Gary Hughes picked up a new clothing sponsor late last year, which is an unusual experience for a lesser known surfer in their late 60s.

Gary has been kicking around town in his bright new threads, and if you look closely, you’ll see he’s featured on some of them. Cronulla label, Shred Gang, have released a Gary Hughes T-Shirt Range featuring classic photos of the underground charger in heroic acts of rebellion and debauchery. There’s Gary and band mates in a ‘borrowed’ police car, and Gary in a plastic trench coat with knickers falling from the sky. True to form, Gary likes them large and loose.

Exactly who is Gary Hughes you might be asking? He goes by many names and aliases: Shave Coat, King Cobra, Fu Manchu, Sexual Dragon, Ruco Banda, and, in the Philippines, King Buto. A pro tour competitor in the 70s, he may not have won a major event, but he did make a strong impression, especially in Hawaii, around Cronulla and at south coast reefs. Decades spent fronting rock bands, managing strippers, packing gigantesco barrels, crashing cars, finishing fights, and hosting sex-crazed parties enhanced the rebel rep. Not one to settle or fade, Gary keeps on charging, defying health and age conventions, like Iggy Pop with a suntan.

What follows is a decade-by-decade overview of just some of the peak moments that have shaped one of Australian surfing’s great characters. Some stories have been altered to avoid the long arm of the law; others probably aren’t suitable for publication and are best heard from the mouth of Ruco himself. Ideally, over a few cold ones at Cobra Castle – his home among gum trees, pythons and goannas at Bluey’s Beach on the mid-north coast. Gary and his Filipino wife Angelica are charming hosts. “Sundays are ...