Bra Boy Koby Abberton’s life in Bali and why he returned home for SAS Australia

Sydney Bra Boy Koby Abberton reveals why he left the eastern suburbs behind for Bali 10 years ago and why he felt like it was time to return as a competitor in SAS Australia.

When Bra Boy Koby Abberton left Sydney 10 years ago, he packed a bag and left, knowing he’d end up in jail if he stayed.

He’s been in Bali ever since, raising his young son Makua with wife Olya, starting the day with yoga and a surf, and ending it the same way.

It’s worlds apart from the bad-boy life the 43-year-old left behind – and coming back to shoot SAS Australia this year saw memories of power clashes with authorities come flooding back – only this time, he respected it.

“I grew up at a beach where if you if you did not listen, you got punched in the face – I don’t mind that way of life,” he laughed, talking to The Sunday Telegraph from his Bali home where he is a yoga teacher and high level surf coach.

“But when I left Australia I left that man behind too.

“I don’t respect war and army and all that shit – we’re just killing each other for rich men, so I don’t respect that.

“Sadly men like me don’t respect soft men – I’ll squish em – but men like that – men we respect – should be running the country.”

To train for the show, Abberton would run along picturesque Balinese paddy fields and do push-ups on the road as scooters whizzed by.

SAS Australia contestant Koby Abberton. Picture: Jeremy Grieve

Fitter than he’s ever been, he was ready for SAS challenges of push-ups in the rain and waking up at 3am for the tortured challenges that pushed participants beyond their mental and physical limits.

“I laughed the whole time and was also scared the whole time,” he said.

“I even broke some personal boundaries, being screamed at and trying not to react.

“One thing I’ve really learned out of this life is how to understand people and I’m a good judge of character … we overthink things as humans, and we make things that are simple, hard.

“We tend to jump on the grenades and hold them to heart – and when I was holding them, I was losing.”

Koby Abberton training for SAS Australia in Bali.

Koby Abberton, his wife Olya and their son Makua.

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No stranger to controversy, the pro surfer finds himself at the centre of a cheating scandal on the show, which will come to light when it premieres this week.

Kicked out of home at the age of 14 and raised by his grandmother, it was 15 years ago he was found guilty of perverting the course of justice in an incident with his brother Jai Abberton was charged but found not guilty of murdering standover man Anthony Hines in 2003.

Actor Russell Crowe (centre) with Bra Boys figureheads, surfing star Koby Abberton (left) and Sunny Abberton at the premiere of the film Bra Boys.

In 2007 a documentary on the Bra Boys was released, which brought a lot of attention to the surf gang – so he left.

“Yes I went through a lot from a young age for people like you reading it – but for me, I was okay – I had a lot of friends around me, you know what I mean,” he said.

“We’ve all got stories about our mums and dads, some even worse than mine and they live with them their whole lives.

“Ten years ago I just didn’t like the state of Australia, so after the Bra Boys movie and all the media attention there was this really crazy police presence around me and my beach, and I was just the number one target.

“I started getting pulled over in the streets with my son in the car and I was told I was taking drugs and all this sort of shit, and I had this beautiful wife … I just knew I was going to go to jail if I left it up to the police.

“One day I packed my bag, put it on my back, walked out and got a flight – it was time to leave.”

Abberton enjoys raising his young son Makua in Bali.

Abberton surfs every day and lives the simple life with his family in Bali.

When he was in Sydney he had six houses – but wealth was something he was never into.

“I was directed in a way because I had a lot of money when I was a kid to buy all this – but I had never been more stressed in my life,” he said.

“It’s all just fool’s gold, all that shit … and I realised after all that and it’s not something that I want in any way, shape or form – I would find myself having a big house and I’d be sleeping on the couch, so I’m just not into that way of life.

“Look at Australia now – everyone is just struggling 24/7 – you’re paying $12 for a juice and shit.

“I don’t agree with quite a lot that goes on, so I moved out of there.”

Now, his young son speaks Russian, English and Indonesian. He surfs, skates, has a motorbike, plays music and paints. It’s a simple life they’ll never tire of.

“I wake up, I do whatever I want – have a swim, do some yoga, go to the gym, check the waves and if the waves are big I’ll make a call and I’ll take some kids surfing and surf all day,” he said.

“Then at the end of the day I’ll drink a couple of beers, go home to my beautiful family and make love to my stunning wife.

“We’ve got to remember – we design our future.

“My design was that and that’s what I got – and wow … I know we live a really great existence because I chose this one.”

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SAS Australia premieres Monday at 7.30pm on Channel 7 and 7plus.