Why I Left Thai Fight
If you’ve read “An Open Letter to Myself, Pt. III”, you’ll know that I worked at Thai Fight. It’s an organization that hosts Muay Thai events. At the time, it sounded like the perfect fit. After all, there was nothing I was more passionate about than martial arts and combat sports. To me, it was like a magnificent start to a dream career. But if that were the case, I wouldn’t be writing this now, would I? What happened at Thai Fight that made me leave after just six months of working there?
First, we start at the beginning. After meeting with sponsors of the company, I finally get a meeting arranged with company’s owner, Mod. Now, you’d think that meeting with the owner of a company, you would meet at his office. However, Mod wanted to meet at a steak restaurant, of all places. It was strange. But I thought at the time maybe he was doing some business in the area and just decided to meet the potential hire that was myself, who was working nearby.
I remember to this day that I was wearing a ONE Championship t-shirt the day I met Mod. He sees this and once I get seated, he proceeds to verbally trash ONE about their low TV ratings and how they “slaughter Thai fighters”. Then we get to talking about why I wanted to join Thai Fight. I display my somewhat extensive knowledge of combat sports and he’s impressed to a certain degree. He then talks about some projects he’s working on: a Thai Fight energy drink and a Thai Fight hotel. “Sounds promising,” I said. At the time, it was good to see that he was looking to expand his business. Aesthetically, Thai Fight really was the biggest Muay Thai organization in Thailand, with its huge entrance ramp, pyrotechnics, and fireworks. Keep in mind, I said aesthetically.
Before I leave, Mod shows me a photo on his cellphone. It’s an aerial view of a Thai Fight event with ten thousand people. He then says to me, “Look at this. This is a Thai Fight event, ten thousand people come and watch this. Do you think ONE Championship brings in these kinds of numbers?” I’m a little annoyed by the jab at ONE but walk away nonetheless. I just thought that big business owners had that kind of attitude. But then one of the sponsors tell me to stop wearing the ONE shirts once I start working there. Uh-oh? Nah, I figured I could get used to getting more Thai Fight shirts.
Getting Started: Part I
Acknowledging my enthusiasm for the job, Mod invites me to meet up again. We get to talking about past Thai Fight events, his upcoming projects, and our appreciation of other martial arts. And then he implores me to come over to the office to see a photoshoot for the company’s new lineup of fighters for 2020. I figured it’d be cool since I’d get to meet some real Muay Thai fighters.
The first signs of struggle began when I realized the location of the office. It required me taking the subway, getting off after 8 stops, and then taking a motorcycle taxi to a housing estate. The commute was, to say the least, troublesome. But the bigger surprise was the “office” for Thai Fight. It was a four-story house painted black and accessorized with the Thai Fight logo. When I entered, I was greeted by a busy environment of office workers setting up a backdrop while fighters changed into their attire.
Mod was there as well. And when he came downstairs, all the fighters were required to go and greet him. “Hey, the boss is here! Make sure you go say hello to him!” an employee barked at a fighter. Look, I understand the whole concept of respecting your elders in my culture but here it was like they were worshiping him. I understand that he was the guy who was giving the fighters a big opportunity but they were treating him as some sort of revered deity. To me, it was weird and over-the-top.
My soon-to-be boss comes up to me and asks, “See any of your favorites?” I shake my head and reply honestly, “My favorites are the older generation of fighters. These guys are the next generation.” In fact, my favorite Muay Thai fighter had been under contract with Thai Fight. He was so successful until he had a falling out with both his gym and Thai Fight. Things ended in ugly fashion and no one in Thai Fight was to ever mention his name. If his name was ever spoken, though, Mod would always start talking shit about this fighter.
Getting Started: Part II
I go into the office for a second interview, this time with my future boss. His name is O, a somewhat obese man who previously worked in investment banking at the Central World department store. He’s also the highest-paid employee at Thai Fight, earning a six-figure salary each month. The interview goes as normal up until the part about working hours. Having worked a 9-5 from Monday to Friday, I said I could work Monday through Friday when he asked when I could work. This is when he looked up and said, “We work Saturdays here.” Before I could say more, we continue on and I assumed he was okay with me working only five days a week. He also had no objections to my asking salary, which I thought would be what I would be getting paid when I started.
