Sponsored by local Thai entrepreneurs, a German foreigner decided to race 1,800km across Thailand by motorcycle. The race is set to start on April 3rd at 3pm, aiming to bring attention to the small businesses along Thailand’s frontiers and how they have been weathering the Covid-19 pandemic.
The starting line is in Arunothai, a vibrant Chinese village straddling the Thai-Burmese border in Chiang Dao district. Then the race will continue non-stop via: Chiang Mai, Tak, Nakhon Sawan, Bangkok, Surat Tani and Songkhla to the Wang Prachan check-point with Malaysia. Konstantin, the driver, will pilot a 125cc Honda Sonic, one of the legendary bikes raced by Thai youths and loved by professional tuners.
Konstantin Zwissler was born in 1991 as a German citizen but was raised in Shanghai, China. At the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, he found himself in Chiang Dao which has since become his home. He currently is promoting local businesses around Chiang Dao and how they have recently adapted during this pandemic and how they are helping rebuild the environment around them. With one of the main movements called the Pao Fan Tong Tribe which aims at buying back land around Chiang Dao that has previously been taken by the jungle. With the help of different projects such as ‘The Double Dick Tiger Festival’ and ‘Dek Doi Racing, Formula Fuck You’, profits made from these projects go directly to the Pao Fan Tong Tribe movement buying up as much land as possible and simply leaving it for the jungle to grow back. On Saturday April 3rd Konstantin will be racing down to the Malaysian border in order to promote, build awareness and advertise projects in Chiang Dao and any proceeds made will be going straight to re-growing the jungle back.
Konstantin believes that: “Out here in the Thai countryside, many small businesses are incredibly creative, at a level which is world class. More people should hear about them. The local coffee roaster, the craft brewer, the car repair pros, they all are adding so much to our happiness every day.” To thank his friends and promote their businesses, Konstatin will be wearing a t-shirt bearing all their businesses’ logos as he races from border to border across Thailand.
To share the event organisers will livestream the entire race via the Instagram account @kz.thailand starting at 3pm on April 3rd. They are inviting everyone to send a message with a best guess estimate of how long it will take to reach the finish line. The three most accurate guesses will be rewarded with racing T-shirts bearing the sponsors’ logos.
