STORY 009 — FAIRTEX
FROM A BANGKOK GARMENT FACTORY TO THE CAGE
A Thai textile business that built a fight camp, then a global gear brand.
The Name Before the Gym
Fairtex did not begin with gloves. The name was registered as a trademark in Thailand in 1958, and in 1971 Philip Wong — whose Thai name is romanized as Bunjong Busarakamwongs — established the Fairtex Garments Factory Company Limited, making textiles for the Thai market.
The garment business sold Muay Thai training equipment and Fairtex T-shirts alongside its cloth. The brand was a fight brand before it was a fight camp.
A Gym in Bangkok
In 1975 Wong opened his first gym, in the Suan Phlu neighborhood of central Bangkok. He later moved the camp out of downtown to the Bangplee district on the city's outskirts, giving fighters a training base away from the distractions of the city.
In 1978 Fairtex became a promoter at Lumpinee Stadium, the sport's most prestigious venue. The camp now trained fighters and put them on the cards.
The Stadium Years
The golden-era names carried the camp's name into the ring, as Thai fighters do: Jongsanan "The Woodenman" Fairtex, Bunkerd Fairtex and Nungsiam Fairtex.
Fairtex also opened its doors to foreign fighters, offering training and sponsorship to athletes from abroad. It turned a Thai stable into a place the wider fight world knew by name.
Yodsanklai and a Wider Audience
Yodsanklai Fairtex joined the camp in 2005. In April 2008 he won the final of The Contender Asia, the televised Muay Thai tournament, by decision over the Australian John Wayne Parr.
For many viewers outside Thailand, it was the first time they had seen the Fairtex name on a fighter. A later generation, including Saemapetch Fairtex and Stamp Fairtex, carried it into international promotions.
Pattaya and the World
In 2005 the camp moved to Pattaya with the opening of the Fairtex Training Center and hotel — a fight gym, resort and headquarters in one. The facility added an MMA cage and Brazilian jiu-jitsu coaching, and the gym began producing mixed martial artists as well as nak muay.
Fairtex gyms followed abroad, including in the United States. Through the 1990s the company moved from apparel into its own gloves and equipment, which became the core of the brand. Its gloves have since been produced in co-branded editions with ONE Championship. The company is now headed by Wong's son, Prem Busarabavonwongs.
Fairtex × BEAST
Fairtex released the Fairtex × BEAST Official Movie Collection as licensed merchandise for BEAST, an MMA action drama released in 2026, directed by Tyler Atkins and starring Daniel MacPherson and Russell Crowe, who co-wrote the script. Part of the film was shot at a live ONE Championship event at Impact Arena in Bangkok.
The collection, in Fairtex's words, is "inspired by the raw intensity of MMA, cage combat, and the fight-night atmosphere of BEAST." It comprises a special-edition genuine leather boxing glove built on the BGV1C-Plus, and two Fight Series graphic tees, Fight Arena and Fight Grid.
The Legacy
Fairtex is one of the few names that runs the full line of the sport: a camp that made champions, a promoter at Lumpinee, a factory that makes the gloves, and a brand that now appears on a cinema screen. The tee carries the cage; the name behind it goes back to a garment factory in Bangkok.
Fight Heritage
The story before the piece.
Selected and edited by: Fight Heritage
Pieces from this story
Sources
1. How Fairtex Became The Gold Standard In Martial Arts (ONE Championship) — onefc.com
2. Fairtex Gym (Wikipedia) — en.wikipedia.org
3. Fairtex (Wikipedia) — en.wikipedia.org
4. Fairtex: The Gym and Brand Synonymous with Muay Thai (Asian MMA) — asianmma.com
5. The Contender Asia (Wikipedia) — en.wikipedia.org
6. Fairtex x BEAST Official Movie Collection (Fairtex) — fairtex.com
7. Beast (2026 film) (Wikipedia) — en.wikipedia.org
8. ‘Beast’ Trailer: Russell Crowe & Daniel MacPherson Will Bring Lionsgate’s MMA Comeback Drama To The Cage In April (The Playlist) — theplaylist.net
9. Russell Crowe MMA Film ‘Beast’ Gets Stan Premiere Date (Variety Australia) — au.variety.com
10. ONE Championship Announces Partnership With ‘The Beast In Me’ (ONE Championship) — onefc.com