Nathan Bartling, aka "My Mate Nate", is a hero to some and a low-life to many. The Mormon missionary-turned-local-YouTube star has been plastered all over the news this week once again -- finding himself on the end of public outrage after his latest stunt of trying to flatten coins on Bangkok's railroad tracks. The whole event may seem like an overreaction, but this hasn't been the first time that the 24-year-old American has angered locals and expats due to his juvenile stunts.
The first strike came late last year when Bartling, who has around 3.3 million subscribers on YouTube, unintentionally mocked local teens by asking strange and rude questions in English to illustrate the lack of English education in Thailand. The second strike came only last month when he pitted his two cats against a scorpion, raising concerns about animal abuse. And with his insincere apologies and the continuation of creating eyebrow-raising content, the last strike came, and people have had enough. More than 67,000 people have signed an online petition on Change.org to revoke Bartling's visa and to ban him from ever entering the country again.
Bartling's rise to fame was quick, and it may end even quicker. He's a textbook example of what not to do as a guest in a foreign country, especially when he has enough fame to influence the young. But one rotten apple does not spoil the whole barrel, and Life talked to a few well respected and influential foreigners about the ups and downs of fame in Thailand.
Andrew Biggs. Photo courtesy of Andrew Biggs
Andrew Biggs
The original celebrity-status foreigner in Thailand, Australian-born Andrew Biggs came to Thailand in 1989 for a two-day stopover before a journalism job in London but never left. He quickly established himself as a journalist, publisher and TV and radio host. His radio talk show Talk Of The Town pushed him to the forefront of English language teaching. Known for his great sense of humour and easy-to-digest material, he's often lauded for his mastery of the Thai language, where in 2011 he was appointed by the Ministry of Culture to the position of Thai Spoken Language Ambassador.
How did you get Thais to accept you and your work and when did you really start taking off?
I never made a conscious effort to get Thais to accept me and my work. I think it just evolved. I started doing TV, radio and newspaper columns in the mid-1990s and people started asking, 'Who is this bald farang with the opinions?'. My first brush with fame was doing a 15-minute Learn English TV show that was broadcast on the Bangkok micro-buses. It was a captive audience -- they couldn't escape me until they got to their bus stop!
What are the pros and cons of being famous in Thailand?
It opens doors. You get to meet a lot of movers and shakers. And taxi drivers tend not to rip you off. The only con I can think of is that people are always watching you. I can't get drunk and dance with a lampshade on my head in a public place (which, come to think of it, is probably a pro).
Have you faced any prejudice? If so, could you give some examples?
There are a lot of people out there who have never met me who seem to know all about me. A lot of other foreign residents in Thailand seem to resent the idea I am bald. And well-known. I guess if I wanted to feel loved, all I'd have to do is grow my hair out and become a hermit.
What are the disadvantages of famous foreigners after incidents like My Mate Nate?
I'm a busy man. I don't have time to follow such news.
Even if you don't follow the news about him, what are the advantages and disadvantages of social media and does it make it too easy for people like him to become famous?
The barriers are down. There are no longer television stations, radio stations and newspapers to filter out mass communication riff-raff. That's not to say everybody who sets up a YouTube channel is going to be a star. You have to 'click' with the general public, and the general public is very fickle.
In the late 1960s, Andy Warhol once said everybody was famous for 15 minutes. In 2017, it's now down to about 30 seconds. I would warn against anybody who goes onto social media with the express purpose of being 'famous'.
Todd Lavelle. Photo courtesy of Todd Lavelle
Todd Lavelle, aka Todd Tongdee
Many Thais may know Todd Lavelle better as Todd Tongdee -- the multi-talented American singer, songwriter, producer, musician and the host of famous cultural variety TV show Khun Phra Chuay. First coming to Thailand on a Fullbright Scholarship to prepare for medical school, Lavelle's life kept getting sidetracked to get to where he is today. From catching the ear of Thai folk-rock band Caravan after performing in a bar one night, to working among the border-wars in Myanmar with the UN Refugee Agency, Lavelle made it his focus to help and bring people together through the common language of music. Lavelle now has his own company, Lavelle Entertainment, which has created countless live performances, TV shows and festivals like Rhythm of the Earth, which he describes as "a borderless celebration of the human race".
How did you get Thais to accept you?
I don't think I was hoping for Thai people to accept me, but I wanted to work and create respect for Thai culture and people and show respect to myself and my own culture. I think my innate respect showed and we got along. And I saw how respect can be a real bridge in cultures.
What are the pros of being famous in Thailand?
In a given day and a given month, I can be famous, and then unknown, and that's OK with me either way, because I still have me. But the beauty of being known is it allows me to do so many things that I believe in.
Have you faced any prejudice?
