Tom’s love of music led to his favourite childhood memories, since music provided him opportunity to travel and to get his first taste of other countries and cultures. A saxophone player, Tom was a member of his high school’s renowned marching band, which secured acclaim and awards at many competitions. Being in the band required absolute commitment and training that was military in its precision, discipline and time demands, but very rewarding in that Tom got to travel to Canada twice, as well as England and Italy. Luckily for Tom, the school was adept at raising funds from its alumni and parents or caregivers were only required to contribute as they could afford. Tom described himself as academically average at school yet he became well-known to all the teachers because of his keenness to be involved in anything that was happening. A serial volunteer, Tom would represent the school in competitions, or sing or dance or do whatever was needed of him, as long as it didn’t involve sport.  Now a committed golfer, school sport held little interest for Tom. It was during his high school years that Tom first began to develop his business acumen.  He started with selling cookies to raise money to play video games, then became a merchant of chlorophyll water. Tom even took gigs, singing in the pub to earn spending money, eventually earning up to 1500 baht for sessions at private parties and events. Though work, Tom learnt to appreciate the value of each hard-earnt baht.

The woman that Tom calls “Mom”, with whom he shares a home, isn’t actually his biological mother, but actually his father’s sister, his aunt.  She dreamed of him, before he was conceived, believing he was fated to be her child, and has always had a significant presence in his life.  Although not his birth mother, Tom’s mum Liza is a role-model, an inspiration and the living person he most admires.  She too has come from a poor financial background, to become a powerful and influential member of the community.  Her membership of the Rotary Club was also instrumental in him securing a place in its student exchange program while still in high school, which saw him spending 12 months over 2000-2001, living and studying with two host families in Germany. This experience had a profound impact on teenage Tom, allowing him to be immersed in a western culture, so different from his own.  Tom readily adapted, and to this day his need for punctuality and his love of currywurst mark him as different from the average Thai gentleman.  Indeed, Tom credits Germany, with its natural environment and appetising food, as his favourite place on earth, despite having become a seasoned traveller. Tom has taken on German traits so thoroughly that he even admits he has left his lovely wife Fon behind, to catch up later, if she is not ready to depart on time.

Although Tom visited Hua Hin numerous times as a child, it was not until he graduated from school at the age of 18 that he moved to live in Hua Hin, and undertook his university studies at Stamford University, gaining a Bachelor’s degree in Management and then a Master’s in Hospitality and Tourism. Since that point, Tom has been living locally with his mum, and her daughter, who he calls his sister, and now his wife as well. He values Hua Hin for its village-like atmosphere where people know and acknowledge their neighbours, as well as its generally free-flowing traffic.  However, Tom would like to see anti-corruption initiatives given greater priority.

Personal strengths that make Tom particularly good at his job are his tenacity and meticulous nature.  He never leaves anything to chance, in either his personal or business lives.  Tom has committed to a retirement age of 58 and has developed a detailed plan of how he is going to achieve this in the slightly less than 20 years available to him.  He is now a year into a 5-year commitment he made to his mum, to see her enjoy a well-deserved complete retirement from her busy work life. Tom is energised and inspired by his mum, who, with her British husband, was the first to envision Hua Hin as an international golfing destination. In 1992, the pair established Hua Hin Golf Tours, a company providing a comprehensive golfing holiday experience in Hua Hin, complete with transfers, accommodation and rounds on many of Hua Hin’s finest courses, initially taking on the many roles involved, just the two of them. A companion for the tour business is Hua Hin Golf Villa, a mid-range boutique hotel where guests relax between their golfing rounds. While Tom’s mum and her now deceased golfing-professional husband founded the businesses, Tom has been directly involved in ensuring their continued thriving since 2009 and now holds the position of Managing Director.

Few businesses were immune from the impacts of the Covid pandemic, and as borders closed and flights stopped, Hua Hin Golf Tours was forced into hiatus. This left Tom in need of another way to support himself and his family. Serendipitously, his wife Fon, girlfriend at the time, was able to introduce him to her work as an insurance agent. She had worked with AIA, a Hong Kong-based multinational insurance and finance corporation, for over a decade and at her instigation, Tom found his calling in life, his “real Yes”. Tom succinctly outlines why what he does as an insurance agent/ financial planner/investment consultant is exactly the right job for him, given his particular strengths and skill set. It provides him three distinct benefits: financial freedom as his income is limited only by the amount of time and effort he is prepared to give, time freedom as he is often able to work flexible hours of his choosing, and most importantly, he is able to make a positive impact on people’s lives.

As an insurance professional, Tom is called upon to deal with his clients at some of the most difficult times of their lives, when illness, hospitalisation and even death strike. Tom is a frequent visitor at the hospital bedside of his clients, with words and actions to allay fears, encourage and support. As an intermediary between the client and their insurance provider, Tom’s natural tenacity sees him using his considerable knowledge and expertise to take whatever steps he can to smooth the path to appropriate care.  Tom recounted one particular case where his intervention, gathering medical records and using his contact network, saw a client diagnosed with a brain tumour secure the services of one of the country’s best surgeons who was able to remove the tumour promptly, without the need for removing and replacing a section of the skull. The family of the patient were extremely grateful to Tom for enabling what was life-saving treatment.

Tom’s customers come from a wide range of nationalities. He is on one particular mission to teach his Thai customers to save first, then spend what is left, improving their overall lives, one person at a time. Even though Tom considers himself a small agent, he has almost 1,000 current customers, for whom he wants to be a true friend. Listening to Tom, and looking into his eyes, no-one could doubt the genuineness of Tom’s intentions. Ever so slowly though, Tom is beginning to acknowledge his inbuilt impatience and desire to get everything done immediately as a weakness.  His inability to switch off his racing thoughts has the potential to lead to burnout if he isn’t careful.  Tom currently doesn’t schedule himself formal down-time. He confided that he is never aware of what day of the week it is, with people wanting to schedule appointments with him needing to talk in terms of specific dates rather than days.

Although Tom is happy with his job and his life as it currently is, he is aware that he is on a journey. Tom appreciates that knowledge is infinite and that an individual must not stop learning. For Tom, acquiring further knowledge and expertise is crucial to his goal of helping more people. He lives by the maxim of “the more you give, the more you get back.” Right now is the time when Tom feels his ideas are crystallising, allowing him to see his life purpose with clarity.  And Tom is eager to embrace what the future will bring.  Tom and Fon are hopeful of adding a child to their family and to keep making those around them happy through sharing their knowledge, emotional support, connections and time, as well as money, to improve the well-being of all in their social network. For Tom, time is invaluable and he is determined to use every moment to great effect, lest he miss opportunities. Through personal experience as well as those of his insurance clients, Tom has come to appreciate that we are never guaranteed the existence of a tomorrow, so should cherish today.

The establishment of an “alms-house”, a place where meals are provided free-of-charge, is on the top of Tom’s small bucket-list. To achieve this, he will need to keep growing all his businesses, so is lucky to have a social-media savvy friend to help him in an area which is “not his thing”. Tom remains grateful for the opportunities he has had, since embracing them has led him to today, where, assisted by just his iPad, he lives and works with both passion and happiness, continually buoyed by the million dollar smiles he sees from family and friends. 

Exacting as his work may be, the ups and downs of life have failed to extinguish the kid in Tom.  Most people encounter him in his professional capacity, where he radiates calm assurance. On the golf course, Tom has an aura of focus and determination. Yet in a games arcade, he is still a child.  He will get himself 500 baht in coins and stand in front of the claw machine until he manages to pick up his desired prize.  Standing between Tom and his goal is never a good idea.