Eventually, I began working at Thai Fight on February 3, 2020. I am first given a “proper introduction” to the rest of the office by the HR guy, Dul. Afterwards, I go into his office where the conversation gets very weird. He starts by saying he was given the “honorable task” of holding down the top rope when the fighters enter the ring (in Muay Thai, the fighters always go over the top rope), that he used to serve in the army, and that Mod is his brother-in-law due to the fact that his sister is married to Mod. Umm, cool for you?
We then go over some paperwork. Then things start to go downhill. He starts talking about how he expects everyone to come into work Monday through Saturday. I quickly say that I’d agreed with my boss that I would come in Monday to Friday. Judging from the look on his face, he did not take this too well. But he asks, “What’s wrong with you? Are you unwell?” Now I didn’t mention any health conditions to my boss O but I decide to answer Dul with, “In fact, I am.” And I decide to push it further, “I have to go for medical checkups on the weekends.” A look that says, “Oh, I see.” flashes across his face and he drops the matter. Then he talks about my salary. Looking at the piece of paper, the amount is about 21% less than what I was promised. When I protest, his excuse is that this is my probationary rate. When I pass the probationary period, they will pay me the amount I asked for. Okay, fair enough.
I am assigned to the “Online Team”, where we were to manage and monitor the company’s social media platforms. We were five twenty-somethings who were given the mission of giving the company a boost (I’m talking views, likes, subscribers, followers etc.). Mod assumed that since we were younger, we would think of some groundbreaking, innovative online content that would introduce the company to newer audiences. I guess his logic was that all millennials were social media experts. But all the content ideas we pitched to Mod were brushed off or swiftly rejected. Instead, he dictated the content we uploaded on every social media platform we managed. What content? Photos and video highlights. It was the same old stuff Thai Fight had always done. This was the opposite of groundbreaking content. O made an excuse that you had to have something really groundbreaking and mind-blowing in order for Mod to approve it. “Sure,” I thought as I rolled my eyes.
Pushed Too Far
Three days into my job, I was in a meeting regarding new online content. It wasn’t anything serious. In fact, it was a laidback affair where we shared a couple of laughs and opened up some snacks. We were relaxed and may have even been a bit too noisy. None of us wanted there to be any stress, hence the chill environment of the meeting. The meeting ended up lasting until 6 PM and we’d left quite a mess. Still, we figured we’d clean up our room in the morning.
But when all five of us arrived at the office the next day, each of us were individually called up to Dul’s office. I remember when it was my turn to go in, the colleague before me warned me, “Whatever he says, just stay calm.” I was already thinking this could not be good. When I went upstairs, I’d brought my new water bottle to fill up and had taken it into Dul’s office.
He looks at the water bottle in my hand and then looks at me. “New water bottle?” he asks. Unsure of where this is going, I answer, “Yes, I…” But before I could go on, he cuts me off, “Do you know you’re disrespecting me by bringing your bottle into my office?” At this point, I’m unsure of what to say so I say nothing and sit down. Sure enough, he proceeds to tear into me about the mess we made yesterday and how noisy we were. Yes, we were fully guilty for that. But that’s not the end of it. Dul proceeds go on a rant about how today’s generation are so rude. One anecdote that stands out to me was when he said, “You know, today’s kids like to say that Chinese tourists are so rude. Well, you know what? Today’s kids are even worse!” In my mind, I was wondering how all of this was related. But then he pushes way too far, “Don’t let your actions affect your father’s image.” I feel my face burning at that very moment. My fists immediately clench and I bite my lip. It took all of my willpower not to reach across and strike him in the face. My face hot, I can only nod in response.
He finally lets me go back to work as I’m still clenching my fists. Dul acts like everything’s normal and that he’s said nothing wrong but to me, he’s just made himself my enemy.
COVID-19 Breaks Me & More Work For Us
The timing in which I joined Thai Fight was poor, to say the least. I was less than four weeks out from the first event of the year, scheduled for February 29. But then of course, the world’s most devastating pandemics happened, bringing the world to a standstill. And Thai Fight was no exception. About a week before the event, the company announced that the event would be indefinitely postponed. With the lack of events, the workload only increased for the Online Team.
