Played by Steve Peacocke

When Darryl Braxton first appears in Summer Bay he’s just another River Boy – a beach bum with a dodgy reputation and a chip on his shoulder. But home in Mangrove River 'Brax' is a surfing legend and something of a working class hero. In his teens Darryl was one of the original River Boys, the surfers who first braved the treacherous rocks and rips at Wilson’s Beach and developed a daredevil surfing style that made their Summer Bay rivals look soft. Darryl was the most fearless and reckless of them all, and in the surfing world that translates into respect. Brax wasn’t exactly looking for respect, but once he’d earned it he found it useful. For the first time in his life he had power and influence. He could command attention. He could shape opinions. He could stop fights. Or start them. Pretty soon Brax had a loyal band of followers, and the River Boys became more than a motley group of surfers. They gave the local community an identity and a source of pride – even if it’s the angry, bristling pride of the underdog.

For all his swagger and easygoing charm, Brax is a reluctant hero. He has a loyalty to his roots and a roughly-developed social conscience, but Brax secretly yearns to cross over to the other side of the tracks. While he never finished school, he has a natural intelligence and a steely belief in himself – along with a determination to escape Mangrove River and make something of himself. He plans to create a legitimate business empire, starting with becoming a business partner with Angelo in his restaurant, and earn respect for something more than his surfing prowess.

When Brax was twelve his father, Sean, dumped his mother, Cheryl, for her best friend. Brax has been the man of the house ever since. He’s been brother and father to Casey. He’s done his best to keep Heath out of trouble and out of jail. And he’s supported Cheryl through bouts of unemployment, various doomed romances, a gambling addiction and an over-reliance on anti-depressants. Cheryl can be a handful, but she’s never boring. And – in the grand tradition of sons marrying their mothers – that’s how Brax likes his women. He’s had more than a few romances through the years, as well as an on-and-off relationship with a perennial surfie-chick named Tegan. Their romance has evolved into 'friends with benefits' in recent years, or at least that’s how Brax sees it. Tegan still kids herself that they’re destined to be together, and will be as soon as Brax is ready to settle down. But Brax doesn’t love Tegan. In fact, he’s never been in love. But then he meets the love of his life Charlie…