I think I've been lucky because I've known prejudice since I was a little boy. My family was an open family. My parents took in young people to sing, dance and to create together. People who didn't understand us called us hippies and prostitutes and many bad things from the time I was a child. My father taught me that the only real boss was in the mirror. I had to be true to myself.
Living in Thailand, I've been called many things. Just being called farang is often not a nice word -- it's a general term that isn't respectful of our own uniqueness. In the music field doing my music, I've had people say I shouldn't use Thai instruments or I shouldn't tell stories of Thailand because I'm not Thai. But the fact is I've never tried to be Thai. I've never tried to be anything but myself. So the prejudices, I've often seen as weaknesses on other people's parts, because I'm excited to collaborate all the time. And I find that people are OK with themselves, people that are looking to create and are active often don't have time to be prejudiced or to think silly thoughts.
What are your opinions on what's happening with My Mate Nate? Is social media making it too easy for people like him to become famous?
I don't know much about My Mate Nate. But if this foreigner has been disrespectful to Thai people, I'm sorry. He's not my cousin -- we're a different species, and I just want to work.
From what I hear, it's rather petty so I'm not very interested to be honest. There are better subjects to give our time to because there are some foreigners and just people in general that are doing some great things that should be celebrated.
Nobody's perfect, nobody's all bad. Social media people thrive on controversy, so I would imagine he knew what he was doing if it was something negative, and it's people's jobs to come out and say what they think about something offensive or what they think is dangerous.
That's good. Maybe it's social media at work there in the sense that someone is presenting something, other people are commenting on it, and if it all works well, we get what I call the 'creative average'. The creative average is when we allow people to create and we comment, and if they are respectful and try to take more people's feelings into mind, then you get something even more creative.
Adam Bradshaw. Photo courtesy of Adam Bradshaw
Adam Bradshaw aka Ajarn Adam
The go-to English teacher for teens and young adults, thanks to his extensive knowledge and understanding of Thai local slang, American Adam Bradshaw is known for his enthusiastic demeanour, sense of humour and easy-to-follow education shows. He first came to Thailand in 2006 as a missionary (the same programme as Bartling's), and then later on an internship with King Prajadhipok's Institute. After graduating from the University of Utah, he taught at Maejo University in Chiang Mai and decided to go rogue. Using social media like YouTube, Facebook and Twitter to teach English, he was quickly picked up by local Thai TV programmes for educational shows. Bradshaw now hosts countless educational TV shows and owns his own English language institute -- Hollywood Learning Center.
How did you get Thais to accept you and your work?
I think they see my determination, my sincerity and they see that I work hard and that I'm doing a good thing for Thai people. They see that I'm not trying to make clips to make waves. I'm just trying to help Thai people with their English and over the years as I've done that I just picked up more and more followers and viewers and I just keep going.
What are the pros and cons of being famous?
It's a pro that people admire my work and that I can be a good example to Thai people in language learning -- the fact that it's possible to get to a fluent level in your second language. When you really put your full effort towards it, it's very possible to get fluent and almost near native if you really put your mind to it. Con, I guess sometimes you want to go out and not be recognised [laughs]. I don't see a whole lot of cons. I think it's a good thing as long as you're using your fame in a good way.
What are the disadvantages for people like you after incidents like My Mate Nate? Does it affect you?
Yeah, it does, because there are some people that will stereotype all foreigners in the same mould, basically. They see a white guy and they think, 'Oh, all farangs are like this'. There's definitely that over generalisation that happens in not just Thai society, but in all societies. I don't want to over generalise myself. It's hypocritical. But there are some people that do over generalise and that's definitely sad for foreigners in Thailand, because we're compared to people like Nate.
You're one of the few people who came out and joked about the whole situation. What do you feel about what he's doing in Thailand?
I think he's made some pretty good clips about tourism in Thailand. He does a great job with his editing and his drone footage -- you gotta give it to him there. But his social experiments, some of them have gone overboard and have been disrespectful of Thai culture.
My nieces and nephews who are in elementary school are the ones that watch him. They idolise him. I think he should be a better example to his fan club and understand that he's got a big influence among young Thais.
Do you think social media makes it too easy for people like him to become get famous?
I like social media because it helped me. And it still helps me to this day to run my business. I don't know if I would have ever become who I am today without social media because I started out on YouTube as well and got TV shows from that. But I think we should use social media wisely [laughs].
I understand that I'm a visitor in the country and I'm going to be respectful of the laws and what's going on here. I can make comments but I don't want to piss people off [laughs]. I want to live in harmony with Thai people. I found that having lived in harmony with Thai people for 11 years, it's been great. I've been very happy, I have a great family, and I have a great set-up here in Thailand. I'm grateful for my opportunity to be a teacher and to be kind of a public figure. I don't want to take it for granted. It comes down to the fact that I really love it here and I don't want to mess that up.