By that time, a lot of companies had temporarily shut down and had their employees work from home. But not Thai Fight. For the company, it was as if there was no COVID-19. We were still coming into the office six days a week and working 9 AM to 6 PM. Perhaps the only noticeable difference was that Mod was cowering away on the fourth floor. Funny right? His employees were risking their livelihood by just coming to work while he was locking himself in his own room with all the necessary supplies, afraid to catch the coronavirus. This was when I started to question Mod’s leadership.
Regarding the workload, the Online Team was now tasked with thinking of new online content in order to fill the company’s social media platforms. At one point in time, Mod had presented the idea of making members of the Online Team hosts of online shows, promising that we could become famous through our appearances. Eventually, I became the host of a show titled “Muay Thai’s Hidden Secrets”, which lasted all of 7 episodes. I thought I would be allowed some creative freedom with the show. But boy, I was so wrong. O often filtered what went in and out of the show and ultimately, there wasn’t much I could do with the restriction on content.
By now, the Online Team was growing frustrated with our inability to work from home. We were continually required to come into the office six days a week. Our team leader appealed that our work could be done remotely but her words fell upon O’s deaf ears. I guess the word “online” doesn’t mean anything in Thai Fight. It just means we’re supposed to post shit to social media whenever Mod tells us. So we continued brainstorming and O eventually conceived the idea of “The Thai Fight Center”, a show where I provided commentary to the company’s old fights. Now I like to think I gave my best effort on this show but O said it was shit. Well, guess what? Fuck you, O!
At one point, Mod even came up with the absurd idea of a variety show, which he bestowed the terrible name of “Good Morning Thai Fight”. It started out as a news-style show but eventually evolved into a three-segment variety show which included facts & history, sports, and entertainment. I was designated to cover the sports segment. With three shows to handle between two video editors, this was a lot of work! I’d like to stress that in the Online Team, the brunt of the work falls on the video editors. How else do you edit the video clips and adjust the sound bits? Shoutout to those guys. Again, Mod and O were there to dictate our content. For example, if my topics got too repetitive, O would hand me another topic (e.g. fighting fish) which I had no interest in. And my lack of enthusiasm showed whenever I covered this other topic. But when I did a topic I was fully interested in (e.g. wrestling), the energy was evident on YouTube. Still, Mod would complain about minor shit like movies in the Entertainment segment being too old. He even called me one morning to complain and tell my colleague choose newer movies. I could only think to myself, “Not my fucking problem.”
None of the Thai Fight fans ever cared for new content. They like Thai Fight for the events, the fights, and the fighters. All three of the shows I mentioned have been discontinued since I left the company.
Bullshit Business
At the time I was working with Thai Fight, there were 9 fighters who were under contract with the company. O explained that these fighters were guaranteed at least 8 fights a year so they were ensured some financial stability. But still it got me thinking, “What about their opponents?” You see, Thai Fight presents itself as an organization that unites Thai people by having Thai fighters face foreign opponents. Where do those guys come from? In the early days, perhaps some foreign opponents actually fought out of the countries they represented. But in recent years, more of the foreign opponents are usually based in Thailand. I say this because more of them have appeared on Thai Fight multiple times. And when I started working with the company, they usually choose foreign opponents based on their availability and them being in the country. Going back to the foreigners who’ve fought at the events multiple times, these guys have lost more than they’ve won. This aroused my suspicions that Thai Fight and the gyms these foreigners train at have been paying them to unknowingly lose.
My suspicions were essentially confirmed when I paid a visit to a run-down Muay Thai gym as part of a documentary series the company was shooting. All the fighters training there were foreigners. There were guys from Brazil, Iran, and Algeria. Some of them I’d seen competing on Thai Fight several times and not once did I ever see them win. I could only assume that the gym was in cahoots with Thai Fight. They would probably say to the company, “I got this foreigner who would make a scary-looking opponent for your fighter to beat.” These guys were basically training so hard only to get served on a platter to Thai Fight’s contracted fighters and get beat up. And Mod said ONE Championship “slaughtered Thai fighters”. So what does Thai Fight do to foreign fighters? When I met them, part of me wanted them to just leave the gym and find somewhere else to train and fight.
