Bra Boys documentary: Where are the stars now?
The 2007 Russell Crowe-narrated documentary made members of the Maroubra surf gang into household names. But 14 years on, what has become of them? We decided to find out.
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Sydney surf gang, the Bra Boys, shot to international fame in 2007 with the release of the hit documentary Bra Boys: Blood is Thicker than Water.
Narrated by Oscar winner Russell Crowe, the documentary followed brothers Sunny, Jai and Koby Abberton and their involvement within the surf group.
The Bra Boys continue to be a name synonymous with Maroubra years on from the documentary.
We went in search of the characters featured in the film to find out where they are 15 years on.
Koby Abberton
Perhaps the biggest star of the Abberton clan, Koby now lives in Bali with his family.
Koby was portrayed as a highly influential member of the Bra Boys during the 90-minute film.
The former world-renowned surfer defeated the likes of world champion Kelly Slater during the documentary and narrowly avoided being sent to prison following the death of standover man Tony Hines in 2003.
Abberton has since moved to Bali where he regularly shares snaps of his wife and their son enjoying life near the ocean.
The 42-year-old is married to model Olya Nechiporenko, from the Ukraine, and he told The Daily Telegraph in 2018 that he now works in solar farms as well as surfs.
He posted a message recently saying while their life looked perfect on Instagram it was in fact challenging and hard work, and he wanted to raise awareness about depression and suicide.
In 2018, his family escaped a horror fire in their Bali home and Koby drew criticism for starting a GoFundMe page to help cover the damage costs.
Following the death of standover man Hines in 2003, Koby was charged with accessory to murder after the fact, hindering the police investigation, and attempting to pervert the course of justice. However, he avoided jail and was given a nine-month suspended sentence, which was included on the documentary.
Sunny Abberton
Sunny, the oldest of the Abberton brothers and the writer and co-director of the 2007 hit documentary, has kept an extremely low profile in recent years.
Up until 2015, the former pro surfer was a regular on social media posting pictures with friends, of his travels and, of course, himself surfing.
He appeared in a documentary Hoones in 2013 but has otherwise not pursued film making further.
NewsLocal has tried to contact him.
Jai Abberton
Jai was found not guilty in 2005 of murdering standover man Tony Hines, which is well documented in the film.
However, a few years after the documentary’s release, Jai found himself back in trouble with police. The former pro surfer was jailed for nine months in 2012 for assaulting police in Byron Bay.
In 2018, he was reportedly hospitalised for mental health issues and he has once again found himself back before the courts during the past 12 months.
In March last year, the 47-year-old former pro surfer was convicted for drug possession (cannabis) after police stopped him on a bicycle in Maroubra. He failed to turn up to court and was convicted and fined in his absence.
Just this week, Abberton was again convicted for a string of offences related to two bizarre incidents in Maroubra late last year, which involved his throwing a rock at a victim and his car.
Abberton told the court “I’m trying to turn my life around” and he explained had been receiving professional help for mental health issues including bipolar, and also for drug issues.
Mark Mathews
While the documentary largely followed the lives of the Abberton brothers, Mark Mathews featured numerous times on the film as one of the core members of the Bra Boys and a close friend of the Abbertons.
After the film, Mathews continued to make a name for himself as one of the best big wave surfers in the world – winning numerous titles – and established a popular surfing event called Red Bull Cape Fear in 2014.
He has also worked as a motivational speaker and has a huge following on Instagram with 230,000 followers.
Mathews suffered a bad surfing injury in 2016 which threatened to put an end to his surfing days but he recovered.
According to the documentary, it was during Mathews’ birthday celebrations in 2002 that an infamous bust-up occurred between the Bra Boys and off-duty police at the Coogee Randwick RSL Club.
Richie Vaculik
Bra Boy Richie ‘Vas’ Vaculik has accomplished a lot since his days on the hit documentary.
The pro surfer turned his talents to mixed martial arts and he fought in the UFC between 2013 and 2015.
He also released a book about his life Bra Boy: Surfer, Fighter, Larrikin in 2016 and he remains a well-known identity in Maroubra.
He is involved in community groups, such as the Protect Our 1 organisation which goes from beach to beach cleaning up rubbish, and he was recently named as one of the top-20 most powerful people in southeast Sydney.
John Sutton
A household name in Australia thanks to his glittering career with the South Sydney Rabbitohs, John Sutton was just a young man when the documentary was released in 2007.
The Bra Boy appears a handful of times during the film as a member of the group.
His most notable achievement saw him captain the South Sydney Rabbitohs to their first NRL title in over 40 years in 2014.
He has enjoyed something of a legendary status since then in southeast Sydney and is often spotted around Maroubra. He remains working with Souths and is the most capped player in the club’s history.
Jesse Polock
Jesse Polock featured as a grommet (young surfer) in the documentary, mentored by Koby Abberton.
Later in life, the talented surfer became a fan-favourite on television show Bondi Rescue, until early last year when he left the show and his job as a professional lifeguard.
It was later revealed he had been charged with drug offences and he pleaded guilty to four drug possession charges (including cocaine) in May last year.
Polock is the fiance of Instagram-model Tullie Zimmerman with whom he has a young child.
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