A self-described n eshay has spoken out about his life of crime – and the sad reasons why he became involved in the subculture.
During an interview with video creator Jamie Zhu, Hobart man Broderick Evans said he’d ‘always been an eshay’, as he detailed his life in Tasmania.
The eshay movement has gained traction across the country, with the subculture identified by members’ matching designer sportswear, Nike TN sneakers and generally menacing attitude.
Hardcore eshays engage in assaults, robberies and threatening behaviour against other youths, but many seem to aimlessly wander the streets and hang around train stations.
When Mr Zhu asked about the daily activities of eshays, Evans replied: ‘They walk around, run amok, do drugs’, and his hobbies were rapping and graffiti.
In the video, Evans guides the host to a Hobart shopping centre, where he unabashedly shouts comments at passing shoppers. Without hesitation, he directs derogatory remarks like, ‘What are you looking at, ya gronk?’ to an unsuspecting man in a suit.
The pair then go to a pizza restaurant for lunch, during which Evans taunts the man behind the counter, calling him a ‘gronk’ multiple times.
Instead of paying for his own meal, Evans brashly takes a pizza from another customer.
While laughing, Evans revealed he once ‘stabbed someone in the neck with a pair of scissors’ while ‘getting off his head on acid tabs’.
Mr Zhu asks Evans about his life and what had drawn him into the eshay lifestyle.
Broderick Evans (left) has given insight into a typical day in the life of an n eshay
Evans said he was taken off his mother when he was 18 months old.
‘By the time I was 12, I was hanging around bad crowds, doing home invasions and s*** like that,’ he said.
Evans explained he was in and out of jail for nine years and lived on the streets after being kicked out of home.
He said he didn’t have a ‘normal upbringing’ and he didn’t think he would have become an eshay if he hadn’t experienced such a difficult start to life.
‘I hate my dad, he told me I was a mistake when I was a teenager,’ he said.
Evans said if he had the chance to live his life differently he would stay out of trouble.
Evans (left) said he had spent years in and out of jail after a difficult childhood
‘I’m trying to figure out if there’s a way to be an eshay and not get into trouble’.
Evans was asked what he would like to tell other ns about eshays.
‘Like half of us are good c****,’ he said.
‘We might get in trouble sometimes, but at least we’re going to be there for you and help you with whatever you want’.
‘I got mad loyalty for my mates, I’ll do anything for them.’
He said his advice for young people would be to ‘stay out of trouble.’
Watch Jamie Zhu’s full documentary about Eshays on YouTube