Eshays in Geelong: Meet one of our scariest youth subcultures
If you’ve been to the Geelong train station or walked down Moorabool St over the last couple of years, you’ve probably come across one of Australia’s scariest youth subculture, the eshay.
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If you’ve been to the Geelong train station, or walked down Moorabool St over the last couple of years, you’ve probably come across one of Australia’s scariest youth subculture, the eshay.
What is an eshay?
According to the Urban Dictionary, a crowdsourced English-language online dictionary for slang words and phrases, eshays are: “White skinny males who like to think they are gangsters. They usually walk around in polo shirts or puffer jackets, baggy shorts or tracksuit pants, Nike TNs … and usually wear brands such as Nautica, Ralph Lauren, Nike, Tommy Hilfiger and Adidas.”
The term eshay, pig Latin for sesh, was first used to describe the Australian youth subculture in the late 1980s, originating in Sydney’s western suburbs.
Eshays, stereotypically, are associated with crime and being nuisances in public places, typically bus stops, shopping centres and train stations.
The modern day eshay takes inspiration from British “chavs” or “roadmen,” which carry many of the same stereotypes.
Rising social media star and former convict Anthony Lees also known as Spanian is arguably the face of the movement.
The Woolloomooloo man often posts TikTok videos outlining his life of crime.
Australian Netflix drama Heartbreak High also notably included an eshay character, much to the confusion of international audiences.
While eshays originated from the Harbour City, their influence can be felt across the country.
NewsCorp revealed in January of 2022 that there were at least nine eshay ‘gangs’ operating across Melbourne.
Criminal youths linked to these gangs have also been linked to liquor shop thefts and snatch-and-grab robberies at popular electronics stores.
Eshay jailed for breaching court orders
An eshay was sentenced to time behind bars for breaching court orders in April this year.
Delroy Francois, 18, was sentenced to a total of five months’ jail for breaching three community corrections orders after a magistrate found there was no other option left.
Three warrants were issued for Francois in February this year after he failed to appear in court as part of a bail condition.
When police arrested him at the end of March, he was in possession of cards in the names of others, a black extendible baton and 8g of cannabis inside a clear resealable bag.
The court heard Francois, who has been linked to Leopold and Norlane, told police at the time of his arrest that he knew the cards were stolen and had been asked to “get rid of them” by a friend.
There were no suggestions he was involved in any theft.
Francois appeared in the Geelong Magistrates Court on Thursday and entered a plea of guilty to handling the stolen goods, possession of the cannabis and breaching three community corrections orders.
Francois was convicted and fined $300 for the cannabis.
For the remaining offences, Francois was sentenced to a total effective prison term of five months, with seven days already served.
Eshay flashes cash on TikTok
An eshay went viral on TikTok in June this year for rapping in front of a Centrelink office while flashing $50 notes.
The eshay, who creates content under the username “sanedatkid”, posts short videos on the platform calling himself a “gang member” and the “king of Torquay”.
In the viral video, which now has almost 900,000 views and more than 38,000 likes, he raps out the front of Geelong’s Centrelink office in Little Ryrie St holding $200 worth of $50 notes.
The video, which is eight-seconds long, shows him wearing a North Face vest, Nike tracksuit pants and yellow Nike Jordan sneakers, an outfit typically worn by eshays, while he raps choice words and flips his middle finger to the camera.
“I just got paid,” he said in the video.
“Yeah, f--- what they say.
“Yeah, I’m up now.
“Flex with a buss down, yeah.”
Eshay stabbed Uber Eats driver, spat at police
In September this year, an eshay from Armstrong Creek fronted court after allegedly stabbing an Uber Eats driver and taunting the victim’s wife online.
Isabella Maher, 18, approached the driver in April this year while carrying a knife and told him she would stab him before she attacked.
She lunged at him and stabbed him in the left shoulder and right forearm.
Maher pleaded guilty to charges including unlawful assault, making threats to kill, assaulting emergency workers on duty, theft, burglary, intentionally causing injury and using a controlled weapon without excuse.
The court was also told Maher sent taunting messages to the victim’s wife, which read: “husband feeling okay after I stabbed him”, followed by two laughing face emojis.
Maher was convicted and sentenced her to a 12-month therapeutic community corrections order.
