the backyard, the pool.

There's a full clubhouse
out the back.

You know, it was a lady
who just opened the door

to justyou know,
just struggling kids.

That was a big heart-wrenching
thing for us to see,

that for Ma to die while Jai

or Koby was in jail,
you know,

almost would have been
like she'd failed.

So...

Yeah, it was just
it was just so important

for Jai and Koby
to be cleared, you know,

before she passed away.

Ma played a big role
in our lives,

and after she passed away,

we realized how much
of an influence she was on us.

One of the many things
she did teach us

was not to judge people
by how much money they had

or by their skin color

but by the type of person
they were.

Perhaps it was Ma's wisdom
that would prepare us

for yet another dramatic turn
in our beach community.

December 2005,

nearby Cronulla Beach exploded
onto newspapers around the world

courtesy of a shameful exchange
between the local surf community

and Sydney's Lebanese community.

Claim back the beach!
Claim back the beach!

Claim back the beach!

Claim back the beach!

With police moving in to enforce
a lockdown of Cronulla,

convoys of youth
from Sydney's inner suburbs

staged retaliatory attacks
on the surf community.

Yeah, as a matter
of urgency,

could all the St. George
Highway Patrol OSC cars

deploy to Maroubra ASAP,
please?

I think we might need
some help here.

Maroubra Beach,

although not part
of the incident at Cronulla,

was the target.

With word
of the reprisal attacks

circulating around the beach,

the Bra Boys gathered
to defend the area.

We only had a couple of minutes
to prepare for the attack.

We started getting calls
that there was 150 armed men

heading our way,

smashing everything
in their paths.

They just ran down the hill,

a whole bunch of them,
you know.

Frog got to 'em first
and said,

"Fuckin' take it easy, guys,"

and they just fuckin'
batted him down.

He just went straight at 'em.

He was the first guy to reach
the whole fucking...

the whole gang.

Next followed up, was a wave
of the fucking jujitsu party.

Sunny and that, came up behind him.

By the time they got there,

fucking Frog
was gettin' pumped.

Fuckin' what?
Hundred of 'em?

Mate.

Fuckin'...

nothin'.

And then it just got into
a running race, you know?

They took off up the hill.

The boys chase after them,

caught up
with a couple of them,

and then, you know,
they pretty much drove off.

But fuck, they left
a path of destruction.

The following day,
with sensational media reporting

about a race war between
Anglo-Australians

and Lebanese-Australians,

the Bra Boys
used their association

with migrant communities
to work behind the scenes

to help broker a peace deal
between the warring factions.

Maroubra has had
a very good relationship

with the local
Lebanese community here

for around ten years.

We're calling
for calm on the beaches.

And we've never, ever
backed these things

against the Lebanese
community, never.

We never have,
and we never will.

Is it true
the Bra Boys were involved

in protecting the police
last night?

We don't protect police,
full stop.

It was a defining moment
for the Bra Boys,

so often criticized
for their antisocial behavior

and running battle
with authorities.

There was some confusion
about their role as peacemaker.

We called for peace
in the race riots

because, number one,
we had nothing to do

with what happened
at Cronulla.

Number two, we've got one of
the most multicultural beaches

in Australia.

And number three,

if one of the kids
from here were killed,

it would have spiraled
out of control,

and it would have been
very hard to stop.

But, you know,
the ironic thing was

that half of people

who defended the beach
that night were ethnic,

and three of them couldn't
even speak English.

We think the beach
belongs to everyone,

but when people go to a beach,
any beach around the world,

they need to realize that
there might be a whole history

and a culture there
spanning for generations,

and that should be respected.

After a three-year
roller-coaster ordeal,

the Abberton brothers
and the rest of the Bra Boys

are back together
where they belong.

And as time goes on
and the tribe names change,

the ocean will continue
to give solace

to the youth
of the place of thunder,

and the next generations
will fight

to keep its culture alive.

- Aboriginal.
- Australian.

- Cook Islands.
- Lebanese.

Half Australian,
and half-Samoan.

Half Italian,
half Australian.

Half Aboriginal,
half Danish.

Half Australian,
half Rotuman.

- Brazilian.
- Australian.

- Half Australian, half Czech.
- Chilean.

Half Australian,
half Nigerian.

Half Australian,
half Chinese.

Australian, mate.

Who knows? Maroubra?

Thank you!

I'm glad you fucking came
to Maroubra!