# Who lives, works and exercises in Bangkok?



## finy (May 22, 2010)

Im going to be in Bangkok at the end of the year for about 6 months and I was looking to pick up some work.

Im a personal trainer by trade and specialise in lifting weights and cardio to build muscle and strip away bodyfat.

Now i know that teachers etc wouldnt have money to spend on personal training but what about if you work for a foreign company on foreign wages.

would you be prepaired to spend 250-500bht per hour towards acheiving your perfect body of is their no point in persuing this.

Any advise would be fantastic thank you. Even if you dont stay in bangkok, if you had the spare cash, would you do something like this which can guarentee great results?


----------



## Serendipity2 (Feb 22, 2009)

finy said:


> Im going to be in Bangkok at the end of the year for about 6 months and I was looking to pick up some work.
> 
> Im a personal trainer by trade and specialise in lifting weights and cardio to build muscle and strip away bodyfat.
> 
> ...



finy, 

Your rates are pretty high in a country where most people [except expats] are lean and mean - figuratively speaking. That's $7.50-$15.00 per hour, a fair bit of money for Thais and even most expats. I'm surely no expert but I doubt expats are too good a bet either since most are either hedonists seeking pleasure or are busy with their Thai wives/girlfriends. Me, I try to be a hedonist on a budget! 

A word of caution - get caught setting up shop and you get the boot - permanently - from Thailand. What you might do is to find a gym in the area you plan to live and sell them on the idea of hiring you. It's a long shot but perhaps worth investigating. Remember, expats may NOT work unless they have a visa that allows them to and a work permit. Some/many do but again, if they get sideways with someone who rats them out or they get caught it's a quick goodbye and never to return. Is it worth the risk? I hate to spoil your party but at least proceed knowing the downside.

Serendipity2


----------



## finy (May 22, 2010)

cheers for getting back to me mate.

yeah i just sort of guessed rates based on the fact that most of the people that would want to be trained would be foriegners earning good money.

i wouldnt think expats would have the money to pay personal training so i never thought of this.

tbh its not about the money, just a way to survive for a while which enables me to keep as much of my savings as possiable. i would be happy to drop it to say 100-150bht if teachers etc would want to be trained.

i dont think thats to bad because even at once a week, i provide individual written programmes and email support

when you mention about the ones just interested in partying. i thought that by training and loosing some fat, building muscle, this would help all the eating and drinking they are doing to their bodys 

i know about the rules regarding working although i think it would be very hard to prove money had changed hands rather than just me helping out a friend

I will try and look into gyms like you said although i cant imagine it would go down well. i wonder if volenteering would work as id be happy to do it for free provided i got free gym access after my shifts

cheers


----------



## Serendipity2 (Feb 22, 2009)

finy, 

There are a lot of foreigners in Thailand and some are working legally. Probably the best place to meet would be Bangkok as I'm sure there are gyms there. I've never seen a gym in Chiang Mai but then again I've not been looking for one either but a quick search on the Internet could well prove me wrong. If there IS a gym in Chiang Mai the next task would be to find out if they have any/many farangs as I don't see a Thai hiring a farang trainer. That said maybe women would hire you but again I doubt many Thais go to the gym as they're too busy working long hours and most look at training as a waste of time and money since most are pretty sleek to begin with. I've not seen many fat Thais but that is changing. Thank you McDonalds!

I don't know that I would call it partying - more like some very serious dissipating. Many come to Thailand and just suck up the suds and stay inebriated for weeks on end. I would think expats would be your best shot but Thailand is a tough place to sell your services since the girls here are not looking for the Muscle Beach look - more a good man who will support them and take care of them. Sadly some of these 'men' are pretty poor specimens who wouldn't know what a gym looked like if their next beer depended upon it. Thailand is one of the ultimate destinations for the practicing hedonist. That said, don't let me put you off in trying to make a few baht. Give it a go but do keep a low profile. 

I just did a Google search and there ARE gyms in Chiang Mai. The two best [according to the site are a gym on top of Rimping Supermarket near Novotel and a gym called Powerhouse. Give them a shot or better - e-mail them and ask if they would be interested in allowing you to train their students. If Bangkok is your destination do a Google search of gyms in Bangkok as well. Good luck with your venture. It sounds too much like work at my age! 

Serendipity2


----------

