This is a hard one to write. I don't want to inject myself into the narrative and this unintentionally be about MY loss, but yes I have lost my little browser, a grom I've been surfing, shooting, laughing, scheming, publishing and hanging with for the last decade. Bill 'Bizza' Byers, the absolute Prince of Piha and leader of the Feral Muppets. The loss of Bill, July 4th, has sent a tsunami of grief through Piha, the wider west ['cos one thing is for sure Bill was a westie] and the NZ Surf Community.
For the last fortnight Piha has been consumed with the most incredible out-pouring of grief and love. Most of the crew knew by 8am on the 4th that Bill, barely 19, had taken his life. The news spread fast. Dion Pike-Taylor and Kye Bedford messaged in the Keyhole Boardriders chat that they'd be down on the sand dune at midday. The sand dune; the far south end of South Piha, the hang out for Keyhole and support central during comps. The loudest and perhaps most intimidating zone for the uninitiated. Who could have known what that simple message and gesture would become.
It was so fucking gnarly, I guess we were all in shock. Lots of man-hugs, members of the club coming by, sitting, looking out to Bill's playground, the surf yes, but also the sand. See, Bill was really a bogan in a surfer's body. Dion recanted that just the Sunday before, on the crowded afternoon, Bill had ripped along the beach on his 350cc bike, boosted over to the gap and then another circuit of the beach before disappearing into the valley. This was Bill, the recurring theme over the last fortnight was, you heard Bill before you saw him. As the afternoon of the 4th tore on into evening, and I do mean tear, the revolving cast of Piha locals grew on the dune, sombre, in shock, not knowing what to do but being there seemed right.
A sidebar; It may seem strange to some that Keyhole Boardriders had such a strong presence around Bill's passing. When Bill was 14, there was nothing he wanted more than to join Keyhole Boardriders. His uncles were all founding members, the surfers that inspired him like Dune Kennings and Elliott Paerata- Reid were/are staunch members. But Keyhole has an R18 policy. We augmented the rule in the early 2000's to side-step Helicopter parents. Bill showed up every contest, he helped with the set up, manned the BBQ, helped with pack down. He did this every club contest for two years. We had an executive board meeting about Bill, it was a fun evening, and there were some very valid reasons not to induct Bill. The next morning it was me that rang Bill, he was in the car with his Dad Maurice on the way to his Uncle Warren's wedding. I tried to keep a stern tone, no drinking, if we caught him with a beer he was out, he was so stoked. He was so proud to be in Keyhole, and he'd earned it. He went on to represent the club as our junior the year Keyhole won the Hurley Boardrider's Cup. Every board he had bore oversized Keyhole stickers. As he was proud, the club was proud of him and his surfing achievements .... and this is Keyhole, we were proud of his Westy-ness too.
Back to the Dune. The Feral Muppets took over and so they should have. I'm not 100% sure if the term is the official name for Bill's extended friendship group, but I do know Bill loved it and ran with it. He was the glue, the ring master and as his best mate [he had lots of best mates] Victor stated at the funeral, the instigator of some incredibly dumb ideas...that they all did. On the 5th the core of Bill's friends were starting to assemble on the Keyhole dune, which, from this point forward is known as Bizza's Dune. Who'd have known how the next 10 days would pan; Bizza's Dune became the meeting point, a round the clock vigil for Bill for the entire week. The kids did it hard, many sleeping on the dune. Keyhole members fell into the roles of support. I won't name names 'cos I'll miss someone out, there were some lead members that did incredible overt actions over the week, but I feel like every member did something. As did the wider Piha community. Firewood was delivered, shelter, food and refreshments flowed. Piha's Karens and Kens went quiet.... the kids cut loose, the beach got torn up with rarkies in Bill's honour.... and maybe much to Bill's horror, not a single mention on the Facebook Community boards. The surf was good too.
Last Friday... well that was something. The paddle out was the biggest Piha has hosted. While Keyhole funded and organised the day and kai, again there was a huge outpouring of help and assistance from so many in the community. The Tasman went flat for Bizza, well, west coast flat anyway, he would've found a punt section or a mal wave. The day was perfect blue bird from dawn to well, well past dusk. The photos tell the story here. These drone images were kindly made and provided by Joshua McCormack, he reached out prior to ask if it was appropriate that he come out a shoot. Naturally he was welcomed. He gave the images freely, which then we posted on Keyhole and in turn got reposted hundreds of times. Thank you Joshua.
Bill had been struggling with depression, his family knew, his close friends knew. They all tried to help. Since the 4th there have been so many conversations about what if this, or what if that, so many what ifs. If's don't help.
What happens now is that horrible void, where Bill's closest, still grieving, assume everything has gone back to normal. It hasn't, we haven't, we carry him in our hearts. We may have returned to pretending to be normal, but Bill is very much here. I'm no consular; check in with your buddies, if you're feeling down tell someone... fucking tell me, ring me, text me, email me. You are not alone.
