Fred Huff

"Fast Freddie" Huff is an American who has fit into the Pattaya "scene" very quickly. Gregarious and colourful, he regales anyone who will listen with wonderful tales of his vibrant past. A past that has covered the aerospace industry, medical laboratories and bars - in some ways a most unexpected background.

Fred was born in Bradford Pennsylvania, the elder son in a well respected medical family, with doctors on both sides of his family, running all the way back to the Civil War. With the expectation of following in the family mould he started a pre-med course at university, while accepting a basketball scholarship.

By this stage a young adult, he took stock of his circumstances and looked at his father’s way of life with the typical doctor’s grind of house calls, emergencies, long hours and no family life and came to the conclusion, "I didn’t want to put in the time and effort. Anyway, I liked playing basketball."

With playing hoops beating the hoopla of medicine, Fred began a B.Sc. degree course at Washington and Jefferson University, only to break it off after two years to enlist in the American Army.

There he managed to get himself an overseas trip to Europe (paid for by Uncle Sam), where he managed to get himself on to the basketball courts, since that was really his first love. However, his career was shortened by a compound fracture of his left forearm, when he got slammed, when he should have dunked!

Returning to the US he took up his university studies again and received his B.Sc. with a major in Business Administration. With these qualifications he returned home to run his father’s medical laboratory, which he did very successfully for a few years.

However, Bradford is a small town and Fred Huff had larger ambitions. Fred wanted to go to California. Pulling up his roots he headed for the sunshine and landed a job as a project administrator in the aerospace industry, involved with the production of the Atlas D series rockets (next stop, Mars)!

With the aerospace industry slowing Fred began looking to where next he could use his talents. One such talent was playing darts, which he used to do in the pub at lunchtimes, so it seemed natural that the next step was to buy into the pub itself. With his own bar he practiced assiduously and became an internationally ranked darts player, even becoming part of an American team playing in the UK.

But remember that Fred had studied business administration and had worked in the field for some years. It did not take him long to see that the money was in selling bars, not in selling beer in the bars. He would take over a bar, build it up and sell it. A simple formula. "One bar in Redondo Beach, California, I sold five times!"

When his father’s health began to fail Fred took the return step back to Bradford to spend some quality time with his father, the man whose work had taken away the quality time Fred had expected when he was a child. This was a rewarding time for both of them, but also an association which saved Fred’s life.

Fred had an acute abdominal condition blow up, but through the skilful and prompt intervention of his father (who assisted at the operation) Fred survived a potentially life threatening condition. He still has the scars today - testimony of his father’s handiwork.

It was twelve years ago that Fred had his first taste of Thailand. Having experienced a plethora of failed marriages in the States (he has two children, one of which returned to the fold to become a doctor), he admits that the initial attraction here was the Thai women. "The women here treat men the way they want to be treated," he said simply. He has matured further since coming to live here and says that the camaraderie he has found with fellow Americans in this city (such as the late Wayne Tischburn) has helped make Pattaya a special place for him, but he is realistic enough to say that you will never get the best of all worlds in just one place.

Although he is financially sound, Fred is not one to do nothing. He has formed a company here to promote his latest project - a pub, guest house and restaurant - the newly opened Paradise Road in Soi Regent Marina, with Hans Teitze (a previous subject of Successfully Yours). "A bar is a place to socialize, not to get drunk. Yes, I’ll have a darts board in here soon."

When I asked Fred Huff if he considered himself to be a success he replied very frankly, "I was not a success as a husband. But success is mental. I believe I am a success in life as I am content with myself. You never measure success financially. Being well liked and well received - that’s success."

His advice to those who follow was exceptionally sage, "Don’t do drugs. I’ve seen too many people ruin their lives. Get the best education you can afford, as education is the key."

When I asked him what lay ahead for Fred Huff he replied, "Well, I could have planned my own life a little better, but the future? Damned if I know. I’m content doing what I’m doing." He went on further to say, "I’d like to think that people will say, ‘You know Fred Huff - he’s not dull’ - that’s what I’d like."

On that score Fred has no worries. Dull is never an adjective that could be used for this witty, twinkling, energetic and likeable man.