Surf’s Up, Alison!
Time to head back to Australia, where Alison Haislip surfed with the legendary Bra Boys!
Meet A Bra Boy!
For those who don’t know, THIS is a “Bra Boy”…
The “Bra Boys” is an Australian gang founded and based in Maroubra, an eastern suburb of Sydney, New South Wales. Dating back to the 1990s, the gang has gained notoriety through violent clashes with members of the public and police. That said, they LOVED Alison…
Here’s what Alison says about that day: “what i remember is being in the car on the way there, and being told that the Bra Boys were kind of like a gang…and that one of them was currently on trial for something.” Indeed! More on that in a moment…
Here is one of the Bra Boys with Producers Gabe and Torie, posing in a much less violent way…
The Bra Boys Movie!
The gang achieved national and international attention in 2007 with the release of a feature-length documentary entitled “Bra Boys: Blood is Thicker than Water”, written and directed by members of the gang.
Check out the trailer:
In an interview, “Bra Boy” Koby Abberton pointed out the “Bra” is a reference to the gang’s suburb, Maroubra, and partly after the street slang for brother. Some members of the gang tattoo “My Brother’s Keeper” across the front of their chest, “Bra Boys” and Maroubra’s postcode “2035” on their backs.
Our Bra Boy had all of his credentials on him…
So Of Course, Alison Surfs With Them!
Alison, as always, is up for any challenge, and that meant learning to surf so she could catch a wave at Manly Beach in Sydney with the “Bra Boys”…
Here are some of the behind-the-scenes shots of Alison doing on-camera stand ups on the beach, as well as getting instructions from the boys…before heading out into the cold grey surf…
Alison did a great job learning to surf and interviewing the buys…as she remembers: “i really didn’t know what to expect from them, but they turned out to be the loveliest group of guys.” Especially considering they almost didn’t make the shoot!
Slippery “Boys”!
Gabe remembers was how difficult they were to actually book for the shoot. “I couldn’t understand why Sunny Abberton (founding member and director of the doc) kept changing the dates on us and i wasn’t even sure they were going to be there when we arrived!”
Well, there was a reason for that…
Gabe found out the reason for the group’s reluctance to commit to the shoot date with Alison: “Turns out that his brother Jai had a court appearance, and they were all witnesses for the defense. I believe Sunny was late to court because of the shoot!”
Court Date Or Surf Date With Alison – Easy Choice!
Even with the pending court date the same day, they showed up for Alison, they did the shoot, and if they went off to court afterwards….well, that was their problem, not ours!
According to Gabe, “as tough and dirty as they looked and acted, they were all sweethearts. They all loved Alison and repeatedly asked her out.”
Surf’s Up Indeed!
So the boys surfed with Alison on what was an overcast, cold cold day at the beach…but as always, Alison never complained!
And she didn’t do too bad on the water…Alison was always a quick study – and her natural athleticism helps her tackle any sport quickly…
“Also, I’m A Terrible Surfer”
This was Alison’s last memory from the shoot, but I disagree: even with little training, she rode the board and did a great job – and as you’ve seen, the guys loved her!
More Trivia About The Shoot!
This from Gabe: “the funniest thing- see the kid on the left with the misfits shirt in the pic below?”
According to Gabe, the guy in the misfits shirt was the angriest one of all. “Trash talking us and the crew. UNTIL he realized Peter was the host or “ready steady cook!”
Now this is hilarious…Peter is to the far right….and he was, at the time, the host of a very popular show in Australia…
Once the misfit boy saw Peter, “then he was a puppy dog- I think this was the day peter had baked this ridiculously awesome brownies.” Yes, Peter baked for the Bra Boys! More on Peter in a minute…
If you like this post, make sure to check out another Alison Aussie adventure by clicking here – as she takes on Sydney’s BUGS!
Let’s Meet The Whole Team!
As I mentioned, an absolutely TERRIFIC team on this trip…
Time to thank them all – when I started to work on this post, I asked them for a few reflections on the shoot – which are all included above…but here are some additional shots of the team in action!
Super Producer Torie Coloruno-Caretto!
Torie, as well as her husband Corrado, are two of the best Producers I have worked with…focused, organized, professional and creative…so when Gabe took a picture of Torie and titled it “looking the wrong way”, i knew he wasn’t serious…
Torie had this to add: “…Gabe hit on every single detail that I remember…except…Gabe, remember when you really wanted one of their hats? They made poor Peter follow them around after our shoot and they were very concerned that you get a hat…” Well, Peter came through, and here is the hat that Gabe got from the Bra Boys!
The Genius Of Gabe Friedman!
Of course, readers of this blog will recognize Gabe’s name – as he was one of the creative geniuses behind Troma’s brilliant “Poultrygeist” – read all about this Tromatic masterpiece HERE:
https://johnrieber.com/2012/02/11/tromas-top-ten-the-tromatic-classics-unveiled/
As you can see, Gabe is VERY tough – on this trip, he actually filmed one night in the King’s Cross district of Sydney – their roughest party zone, and he witnessed a brutal beating…I accidently sent him into a battle zone…but he is a terrific Producer – and anyone with Troma on their resume MUST work with me!
The Legendary Todd Miller!
Todd Miller was the Production Manager on the entire Australia shoot. Gabe was nice enough to share this photo of Todd, who apparently was VERY happy to see that Australia sells “Jack and Coke” IN A CAN!
Ready Steady Cook! Peter Everett Worked With Us!
And as for Peter: Gabe remembered how the one Bra Boy was rude until he realized that Peter Everett was on our team!
Yes, Peter worked with us in Sydney – and he’s a GREAT guy: funny, energetic and a great guide to Australia….here he is with the team, on the far right of the picture….
But Peter was much more than that! He was also the Host of Australia’s most popular cooking show! “Ready Steady Cook!” is a hugely popular Australian cooking competition show that airs on Network Ten.
Everywhere we went, people would stop Peter for autographs, and we didn’t realize the reason why for several days! We should have known, as he ALWAYS brought cookies and cakes to the set!
And as you can see, EVERYONE wanted a picture with him!
The “Bra Boys” adventure was a great shoot with a great team!
Categories: Alison Haislip, Australia, Bloopers, Books / Media, cookbooks, documentary films, Food, Food Review, Movies, Politics, Recipes, Restaurants, Sports, Sports Movies, Talent/Celebrities, Technology, Tokyo!, Travel, Travel Memoir, Troma Films, TV Show, Uncategorized
johnrieber 
Leave a Reply