Footy stars Tyrone, Taylan and Terrell May reveal the terrifying reality of growing up in one of Australia’s most crime-ridden suburbs: ‘The worst of the worst come here’

The May brothers of the NRL may have escaped the poverty, violence and crime that has gripped their childhood neighborhood of Tragear in Sydney’s far west, but now they want to share their experiences of terror in a bid to bring about change.

Current and former NRL and UK Super League stars Taylan, Tyrone and Terrell May have all managed to break out of the cycle of poverty that grips so many people in the infamous suburb in which they grew up.

All three recently returned to their parents’ home to talk about what life was like growing up in Tragear for Terrell’s YouTube vlog.

Tregear has a small population of 3,700, of which around a third live in social housing.

However, in 2023, the suburb recorded 543 crimes, which equates to 146.76 crimes per 1,000 residents.

Violent crimes were responsible for 123 incidents [33.24 per 1000 people]while property crimes totaled 161 cases [43.51 per 1,000 people].

Assault and related crimes were the most common: 99 cases were reported, followed by 76 cases of property damage and 75 criminal offenses in the judicial proceedings.

Stalking, intimidation and threatening behavior were also significant, with 73 incidents, in addition to 47 thefts and 31 cases of drug use or possession.

Tregear ranks higher than most suburbs in terms of crime rates, with only 4.9 per cent of other places experiencing more violent crimes.

During the video, the May brothers visit one of the most dilapidated unit complexes in the suburb, which looks like it needs to be demolished and cannot house hundreds of people.

One of the flats was boarded up after a woman set it on fire and was never repaired.

Another apartment has become a mansion of sorts after the roof between a second and first floor apartment collapsed.

There is graffiti everywhere and people have hung torn sheets over their balconies for a touch of privacy.

A resident named Caleb then reveals that the burned-out apartment actually has current tenants.

“There shouldn’t be an asshole living there,” Caleb says.

‘There are good people living here, they just need an opportunity.

“More options and services and all that, instead of just being dumped here and left with it.”

Taylan May, the youngest of the siblings, reveals how close his daily life as a child was to this apartment building occupied by convicted criminals, drug users and worse.

“This is where we lived a minute away, our house,” he said.

“Then there’s Tragear Public School, where I went, which is about a minute away [from here].

‘I think it was honestly quite scary walking around here, because you never know what you’ll encounter.

“There’s a lot of violence here and this is pretty much where we grew up.”

Terrell paints a shocking picture, saying that by the time he was just eight years old, he had a mature view of the situation.

“If you look around, bro, it’s just trash everywhere. The Council don’t really care about this place, man,” he said.

‘You hear stories about the flats and you only hear the worst of the worst coming here. They just send everyone here. People who just came off the street.

“It’s probably a good thing for them, but there are little kids running around and it would be scary to see this.”

“When my father sent us to the shops, you would see people on the sidewalk asking for money or cursing and being aggressive towards you,” he continued.

‘As a child you don’t know why they do that.

“There’s a lot of drama going on here, especially when we went to the Tragear crowd. Tiny told us that there was an argument almost every day. One time there were 13 fights.

‘It’s a violent area, but in the end it just depends on who you surround yourself with. Who are your people. That will manifest you into the person you are.”

Terrell said it saddens him to see today’s young people walking through the suburb, destined to share the same fate as many before them.

“I look around and I see young people of this generation who were born into that stuff, and I just think they’re products of their environment,” he said.

‘They probably can’t do anything about it. They probably have some traumas and things like that in their lives.

“These people here, even for us, probably think this is the worst of the worst. We just thought it was normal.’

Taylan added: “One thing about growing up here is that it will always be our home,” he said.

‘For me this is normal now. It was normal. What we see is normal.’

Caleb tells the brothers that nothing has changed since they left.

“They use this place to dump a lot of guys who just got out of prison, the mental institution,” he said.

‘Then they won’t help anyone. They just get them out of the way. They did that to me after I got out.

“This place doesn’t sleep, buddy, I go there every night because it’s just non-stop.”

And he thanks the footy stars for shining a light into a corner so dark no one wants to know about it.

“It’s good that you really care about the community,” he said.

“Most people just want to fuck off and go to a better place.”

The video ends with an impassioned Tyrone May desperately calling on the authorities and government to intervene and help bring about change.

“You see police coming here all the time and nothing changes,” he said.

“They just come here, arrest people, harass the community and then just leave.

‘Why can’t the municipality come here and help the people here?

‘That’s why they’re in the same cycle. Drugs, prison, all that stuff.

“This community, this suburb, is the worst because it is the poorest, the worst in terms of crime, and there is no help.”