Warning signs parents should look out for
How do you know if your child is an eshay?
It was reported in February 2021 that parents feared an increasing number of teenagers in middle-class areas were dressing and acting like eshays, a term first coined to describe lower-class youths in public housing who intimidated, robbed and boasted about drug use.
Eshay lingo: pig Latin explained
Oxford Languages defines pig Latin as a secret language formed from English by transferring the initial consonant or consonant cluster of each word to the end of the word and adding a vocalic syllable.
The syllable commonly used by eshays is ‘ay’ – the word ‘eshay’ itself is derived from the pig Latin word for ‘sesh’.
When a word begins with a vowel, ‘Yay’ is simply added to the end of the original word.
This means, those currently reading this article who identify as an eshay are reading the ‘Eelongay Advertiseryay.’
Ironically, the self identifying gangsters of Australia use a lingo many may remember using as a child.
An American Reddit poster was bemused when hearing pig Latin used by an eshay character on a popular Australian Netflix show.
“I just watched Heartbreak High and I really liked it, and it was fun hearing weird Australian teen slang as an American. I noticed they use a ton of pig Latin,” the post read.
“They say eetsway and eshay a lot, which are pig Latin for sweet and sesh, and there were loads of other times where they said regular words but in pig Latin.
“What’s up with that?
“In the US pig Latin is a silly goofy thing you learn when you’re a kid and you think you’re so cool but mostly everyone thinks it’s stupid by the time you’re around 10.
“I haven’t thought about it in years. Not judging, just curious- is it common or widely understood in slang??”
Eshay ‘gang’ terrorise train passengers
In September 2018, a Geelong-bound train was stopped and passengers locked into the carriage after 30 teenagers rampaged Lara station.
A “threatening” gang of youths were allegedly banging on train windows and “stealing and throwing around bikes”.
Police believed the “gang”, believed to be aged between 15 and 17, had travelled to Lara for a planned fight.
A witness told the Geelong Advertiser the group had “threatening demeanour” but she couldn’t see any weapons.
“You could see the boys walking up and down the train on the platform. It was like they were trying to threaten the passengers … frighten them,” the witness said.
Machete incident at eshay hotspot
In July this year, a man was charged after he allegedly brandished weapons and threatened a group of teens at an eshay hotspot in central Geelong.
A group of seven youths were allegedly approached by two men at the Moorabool bus exchange about 5pm.
It was alleged one of the men was holding a machete.
A 21-year-old Grovedale man has been charged with affray – a public order offence where a person uses or threatens unlawful violence towards another person – and possessing a dangerous article.
A second male is yet to be located, police told the Geelong Advertiser at the time.
Youth crime on rise in Geelong
Victoria Police is continuing to crack down on weapons and youth crime amid a spike in offences in Geelong.
Crime across the region has increased by 7.3 per cent in the year ending June 2023 compared to the previous year, according to data from Crime Statistics Agency.
The data also showed offences allegedly committed by girls aged 14 spiked to 70 in the year ending June 2023 from 43 the previous year.
11 per cent of crime was allegedly committed by 15 year olds and 10 per cent by 18 year olds.
But, a Victoria Police spokesman said: “An individual’s dress sense has absolutely no correlation with their likelihood of committing a criminal offence.”
Eshay allegedly hoon drives across northern suburbs
The Geelong Advertiser reported in June that Lara parents were worried hoon drivers were performing skids near family homes after a learner driver was charged for allegedly doing a burnout in a residential street.
Police said a 16-year-old boy was charged for allegedly hoon driving around the northern suburbs last weekend.
It is alleged he reached speeds of up to 133km/h in a 70km/h zone while driving a white Ford Falcon along Bacchus Marsh Rd in Corio on June 10.
He also allegedly conducted burnouts around the streets of Lara, including along Bella Julia Place.
Police said the teenager was also seen doing burnouts on McClelland Ave and Mill Rd in Lara in the early hours of Monday.
A video shared on social media shows a man lying across the bonnet of the Ford Falcon while the driver performs a burnout at a petrol station in Bannockburn.
The Geelong Advertiser understands the video was taken over the King’s Birthday long weekend.
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Originally published as Eshays in Geelong: Meet one of our scariest youth subcultures
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