Bra Boy Koby Abberton Explains His Parenting Style When It Comes to Rip Currents

Yahoo

04-06-2025

Koby Abberton is an intimidating man. The Maroubra native was once a professional surfer and member of Sydney's notorious 'Bra Boys' surf gang. In a recent Instagram story, Abberton revealed that, though he may have softened a bit with age, he still believes in tough love when it comes to teaching his son to surf. In fact, his philosophy on parenting – and rip currents specifically – actually made international headlines this week.
The whole thing began with a text from Intan Sinuhaji a representative of the Balinese school where Abberton's nine-year-old son Makua was taking a surfing lesson (Abberton and his family have been living in Bali since 2011, explaining to the Daily Mail that he did not 'agree with quite a lot that goes on' back home in Australia).
'Want to inform you that during surfing lesson, Makua got sucked out by the tides,' wrote Sinuhaji, as seen in a screenshot Abberton posted to his Instagram story, which was subsequently saved by the Daily Mail. 'The coach needed to throw his leash for Makua to grab and hang on it. Makua got a scratch on his left ankle'
'Good,' replied Abberton. 'Tell Makua to never ever get rescued again by anyone. I told Makua tide would drop and waves would be big. Next time have Makua paddle alone and don't be lazy.'
Partway through Abberton's admonition, in which he tells the instructor that 'Makua can swim from Uluwatu to Bingin. He can definitely paddle on a surfboard,' it appears that Sinuhaji hands the phone off to Makua himself.
'This Makua,' he wrote, 'Dad I was stuck in the rip.'
However, Abberton, unmoved by the clarification, replies, 'So paddle to Padang.'
When reached by Daily Mail for comment, Abberton explained that he responded that way because he did not believe Makua was in any real danger. 'The reason why I replied like that to the teacher is because I know my child and I know he was not hurt in any way,' he told them.
According to Abberton, Makua has extensive experience learning to navigate Bali's waves when they become dangerous, in addition to training in skating and mixed martial arts. 'In the end, I'm pretty sure he put the whole thing on and just tried to arrive late to school and surf longer without getting into trouble,' he concluded.