James Goyder - Journalism

I had my first article, a poem about a football, published when I was 11 years old. It was another 15 years before I took up journalism again, deciding to take the NCTJ course in newspaper journalism immediately after completing a BA in English and Creative Writing.

While I was studying for the NCTJ I had articles published in numerous local newspapers including the Kent & Sussex Courier, Petersfield Post, Sussex Express, Brighton Argus, Mid Sussex Times and Worthing Today. After completing the course in 2007 I headed to South East Asia with the intention of spending a few months back packing. I started off in Phuket, intending to spend a month learning Muay Thai, and ended up spending the next three years there.

My first major employer was Kinnaree Media who used me as a writer for a number of their magazines including Tropical Living in Thailand and Director (Thailand). I also worked as a sub editor for all the Kinnaree Media publications for around six months. During my time in Phuket I had articles published in a number of magazines including Phuket Magazine, Property Report, Shop Window On Lifestyle, Thailand Tatler and Phuket Tatler.

I had always wanted to be a sports journalist and in 2008 the opportunity arrived when I was approached by by the Phuket Gazette and appointed Chief Sports Reporter. This was a fantastic experience and I was also able to break a number of major non sporting stories, largely thanks to the network of contacts I developed in Phuket.

During my time at the Phuket Gazette I got to interview a number of famous sporting figures such as Peter Reid, Roberto Di Matteo, Michael Katsidis and Trevor Chapell. I also covered a huge array of sport ranging from children's rugby and football to major international football matches and the women's volleyball world tour.

In March 2009 I became frustrated by the Gazette's reluctance to cover Muay Thai. I decided to produce my own publication to cover the burgeoning Muay Thai scene in Phuket and so in early 2009 Muay Thai Phuket magazine was born. I distributed the magazine free of charge, taking it to Muay Thai gyms and standing outside stadiums and handing it out.

I stopped producing Muay Thai Phuket Magazine when I moved to Bangkok in 2010 but in just over a year the magazine carried interviews with the most famous Muay Thai fighters on the planet such as Saenchai Sor Kingstar, John Wayne Parr, Buakaw Por Pramuk, Yodsaenklai Fairtex, Ramazan Ramanov and Jomhod Kiatadisak.

I also covered mixed martial arts and published interviews with a number of world renowned MMA stars such as Roger Huerta, Phil Baroni, Mike Swick and Elvis Sinosic.

Although I remain a Muay Thai fan to this day, and have had a handful of professional fights, I realized that there was very little interest in the sport outside of Thailand and decided to focus my efforts more on MMA. I set up South East Asian MMA, the only website specifically for MMA in the region. While spending a few days at ESPN Star in Singapore I was introduced to Victor Cui, the man behind ESPN Star's new MMA show Martial Combat. I began working for Martial Combat in a PR capacity, a job I have held to this day.

During this period my horizons began to expand beyong Phuket and I began to write more for the national and international media. My articles have appeared on a number of websites, magazines and newspapers including The Guardian, The Observer, The Mirror, The Sun, The Bangkok Post, Aftonbladet, Manila Standard Today, The Nation, NBC, CNN, Sky News, 90soccer, Goal.com, Fox Sports, ESPN Star Sports, Soccerphile, Bloody Elbow, MMA Mania, World Soccer Magazine, Five Ounces of Pain and Bleacher Report.

I have covered a number of major stories in Thailand including the murder of US Marine DaShawn Longfellow in Phuket, the arrest of the 'Beermat Bandit' in Phuket, the red shirt and yellow shirt protests in Bangkok and the fighting on the Cambodian border in both the Kantharalak and Surin regions.

On both the ocassions that fighting has broken out between Thailand and Cambodia in 2011 I have been the first Western journalist on the scene, keeping the world up to date with the latest developments via Twitter and my blog, as well as through supplying photographs, copy and interviews to the international news agencies.

I am currently based in Bangkok.