Mod has always claimed Thai Fight has the best Muay Thai fighters in the world. However, I’ve come to question the caliber of their competition in the last few years. I will admit there have been the few times that Thai Fight’s guys have fought legit champions and picked up wins. But more often than not, they’re matched up against guys who are virtually nobodies. When I started working at the company, I noticed that Mod expressed prejudice for the Channel 8 weekly Muay Thai programs, Muay Thai Super Champ and Muay Hardcore, as if they were a level below Thai Fight. However, I also noticed that in more recent Thai Fight events, the foreign opponents his fighters face are the same foreigners who compete on those weekly programs. Ironic, huh? And it also makes you question how good Thai Fight’s fighters really are.
Then there’s also a story my colleague told me about how Mod was searching for an opponent for a young, promising fighter. He was sifting through footage with another employee. All of a sudden, he says, “No, not this guy. He’s too tough.” Now I wasn’t there to hear it and this is a secondhand account. But it makes you wonder how confident he really is in his fighters.
To any foreign Muay Thai fighter who may be reading this, if you’re thinking about competing in Thai Fight I have two pieces of advice for you:
Just don’t. There are better events to compete for.
Knock your opponent out. Not just down, out.
A Way Out
As we entered July, I had resigned myself to my fate and was planning on sticking with Thai Fight for a year. After that, I was probably going to hunt for a new job. Either way, I figured the workload would start to decrease for the Online Team now that live events were going to resume. But then my dad tells me something I’m not expecting when I get home, “My friend offered you a job at his company.” I was surprised and was at a loss for words. At first, I told my dad I couldn’t just leave. Then he drops another bomb. His friend had heard of Mod. A lot of big business owners had. And a lot of them didn’t want to work with him because a lot his projects never launched. That was all I needed to come down to a decision.
So the next day at lunch, I sit down with O and tell him I’m resigning. Surprisingly, he’s understanding and says, “When you can’t handle it anymore, it’s just time to leave.” Then he tells me how to proceed: inform Dul of my resignation, fill out the resignation form, and say goodbye to Mod before my last day. When I tell Dul I’m resigning, citing health issues, I was not expecting a long talk about health advice. Oh, and I also found out he was a former member of the national soccer team. More useless information!
In the next few days, I let my friends know that soon I will no longer be working at Thai Fight. Most of them congratulate me and one even tells me I’m blessed to be able to find work amid the pandemic. Another tells me to love my dad a lot because of what he’s done for me (Love ya, dad!). A colleague of mine was kind enough to help design a slick-looking resume for me to hand in at my new company. God bless her! So yeah, I was glad to be on my way out of Thai Fight.
Now I don’t know if Mod knew I was resigning while I was still at the company. But in the last two weeks I was there, he decides to go full-swing on ONE Championship. The entire time I worked at Thai Fight, whenever I was in the same room with Mod, he would never miss an opportunity to take shots at ONE. So I’m working one afternoon when he walks into my office and sits down. “Did you watch the event last night?” he asks, referring to ONE Championship: No Surrender which aired on July 31. I said yes. “He’s getting worse,” he continues, referring to a former fighter who competed for Thai Fight. This guy then went on to make more money in ONE Championship and I’m guessing Mod was still bitter about that. I try to keep it cool and say, “But he did do well considering he fought someone ten centimeters taller.” He just shakes his head, “No, he sucks!” This is when I start to lose my cool, “What about the main event! The champion fought well!” Like a stubborn asshole, he still shakes his head, “He sucks too! He can only fight guys his size! He can’t fight bigger guys!” Then I explode, losing any restraint I had, “So what?! All the good fighters are with Thai Fight?! Thai Fight is the best?!” I feel my colleague sitting next to me squeezing my leg in order to calm me down. It was then I realized that engaging in a shouting match with the company owner would do no good so I plugged in my earphones and turned on some music. He continued talking but I had no care about what he had to say.
