Tom Birchy: Age, Background, Career, and Thailand Controversy
On the surface, Tom Birchy appears to be your average, internet-based hustler/entrepreneur. But he takes his craft seriously, boasting notable accounts on the most-popular social media platforms, such as TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, Facebook and LinkedIn. And that’s besides Tom having established his own business website, etc.
According to his website, Birchy has “over 5 billion views on social media”. Whereas Tom has managed to attract an admirable following, he doesn’t enjoy a celebrity-like status across the board. His most outstanding channel, as of this writing, is via TikTok, where he has well over half a million followers. But on Instagram, Tom has yet to reach 50k, and his YouTube and Facebook pages are hovering at around 10k subscribers. That said, he has proven on sites like the New York Post and Daily Mail.
WHERE IS TOM BIRCHY FROM?
Tom is Brit, being born in England, with the UK apparently being the country where he spent most of his childhood. As of this writing, he is 26 years old.
Tom’s website implies that he “obtain(ed) a law degree” from the University of Leeds, despite being somewhat of a troubled student earlier in his educational career. More notably, Birchy has firmly embraced an entrepreneurial spirit since his teenage years, venturing into the events’ promotion field.
Later on, in his early 20s, he got into content creation and social media. So besides being an influencer, he has also established himself as somewhat of a music professional, along the lines of being an organizer and DJ. Tom is obviously the type of person who’s able to turn his personal passions into money-making ventures.
TOM LOVES TO TRAVEL
It should also be noted that Birchy is heavily into travel and is involved, professionally, in tourism. His movements are such that he can be in a completely different part of the world from one day to the next.
He’s traveled extensively in his young life, reportedly having been to at least 35 countries thus far. That includes Birchy having visited at least one African nation, that being South Africa, thus far. And in the Western Hemisphere, he’s been to the United States, Mexico and the Caribbean.
But outside of his birth continent, he obviously prefers Asia, having been to Asian nations as diverse as Japan, Myanmar, Qatar and the UAE. And Birchy has a special affinity for Southeast Asian countries, like Singapore and Thailand. In fact, he spent part of his early childhood living in Singapore and as of this writing appears to be a permanent resident there. I’m not totally sure yet though.
TOM BIRCHY IN THAILAND
The country that Birchy has become most notably associated with, even more so than the UK, is Thailand. A couple of years back, while struggling in his homeland of the United Kingdom, Tom decided to relocate to the Land of Smiles. Again, he’s been globetrotting since his youth and was already very much familiar with that part of the world. Furthermore, he rationalized that decision by noting that, amongst other attributes, Thailand is an “easy” country for him to create content in.
THAILAND’S STRICT LAWS
That latter assertion may sound strange to many of us, as Thailand is known for having some of the most stringent laws in the world. For example, many of us already know that some Southeast Asian countries, like Thailand, are amongst the last places on Earth where you want to get busted on a drug offence. Even smoking cigarettes in public can result in a nearly $1,000 fine, besides being incarcerated for three months.
There are also what have been described as “morality laws” in place. These statutes include the likes of being unable to dress anyhow you want in public, as well as prohibitions against adult themed content. That may seem a bit odd, considering that Thailand is well known for adult-oriented tourism, amongst other strong stuff. Ultimately, the situation is such that first-time visitors, especially the likes of Westerners, should definitely read up on what is and isn’t allowed in this country before visiting.
For example, Thailand has a monarchy. And relatedly, there are a set of statutes in place known as lèse-majesté laws which have the reputation of being “the harshest in the world” of these types.
To make a long story short, residents aren’t allowed to or do anything whatsoever that may be considered disrespectful against the royal family, including Thai monarchs who are already dead and gone. What that entails for instance is it basically being illegal to construe comedy based on high-ranking royals. And even “failure to denounce” someone who has committed a lèse-majesté crime can get you in trouble. Needless to say, these laws would be considered draconian by many Westerners, as we are more or less free to criticize our leaders at will.
