Home Australia 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’

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’

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Football stars and brothers Terrell, Taylan and Tyrone May (pictured) have returned to their childhood suburb of Tragear to reveal the shocking conditions in which they grew up.

The NRL’s May brothers may have escaped the poverty, violence and crime plaguing their childhood suburb of Tragear in Sydney’s outer west, but now they want to share their horror experiences in a bid to a change.

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

The three recently returned to their childhood home to talk about what life was like growing up on Tragear for Terrell’s YouTube vlog.

Tregear has a small population of 3,700, and about a third of them live in public housing.

However, the suburb recorded 543 crimes in 2023, which is equivalent to 146.76 crimes per 1,000 inhabitants.

Violent crimes accounted for 123 incidents (33.24 per 1,000 people), while property crimes totaled 161 cases (43.51 per 1,000 people).

Football stars and brothers Terrell, Taylan and Tyrone May (pictured) have returned to their childhood suburb of Tragear to reveal the shocking conditions in which they grew up.

A local resident who calls himself Caleb shows the brothers a dilapidated apartment block.

A local resident who calls himself Caleb shows the brothers a dilapidated apartment block.

Assaults and related crimes were the most common, with 99 cases reported, followed by 76 cases of property damage and 75 crimes related to judicial proceedings.

Stalking, harassment and threatening behavior were also significant, with 73 incidents, along with 47 robberies and 31 cases of drug use or possession.

Tregear ranks higher in crime rates compared to most suburbs, with only 4.9 per cent of other localities experiencing more violent crime.

During the video, the May brothers visit one of the suburb’s most run-down unit complexes, which looks like it should be torn down, not house hundreds of people.

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

Another apartment has been converted into a sort of townhouse after the roof collapsed between a second floor and a first floor.

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

A resident calling himself Caleb reveals that the burned-out apartment actually has current tenants.

Terrell May created the video as part of his ongoing vlog on YouTube, where he included this information about his childhood suburb.

Terrell May created the video as part of his ongoing vlog on YouTube, where he included this information about his childhood suburb.

The May brothers are pictured with their father Jay growing up in Tragear.

The May brothers are pictured with their father Jay growing up in Tragear.

Taylan May was the youngest of the siblings and she saw things that they don't think any little child should see.

Taylan May was the youngest of the siblings and she saw things that they don’t think any little child should see.

“No bastard should live there,” Caleb says.

“Good people live here, they just need a chance.”

“More opportunities and services and s–t, instead of just being thrown in here and stuck with everything.”

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

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

‘Then you have Tragear public school, where I went, which is about a minute away (from here).

“I think walking around here, to be honest, used to be quite scary because you never know what you’re going to come across.

“There is a lot of violence around here and this is where we grew up.”

Terrell May played for the Sydney Roosters before signing a contract with the Wests Tigers.

Terrell May played for the Sydney Roosters before signing a contract with the Wests Tigers.

Tyrone May won the premiership with the Penrith Panthers before moving to the UK Super League, where he now plays for the Catalans Dragons.

Tyrone May won the premiership with the Penrith Panthers before moving to the UK Super League, where he now plays for the Catalans Dragons.

Terrell paints a shocking picture and says he had an adult view of the situation when he was just eight years old.

‘If you look around you, brother, there’s trash everywhere. “The council doesn’t really care about this place, bro,” he said.

“You hear stories about the flats and you hear that the worst of the worst comes here. They just send whoever here. People who had just come off the streets.

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

“When my dad used to send us to the stores, you know, you’d see people on the sidewalk asking for money or swearing and being aggressive toward you,” she continued.

‘When you’re a kid, you don’t know why they do that.

‘A lot of drama happens here, especially when we went to the Tragear audience. Tiny told us that there was a fight almost every day. Once there were 13 fights.

“It’s a violent area, but at the end of the day, brother, it’s all about who you surround yourself with.” Who are your people? That will manifest you as 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 me and see young people of this generation born into those things, and I think they are products of their environment,” he said.

‘They probably can’t help it. They probably have some trauma and other things going on in their life.

“These people here, even us, probably think it’s 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,” she 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 get rid of a lot of guys that are just out of jail, out of the mental health facility,” he said.

Tyrone May made an impassioned call to arms in the clip, calling on the government and authorities to make changes to Tragear.

Tyrone May made an impassioned call to arms in the clip, calling on the government and authorities to make changes to Tragear.

So they don’t help anyone. They just get them out of the way. They did that to me after I left.

“This place doesn’t sleep bro, I’m up there every night because there’s just no stopping.”

And thank the football stars for illuminating a corner so dark that no one wants to know about it.

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

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

The video concludes with a passionate Tyrone May desperately calling on authorities and the government to step in and help bring about change.

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

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

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

‘That’s why they are in the same cycle. Drugs, jail, all that kind of stuff.

“This community, this suburb, is the worst for being the poorest, the worst for crime, and there is no help.”

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