What Kind Of Experiences Does Sutai Experiences Offer?
January 4, 2021
The owners of Sutai Experiences, Amy, Nando, and Shaun have been friends for years. Nando being Phuket’s leading BJJ coach was a coach to Shaun’s son Lucus and Amy owning the best Muay Thai Gym for kids in Phuket meant that Shaun was regularly visiting Sutai Muay Thai for BJJ and Muay Thai training for his son Lucus.
Over time the friendship between these 3 owners grew and expanded beyond a client relationship into one of friendship with regular dinners and outings where Lucus could play with Amy and Nando’s son Hunter.
During the Covid 19 Pandemic, it was important for ex-pats to have a strong friendship network, people you could turn to if you were having a hard time. Amy, Nando, and Shaun further developed their relationship as they shared frustrations about the lockdown and also encouraged each other to stay strong.
Then in the middle of Phuket’s Hard Lock Down (probably what the world would call a Stage 5 Lock Down) Amy, Nando, and Shaun saw how much the local communities around them were suffering. Through the financial funding of Shaun’s company 5 Star Marine Amy, Nando and Shaun joined together to establish a Privately Funded Food Donation program helping people from Bangtao to Kata, Koh Sirey to Leam Sai, and beyond.
This Privately Funded Donation Program is now the longest-running and largest donation program in all of Phuket. Spending hours together packing rice, dry food, and supplies and then delivering them to the local communities gave Amy, Nando, and Shaun plenty of time to talk about ways to help each other’s local businesses move through this crisis.
It’s at this time that the conversation turned to discuss how we could private affordable, yes service orientated Small Group Tours to the local ex-pat and domestic tourism market. All of us had experienced the overcrowded boats, disinterested crews and poorly maintained boat group tours before and wanted to offer something different.
While some ex-pats could afford to rent a private boat, there were a number of ex-pats who were single or without kids making the cost of a private boat too expensive. So it was decided between Amy, Nando, and Shaun that they should set up Sutai Experiences to provide affordable VIP Small Group Tours.
Since the establishment of the Experiences, the local community has really supported the program and we are proud today to be running a variety of programs on a monthly basis.
Shaun Stenning
Shaun is the Co-Owner and Founder of 5 Star Marine Phuket. After visiting Phuket for a holiday he never left and over 13 years later he calls Phuket home with his wife and kids. Shaun is passionate about Phuket and the Islands surrounding Phuket and loves helping fellow travellers explore.
