Kyle ‘ Queeny’ Elvy
YOU’RE HALF WAY ACROSS THE WORLD AND YOU ARE ORDERING FOOD AT A RESTAURANT TRYING TO AVOID YOUR BEST KIWI SLANG SO AS TO BE UNDERSTOOD, WHEN A CRY COMES OUT FROM ACROSS THE ROOM. “HEY MATE! ARE YOU A BLOODY KIWI? SHIT MAN GOOD TO HEAR SOMEONE FROM BACK HOME, HOW ARE THE WARRIORS DOING?” The conversation broadens and the next thing you know you’re out on the town and invited to a bbq the next day with a bunch of your fellow Kiwis. Expats, yep they’re everywhere. It is almost statistically possible that there are more Kiwis abroad than living back home. Many left for love, some business, others went travelling on their big OE and got stuck, but wherever they are based. New york, london to hong kong and everywhere in between they are still as proud as hell to be a Kiwi. In a regular column from now on we catch up with Kiwi expat surfers on how they got to where they are at and how they get their fill of waves. We will also test their loyalty with a few quick-fire questions, a true test of the Kiwi within.
This issue we feature KYLE ‘QUEENY’ ELVY of Taranaki, who now lives in Bali.
Born and bred in Taranaki, Kyle first found the art of surfing when, as an eight year old, he traded his brother Clint’s Mickey Mouse surfboard for his own crystal flex boogie board, and hit the waves for his first stand up surf at Fitzroy Beach, New Plymouth. He was hooked and spent every day down there practicing for many years after. Back then his days were spent hanging with the likes of Flyspray, Fag, Dwayne and Motu Mataa, the Tamati brothers, Bailer, and many more Taras crew. It was during this time that Kyle picked up his nickname that everyone knows him as. While supposedly attending school, he and his grom mates had wagged for the day, and were watching pornos at a mates house, when someone challenged a stand up test, he failed and when he sat down with a raging boner and made the mistake of crossing his legs, everyone screamed out “Queeny” and from that moment the name stuck.
School was a rough time for Queeny and he was asked to leave at the tender age of 15. He landed a job working in a bakery creaming the donuts and doing deliveries. All was going well and he was making fairly good money, until he rolled the work van creaming himself, the boss was landed with huge bills, and Queeny was fired. He then hit the dole for a year and cruised, then at 18 a lucky break came his way when his good mate Flyspray got him a job with a company in the oil industry working inspecting offshore rigs. It was within this industry that Queeny decided that he would forge a career. To get into the oil industry is one of the toughest and also most dangerous roads. Times were tough for a young guy back then working amongst crews made up of misfits, ex-crims and bikers, it was bloody hard for a young guy to learn, but it was also a time of meeting a lot of good guys and contacts. After a few years of persistence Queeny landed a job as a rough neck. During this time he met a bloke he owes his career to, by the name of Jim Beard, who landed Queeny a new job on an offshore rig in Taranaki, run by an international company, and after a few years he took up job offers in other areas of the world.
Around this time he met his former partner Lans and together they had a son Koby, who Queeny admits was the greatest thing that ever happened to him, and while they are no longer together he still gets time to spend with the apple of his eye. After qualifying and obtaining his ‘Blowout Prevention’ ticket, one of the many technical rigging terms he throws around, the world was his oyster and he set of travelling and working all over the globe. “I left everything behind and headed to Angola, West Africa, doing 28 days on and 28 days off as an Assistant Driller, what a wild country! I’d fly into Angola, basically get ripped off by the local cops, get my bag through customs and all that was left was a pair of socks. Welcome to Africa! I only stayed there for seven months as the helicopter I used to go offshore on crashed and killed everyone on board, so again time for a change. Since 2005 I’ve worked for a number of companies which have taken me through countries such as West Africa, Brazil, Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, Philippines, Thailand, Singapore and China. In this time I’ve seen people killed, seriously hurt, and one guy get his arm ripped clean off! I’m currently working in Vietnam at the moment on a four year contract as a Driller.”
Working in Vietnam, Queeny has based himself in close by Bali for the last seven years, and in his 28 days off, heads back to Bali to let his hair down, surf and cut loose. To him Bali is the perfect place to unwind with no restrictions. Along with a crew of his best mates, they party every night and when a swell hits, they pile outta the night clubs, load up the boards and head outta Kuta chasing swells, then back to Kuta to do what he does best... party! While he wears his Kiwi pride with great passion, when questioned about a return to NZ one day he replies, “I Love NZ, that’s my roots and always will be, Taranaki’s a great place with great people, but my home for now is Bali and I have no plans of leaving.”