The wars of the eshay generation: original 'boys' condemn today's teens for ruining the controversial culture that started in the inner city… and reached boredom in the 'burbs

'Original' eshays have vilified today's teens for embracing the controversial subculture and giving it a bad name.

More and more Australian youth identifying as 'eshays' are causing chaos at train stations and shopping malls as they proudly don designer clothes and bum bags.

The movement has become popular and its members are identified by their matching designer sportswear, Nike TN sneakers and their generally menacing demeanor.

While the more hardcore eshays engage in assaults and robberies, most seem to wander aimlessly through the streets.

Hanging out at a shopping center in Sydney's western suburbs, self-proclaimed 'original' eshay, Kaide, said new members don't understand what it really means to be a 'boy', and instead focus on hindering public .

Taehlor (pictured left) and Neil (right) say people think they are looking for trouble because of the way they dress

“Eshays are grubs these days,” he said.

“The eshay category came along and these kids jumped on the bandwagon and started causing problems because of their influence.”

The 25-year-old from Plumpton, 45km west of the CBD, said graffiti culture and rap artists Nter and Sydney Serchaz were responsible for fueling the country's eshay obsession thanks to their cheeky 'lad rap' style of dressing.

“They (eshays today) have no purpose, they don't know why they dress the way they do, they're gronks,” Kaide added.

Many who adopted the subculture before it became famous claim that the bad behavior of the younger generations makes life more difficult.

“You can't be in groups of three or more because people think you're looking for trouble,” said 22-year-old Taehlor from Penrith.

Moe from Kingswood no longer identifies as a 'boy' even though he still dresses like one

“Eshays are junkies these days,” claims Mika, 22

“People automatically think because you're wearing TNs (Nike TN sneakers) that you're looking for a fight,” adds friend Neil, 30.

'Go to Penrith Station and all the young boys are there causing trouble.'

Eshays – also known as 'boys' – spread from Sydney's inner city graffiti scene through housing committees to the suburbs in the 1980s.

Teenagers who embrace eshay culture mainly come from low socio-economic backgrounds.

“Eshays are junkies these days, they're always causing trouble on the streets,” says Mika, 22, from Mount Druitt.

Favorite labels for the fashionable eshay are Ralph Lauren, Tommy Hilfiger, Burberry and Lacoste in combination with Nautica, Adidas and Ellesse.

“I used to be a boy, not anymore, I have a daughter now,” said Weary, 38, from Kingswood.

'I still dress like I am one, but it's all young people these days, I'm too old for the bulls***.'

Although they have managed to create their own uniform, eshays have also developed their own language.

Some confuse words and put 'ay' at the end in a form of pig Latin. 'Eetswa' means 'sweet' and 'chill' becomes 'illchay'.

The term eshay is similar to the British expression 'chav' and can be interchangeable with 'lad', which in turn sometimes becomes 'adlay'.

'Eshay' may have started as 'eshay adlay' – pig Latin for 'he is boy' or related to 'sesh', for a prolonged period of drug use.

The signs of the Eshay subculture

Although thought to be a recent phenomenon, eshays began in Adelaide about forty years ago, when they were known as 'earchers' or 'seekers'.

In the 1990s the culture spread to some of the poorer areas of Melbourne and Sydney, especially around inner-city suburbs such as Waterloo, where the use of pig Latin (reversing the order of syllables and adding extra syllables to create a fake new language to create) earned. they are called 'adlays', pig Latin for 'boys'.

In recent years the craze took off in Sydney's west, where the name evolved from adlays to eshays, pig Latin for 'yes'.

Some eshais confuse words and put 'ay' at the end in a form of pig Latin. 'Eetswa' means 'sweet' and 'chill' becomes 'illchay'

But it's the fashion that makes eshays stand out.

The essential trademark is the cross-chest man bag, paired with three-quarter designer tracky daks and sweatshirt, with a trucker style cap.

The essential finishing touch is a pair of Nike Air Max Plus TN sneakers that can retail for $450 or more. Marshall Brown's pair of bright red TNs were a birthday gift, he said, and cost $160.

Dr. Terry Goldsworthy, associate professor of criminology at Bond University, said the Telegraph essays had become more prominent over the past seven years.

“Like any subculture, there are influencers on social media,” the former detective said. 'It's monkey see, monkey do.

“A few years ago I had never heard of the term eshay, but I think social media has something to do with it.”

Like the punks of the 1970s and 1980s, the eshay will one day be replaced by a different set of clothes and music tastes, with a new name and a similar anti-authoritarian stance.

“Like any subculture, today's eshay will be tomorrow's nerd,” said Dr. Goldsworthy.