Something as ridiculous as a shirt colour served as an excuse for a series of punches, writes Ben, an 18-year-old resident of the northern beaches.
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On Wednesday night, me and about 15 friends headed out to Kings Cross for some farewell drinks for one of our mates.
Everything was going well until about two in the morning, when we were leaving the venue on Bayswater Road before even making it to the Darlinghurst Road intersection.
Bashed up: Ben with the bruises he received in the Kings Cross attack.A guy walked in front of me and pinched at my shirt calling me a pink-shirt faggot. He looped around in front of me while keeping eye contact and walked up to stare me down face to face.
I asked him what his problem was and he had a go at me for the colour of my shirt before questioning my race - it was obvious he was looking for an excuse to have a go at me.
At this stage I kind of expected him to hit me and said if he was going to have a go then to do it or walk away. He pretended to turn away and turned back and punched me in the face, I stood there and he repeatedly punched me in the face 15 or 20 times.
I pulled his head down towards me so he couldn't see where he was punching then pushed him away.
He walked off and I called out to him. We were next to a police car so I knew they were nearby and didn't want him getting away with it.
He turned back and ran towards me but the police came in and arrested him before he could reach me for a second attack.
I was angry he'd picked a fight with me based on something stupid like a shirt colour. I didn't want to punch back because you always hear so many stories about people falling and hitting their head.
All that was going through my head was to stay on my feet and not let him get away; it didn't bother me to take a few hits to the face if holding onto him meant in the long run it got him off the street.
How many people does he have to pick a fight with before something more serious happens?
I never thought something like this would happen to me. I keep to myself and never look for trouble when I go out. Having learnt karate at a young age, I had the capability to retaliate, and my parents taught me to walk away from a situation.
I didn't have any chance to avoid this conflict. I'm not physically imposing or aggressive and he was going to target someone.
I consider myself lucky that I was able to see him coming rather then getting king-hit from behind.
The police response was great, they were there within a minute to arrest him and make sure I was OK. After he was arrested, I went to the police station to make a statement. They also took photos of me and made sure I was OK.
They said he would be charged and if he disputed it I might have to make a statement in court. They said with the new laws he would be banned from Kings Cross and I was pleased to think he would be off the streets.
When I got home, mum had been extremely worried. She threw her arms around me when she realised I was OK.
She was trying really hard not to cry because I think she was proud of me for how I dealt with the situation.
