"If a gay Asian can survive in the country, anyone can," says former city-slicker Thai Pham. It's the personal motto he's adopted since making a tree-change to the Upper Hunter's regional town of Murrurundi last year.
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The 32-year-old former Sydney pharmacist left the bright lights for greener pastures, seeking to purchase his own pharmacy in a rural community. When that opportunity presented itself in Murrurundi, a four-hour drive north-west of Sydney, Thai embraced the chance to try life in the country ... and it's been a "blast" ever since.
He moved into the only rental available in the town of 1040 people, befriended Lizzie, the lizard living in his laundry, and slowly tried to overcome his fears of creepy crawlies.
The youngest of five children, and the last to leave home, Thai was named after the Thailand refugee camp where he was born. His family escaped the Vietnam War and communist rule via a boat to Thailand where he spent his infant years in a refugee camp.
"I always tell everyone I'm Thai from Thailand because I was born there, and it throws them off because I've got a Western-Sydney Bankstown accent," he said.
Together with his family they moved to Australia when he was four and he began his life in Bankstown. Fast forward a few years, he graduated from Sydney University as a pharmacist and worked in various pharmacies for eight years.
"I knew my calling was to be of service to the community. I loved working in pharmacy because I felt a sense of purpose, to serve, assist, and give back to this amazing country that gave my family a chance at a better life," Thai said.
I don't explicitly say it, but everyone knows, it's like this gay Asian from Sydney settling in Murrurundi and people just take me as I am...
- Thai Pham
More than just the local pharmacist though, Thai has reinvigorated the local tennis scene, bringing to the courts his own brand of fun and flair.
"My favourite player is Serena Williams, so I've always called myself, the 'Serena Williams of Bankstown'," Thai said about his tennis days in Sydney.
"I understand the town was desperately hoping I would be the new Asian chef, much to their disappointment, I was eager to play tennis and get a tournament up and running," Thai said.
With only about two or three regular players in the local Murrurundi Tennis Club, Thai knew he wanted to get a competition going and try to attract more locals back to the courts.
"I love tennis, I think it's such a great sport to involve everyone from different ages, old and young and different ability levels as well," Thai said.
"It's competitive, but it's also social, so I wanted to have a social event that was also competitive, because hearing everyone in town, they used to play but then stopped and I think that's a bit unfortunate."
And so, excited to get his Sydney friends together with the locals for a competitive hit, the Murrurundi Easter Double Trouble Tournament was born in 2022.
My favourite player is Serena Williams, so I've always call myself, the 'Serena Williams of Bankstown.
- Thai Pham
Thai was interested to see what kind of tennis skills the locals had up their sleeve. But when one such local turned up the to comp wearing a pair of thongs, Thai was quietly confident the win would be his own.
"The afternoon started with me running around like a headless chicken, scribbling names, pairing up tennis partners to make it fair, all the while thinking, yeah I'm gonna win this $100 gift voucher that I donated (as a tax write off mind you)," Thai said.
"But then along rocks up a gentleman in a ute. He enters the arena in a pair of thongs and I think, well I'll probably bagel him 6-0 and hand him a chocolate Easter egg for his participation.
"Then the amazing tennis started. My friends were playing their sassy brand of tennis.
"We had Leonie Ford tumbling twice and recover like she was Sylvester Stalone's stunt double on the set of Rocky VII Revenge of the Nurse, Allen Barber cheering loudly (for the wrong team), Jeremy Taylor smashing down serves like the Avengers Thor and his hammer, Stan Smedley slicing and dicing like he's a chef at some Chinese restaurant and then there's me, threatening my opponents by withholding their medicines and closing the pharmacy if I don't bloody win this tournament," Thai reminisces of the Easter match.
"Out comes Bart Bryce, the assassin, slowly knocking down his opponents one by one. His lefty Nadal serve and deathly drop shops made my partner Gilliane Avard run, which is the funniest thing to see when she's already had a glass of wine and could barely run straight anyway.
"Suffice to say, Bart Bryce and Toni Ryan win the whole thing. My biggest lesson is to be wary of guys rocking up to tennis in flip flops because they will school you. I ended up eating that participation Easter egg," Thai said.
Thai's latest comp was held on Australia Day this year where he took to the courts seeking redemption. He came close to beating his nemesis and local tennis legend that is Bart Bryce.
With two competitions under his belt, Thai is planning for more. He has also established social hits on Thursday nights from 6.30pm at the Murrurundi courts for any locals keen to pick up a racket; and with the help of the community hopes to expand into tennis lessons and open up opportunities for locals to learn the game.
Thai's love of tennis has inspired many locals to come back to the courts, including former tennis player Mark Middleton, who alongside his wife Christine took the competitive tennis scene by storm in New Zealand in the 1980s.
Mark admired the energy Thai had brought back into the club and was hoping to use the momentum to increase tennis opportunities for the local Murrurundi youth through partnership programs with Tennis Australia.
He said he just needs a big name in tennis to help the small club get the ball rolling.
"The whole thing is about getting kids out there to enjoy the game," Mark said. "The new programs available to young kids coming through tennis are fantastic, so together with Thai's energy and double-handed back hand, it should be a good combination to encourage newcomers to try the sport."
Meanwhile, Thai said he was excited for the future of tennis in the little town where he has been so warmly welcomed.
With World Pride celebrations taking place over the coming weeks, Thai said it was something special to be embraced by the Murrurundi community for who he was.
"It's honestly been amazing. I don't explicitly say it, but everyone knows, it's like this gay Asian from Sydney settling in Murrurundi and people just take me as I am and it's fun because everyone just jokes along and they're like, god this guy is a bit quirky, but it's been good. It's been really, really good," Thai said.
"I've been introducing myself as Thai from Thailand, but one day I hope I'll be Thai from Murrurundi."
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