It’s not often we hear a story about an American surf gang taking ownership of a break being reported in a non-surf publication. But VICE has penned a story about a gang named the Lunada Bay Boys, a gang of rich, white surfers that have been terrorising outsiders since the 60s. It is a great article that tackles the issue of localism but I won’t spoil it with my words. Read on.
The Lunada Bay Boys are not your stereotypical LA gang. For one thing, they’re in their 40s and 50s. They’re white. They come from old money. They’re also surfers, and according to the residents of their posh community, they’ve been assaulting outsiders with the tacit approval of the police for decades, keeping tight control over one of the most coveted surf spots in Southern California.
The Bay Boys have been protecting their precious surf break since at least the 60s, by way of intimidation, threats, and even beatings. They’ve have slashed tires, graffitied cars, and thrown rocks at people who tried to visit the beach. In 1995, a schoolteacher who tried to surf the break got his pelvis broken by Bay Boys. In 1996, Bay Boy member Peter McCullom, who was 34 at the time and living on an inheritance, had tosettle out of court for $15,000 after an altercation.
The ultra-rich claiming public beach property as their own is not a new thing in Southern California. In Malibu, the homeowners around Malibu’s “Billionaire’s Beach” illegally painted curbs red, erected giant walls in beach pathways, and put up fake tow signs, all to discourage outsiders. (After years of fighting, the community has finally opened up access to the public.) It’s a more passive-aggressive approach than the one taken in Lunada Bay, but the rationale is the same: The moneyed locals believe they deserve private access to beachfront land that legally belongs to the public.
Yes, the “Bay Boys” aren’t exactly the Crips or MS-13—and there’s certainly something deeply silly about rich grown-ups pretending to be Anthony Kiedis in Point Break. But the violence they perpetuate is real. So why aren’t they being treated like any of LA’s other gangs?
