Blake Oakfield - The Beginning
Blake Oakfield was actually not born in Australia, and he is not Australian. He was originally born in Southern California and began surfing almost immediately. While other young kids were either building things out of Legos or watching cartoons, Blake Oakfield was out surfing. A buzz about this young surfer was already starting by the time he was out of diapers. He was even featured on the cover of Surf Magazine in the summer of 1984, which would be one of many magazine cover appearances. This was the first year that Blake Oakfield was honored with his first sponsorship, from "Surf Styles" surf shop, a small North Shore surf shop. Although his sponsorship agreement was only for $250 worth of free gear, he was well on his way, and had a taste of what surfing could be.
Moving to Hawaii
Blake Oakfield was just a child when he had to leave his home in Souther California to live in Hawaii. While he didn't mind the move, he wasn't excited aobut it either. He had a lot of friends in California, a small but growing fan base, especially since he was so young, and a sponsorship from a local surf shop. What more could a 6 year old ask for? Living in Hawaii had its perks though, as his family moved to Waimea, North Shore, Oahu, one of the most legendary surf spots in the world. This really helped Blake take his surfing to the next level, but also made some people jealous. Whenever you're at the top of your game, you are going to have fans and people who aren't fans. Blake didn't care about that, he just wanted to surf.
Surfing Waimea
Blake was quickly becoming one of the best surfers on North Shore, and making friends and enemies in the process. His enemies thought that a kid from California shouldn't be ruling the waves of Hawaii, so there would often be arguments about who got to ride the best waves. Because of this constant hassling by the locals, Blake and his friends decided to band together to protect each other. This story is also featured in Angry Boys, though not 100% accurate. Keep reading to learn the real story behind the "Mucca Mad Boys" and the "Fennel Hell Men".
Mucca Mad Boys
While there were no "Mucca Mad Boys" as mentioned by Chris Lilley in Angry Boys, Blake Oakfield did start a crew of surfers that were responsible for protecting their local beach from other surf hooligans. Growing up a "haole", or non Hawaiian, in Hawaii was sometimes tough. The local youths would sometimes stake claim to certain beaches and surf spots. Blake Oakfield thought that the ocean should be for everyone, so he created the "Waimea Watchers", a group of young haole surfers who made sure other young non Hawaiians had a place to surf. Of course, this caused problems with some of the locals, who started a rival group called the "Hawaiian Hell Men", to protect Hawaiian beaches from outsiders who stole waves and created congestion in local surf spots. This rivalry became one of the most famous surf rivals in history, and still continues to this day. Perhaps this is why Chris Lilley chose to create a rivalry between the different surf groups in "Angry Boys". To learn more about the Mucca Mad Boys or the Fennel Hell Men, click the tab at the top of the page.
Fennel Hell Men
The group "Fennel Hell Men" didn't actually exist either. They were a group of local Hawaiian surfers who banded together to make sure the Mucca Mad Boys didn't take over too many beaches. It was a classic rivalry, much like Yoko Ono and The Beatles or Starsky and Hutch. They didn't necessarily hate each other, but they didn't always get along. As they got older and discovered beverages of an alcoholic nature, fights would often break out in Waimea town, much to the dismay of local shop keepers and tourists. This famous rivalry is also a big part of the Angry Boys plot. To learn more about the Mucca Mad Boys or the Fennel Hell Men, click the tab at the top of the page.