TOM BIRCHY VS. THAILAND
Birchy, ever the entrepreneur, managed to establish himself well in Thailand. For instance, he set up a business called Knockout Labs which produces the likes of opioid-laced herbal drinks and ca**abis (both of which are more or less legal in the country). He’s also developed a fascination for Thai broccoli and is considered an international expert on that subject.
But if you visit Tom’s social media pages, you’ll see that he’s very much a Westerner. Overtly, there really doesn’t seem to be anything Asian about him. He may have spent a number of years in places like Singapore and Thailand, but he doesn’t come off as someone who was raised in that part of the world.
So as it currently stands, Birchy has found himself in trouble with Thai law enforcement. The full details of his legal woes have not been disclosed. What is public knowledge though is Tom most notably being sued for defamation by one Johnny Velvet, who also happens to be a music-based British expat who prefers living in Thailand.
The implication, from the information that’s floating around, is that the charge Velvet brought against Birchy wouldn’t really be taken seriously if it were levied in another country that isn’t as strict when it comes to what people can and can’t say. Put otherwise, in the West defamation is usually considered a civil offence. But in Thailand, it’s a criminal charge to defame someone, to the tune of potentially landing offenders in jail for a couple of years, besides financial penalties.
MORE THAILAND WOES
Tom also recently found himself in hot water for, in his own words, “punching through a bamboo fence” in Thailand. Again, if you’re reading this from the West, you’re likely thinking ‘what’s the big deal’? Well, the big deal is that he proceeded to be slapped with a two-month bid, though he reportedly got away with only paying a fine.
That being said, Birchy’s legal woes in Thailand, especially in relation to Velvet, have become so pronounced that he was compelled to recently leave the country and relocate to Singapore. This beef has proven beneficial in a way, i.e. generating clicks for both Tom and Johnny. But amongst the downsides are Birchy having to forsake his preferred nation of residence.
Another story that’s circulating on the streets is that Birchy didn’t leave Thailand himself but was rather deported. And that deportation may have something to do with the fence incident just as much as his tiff with Johnny Velvet.
TOM’S CONTROVERSIAL CLAIMS ABOUT THAILAND
After being reportedly “removed” from Thailand, Tom has made it his personal mission to criticize the country at every opportunity. Once a man who described Thailand as “the greatest place on earth”, he now claims he is dedicated to “exposing dark truths” about the nation he previously adored.
In his videos and posts, Tom frequently accuses Thailand of widespread corruption, repeats negative stereotypes about Thai women, and even recently alleged, without evidence, that “30 percent of Thai nightlife working girls have HIV”.
Naturally, many people, both locals and expats, have pushed back against his claims. Critics argue that Tom is not revealing hidden truths at all, but is instead lashing out in bitterness after being kicked out of the country.
@tombirchy 30% of brasses in Thailand have HIV so make sure your old man wraps up on his “golf / fishing trip” #tombirchy
TOM BIRCHY’S HEALTH SCARE
Another notable event in the life of Tom is when he suffered what he described as a heart attack, in England, back in 2022. That calamity managed to make international headlines and generate over 1.5 million views on his TikTok channel. But publicity aside, it proved to be a traumatic experience that left Birchy shook.
In response, medical professionals proceeded to imply that the episode was caused by Tom being a young hard drug user. And on that note, it should also be pointed out that Birchy has developed a reputation of being somewhat of a champion of recreational drug use, though according to some reports he recently quit, cigarettes at least.
WHAT IS TOM BIRCHY UP TO NOW?
Tom Birchy is all over the place, bouncing from country to country at will. And although he may not feel legally safe to be in Thailand, Knockout Labs, which is based in the Thai coastal town of Krabi, remains active.
By the looks of things, Birchy is currently based primarily in Georgia and is heavily engaged in facilitating tourism in Europe. He also remains professionally involved in the music scene. And of course, Tom is heavily active on social media, especially on TikTok, where he has really managed to establish a name for himself.
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