I originally planned on sticking around until the first event of 2020, which was set to take place in September. However, O helped speed up my resignation to August. I don’t know if he did this because he wanted me out of there as soon possible or if he just wanted to end my suffering. Either way, I’m glad he did what he did. I entered and left the Thai Fight office for the last time on August 28, 2020. Afterwards, I celebrated my dad’s birthday and the end of my time at that toxic workplace.
Person Profile: Mod
Mod is a guy who talks a big talk but can’t walk the big walk. In fact, he’s really all talk. You take away the huge ramp, the pyrotechnics, the fireworks… Thai Fight is no different from all the other weekly Muay Thai TV shows. “World-class”, that’s what he liked to say about his company. But according to who? Himself? His employees? Sorry man, it just doesn’t work that way. And his projects. I haven’t seen them launch since I left. The Thai Fight energy drink? Nowhere to be found. The Thai Fight-themed hotel? Radio silence. Oh, and there were plans of a Thai Fight nightclub when I started working there. Yeah, I haven’t seen that either. So I will happily label this guy as a big-mouthed egomaniac.
Person Profile: Dul
Dul is HR in name only. Why do I say this? I’m no expert in HR but from what I’ve been told, he can’t even perform the basic tasks of an HR officer. It’s safe to say he got the job because of his family connections. I’ve heard the words ‘forgive and forget’ all too often but after what he said to me, I don’t think I’ll do either for him. Whenever people wanted to take a leave, he would guilt them from doing so. When they did take a leave, he would pry them for more information. “Where are you going? Why are you going?” he would ask. If I were those people, I’d just say, “None of your damn business.” Next to that, he could never justify having to work a sixth day. It was just, “Because it’s my say-so. And Mod’s say-so. So you come in to work on Saturday.” Working six days a work really does take its toll on you. Dul would also call people out for leaving the office slightly early while he would blatantly leave an hour early himself. Some days, he’d just fuck off to who knows where. Essentially, he’d get his own days off. Truth be told, Dul was probably the worst person in Thai Fight.
A Souvenir
Remember the part where I mentioned Thai Fight shirts? Yeah, they don’t come for free. Not even for staff members. We staff members had to buy our fucking uniforms, which were ugly polo shirts! The price tag? 400 baht for staff and 799 for regular customers. Wow, what a fucking discount! I did end up getting one free shirt when I first started working there and bought another. Ultimately, after leaving the company, I gave both away. But when I left, an older colleague smuggled me two pairs of Thai Fight shorts as a souvenir. Pretty good parting gift for a company that doesn’t let their fighters keep their fight shorts. Honestly, they do make for good workout gear. Thanks older colleague!
Conclusion
So Thai Fight wasn’t the dream workplace I had envisioned in my mind. The four-story home office wasn’t the problem. It was the man running it. While he spoke of big things, I honestly have to chalk it down to delusions of grandeur. I love fight sports and I will boldly say that Thai Fight is not world-class. That said, he had no business talking shit about bigger companies like ONE Championship. Already agitated by his empty promises, this was probably what made me resent him even more. He also restricted the Online Team’s creativity, dictating what we could and couldn’t do through the company’s social media platforms. There was so much potential there but I guess he shot himself in the foot with that one. He wants 1 million Facebook likes for Thai Fight? Yeah, I don’t see that happening in the next few years. I don’t even see the YouTube channel getting a million subscribers. They’re still stuck doing the same old shit that they’ve been doing for the last ten years. That said, the members of the Online Team are the real heroes for putting up with his bullshit. Shoutout to the Online Team!
Then you have the ordeal of working six days a week. That’s one thing. But when you’re doing it with a bunch of toxic people, especially someone like Dul, it really does corrode your morale. I’ve always wondered what would happened if I worked six days there without him. But hey, I’m not there anymore and that’s good enough for me! His constant questioning about where I’d go on my leave days also helped in only making me hate him more. Like I said, I hated him since the office ordeal but since then he’d only made it worse. I could even go on to say that he played a vital role in me leaving Thai Fight. This one person could poison an entire ocean, for all I know.
And that is the story of why I left Thai Fight.
