Boom first came to Hua Hin when he returned to Thailand from his year abroad in Melbourne, a year ago. He had never visited Hua Hin previously, having been born and raised in Surin, an inland town in lower northeastern Thailand. Boom is the eldest of three children in his family, though only by five minutes as he has a brother who is a fraternal twin, as well as a younger sister.  Boom’s father was a government official with the Lands Office and his mother a nurse.  Sadly, Boom lost his mother 4 years ago now but still counts her as the person he most admires.  She taught Boom a lot about safety and preventative health care that he uses today in his daily work.  Boom has great affection for his father, who still lives in Surin with his brother who recently returned home after 5 years living and running his exotic pet business in Bangkok.  Boom makes the effort to visit his father once a month and has a very close relationship with his sister, even closer than with his twin, Bom.

In Boom’s opinion, he and Bom are quite different and were always acknowledged as individuals by their parents, only very infrequently being dressed the same.  From early on, the boys had different interests, were in different classes, had different friendship groups and there was little rivalry between them, though Boom believes Bom may have been a little jealous when he was selected to spend his second-last year of school in Dresden, Germany with a host family, even though Bom did not apply. It was a year of new experiences and self-discovery for Boom, who set off to Dresden with little English and absolutely zero German, a testament to his adventurous spirit.

Boom was a rather sports-oriented student and to this day remains a big football fan and would one day love to see Manchester United play a live home game.  He played himself at school and also was into exercising in the gym.  While at university, he turned his attention to Rugby.  Boom recalls that at high school, he was in the top class and achieved satisfactory grades despite being a coaster rather than a high performer. Boom’s forte was being a nice guy and extremely social, with many friends.  After returning from his sojourn in Germany, Boom completed his secondary studies and undertook a 4-year degree in Law, though he has no intention of every practicing as a lawyer. Some of the parts of his studies in Law that interested him the most were his time in community law and Human Rights and these were likely the sparks which ignited his passion for helping people in tangible, practical ways. Upon graduating from university, Boom travelled to Melbourne, Australia, for an informal gap-year, supporting himself by working in cafes and restaurants while touring and also completing further short courses in both business and English.

When Boom returned to Thailand he was in need of a job, and took the opportunity offered with an agency to teach English in Hua Hin, the first time he had lived in Thailand outside of his home town.  Boom particularly likes he freedom he has here to manage his own time, with a slower pace of life than in Bangkok, as well as a lower cost-of-living, just wishing Hua Hin was not quite so hot and sunny, in comparison to Surin. This job was just a temporary money-earning venture, as it turned out, because a colleague soon introduced Boom to Scholars of Sustenance and Boom was quickly interested in becoming part of the wonderful work it does, making direct application to SOS despite no job being advertised, and having several interviews before being appointed.

Scholars of Sustenance (SOS, its abbreviated name, is a widely recognised call for help) is a global food rescue organisation.  SOS Thailand has branches in Bangkok, Phuket, Chiang Mai and Hua Hin.  SOS Thailand was established in 2016. Its mission is to lead the fight against food waste and hunger in Thailand by minimising needless loss of surplus food and improving food equity by redistributing high quality surplus food from food related businesses such as hotels, grocers, restaurants, and other suppliers to communities in need, on a daily basis.  SOS Thailand boasts some proud statistics - to date, Scholars of Sustenance Thailand programs have rescued approximately 7.9 million kgs of surplus food, served 33 million meals to 3,000+ communities, and reduced 20,023 tons of C02 creation if the food were wasted in landfills. Boom now leads the team of three who undertake this sterling work in Hua Hin and as leader and chief problem-solver, he is responsible for the co-ordination of five separate, targeted programs, logistics, rostering and community outreach.  Boom certainly has his hands full, but relishes the new demands each day may bring, and feels no inclination to change jobs while he still feels challenged by the task at hand and is experiencing the satisfaction of a job well-done.

Boom is an optimist and so chooses to focus on the positives rather than dwell on the issues which face people today.  Most important in this is Boom’s conscious decision to not stop learning. He wants to learn more about psychology in order to better understand people, and has a keen interest in innovation, endeavouring to work in the simplest and most efficient way possible. SOS Hua Hin engages with nine major hotels in the area, with a new partner, Holiday Inn recently added.  Restaurant chains KFC, S&P and Mr Donut, as well as supermarkets Lotus, Tops and Big C are also donors, as are 7-Eleven stores.  Boom has also been able to establish partnership with ten local farmers where he organises to rescue crops that are either damaged or otherwise uneconomic for farmers to bother harvesting. SOS has a rescue kitchen program to turn the various ingredients collected into meals for schools and vulnerable groups, works in remote communities with difficult access and no electricity or running water and has a program to provide healthy, nutritious meals to people from 2 to 6 years of age, free from processed snacks and added sugar. Boom is leading a multipronged attack against hunger in the local community, all on a shoestring budget.

Luckily, food is an additional passion for Boom.  It is not a stretch to say that were he a dog, Boom would be very easy to train as he is highly food-motivated. When he contemplates a good time, past, present or future, food is a factor in his thoughts. Boom likes to cook and try out new recipes and ideas but claims he is not particularly good at cooking, yet. He has a fondness for nice beef and says a good, juicy burger might be his all-time favourite food, especially if accompanied by a beer. Boom even sometimes entertains the fantasy of being able to eat whatever he desires, without considering the cost.  He is a serious foodie: eating always sparks joy.

Boom counts his phone as his most valued material possession.  Sometimes all the funny internet stuff can be a welcome distraction, and he uses it for diet ideas, recipes, shopping and keeping in contact with friends and family as well. The gallery of his phone is also home to his many treasured photos, including one from his time in Germany when he went with his host family to take an ice-bath by cutting a large hole in the frozen river ice. Brrrr!

There are two things for which Boom is most grateful.  The first is his family, who have provided unwavering support for him.  Boom is aware he would not have travelled abroad without their assistance.  The second is his sound-decision making ability, which fuels his personal drive to help others.  Boom’s tip on making others happy? Be caring, share what you can, talk less and listen more.  Boom’s friends think he is crazy. They might be correct, but in their assessment, he is also unstoppable, and I, for one, tend to agree.