supporter content only $1 a month
We’ve hit a bit of rough patch, possibly a very rough patch. My fighting and journalism here in Thailand has always relied on my husband Kevin’s income as a consultant, but only last week he lost his biggest client due to corporate downsizing, and we’re faced with truly having to make 8limbs.us self-sustaining. To add to this stress, we have maybe 6 months to figure this out and make it sustainable or face the reality of all of this ending. All this time I’ve also been generously supported by not only by family, fans and friends on Patreon, and by Nak Muay Nation and Onyx MMA in Singapore, who reached out to become official sponsors of 8limbs.us. Everyone combined has lifted me up, and allowed me to keep fighting and writing in this crazy journey and keep content coming for all the various media of 8limbs.
It just so happened that in the last week a few people have also contacted me saying that they have been losing track of just how I’m doing, as a person, and a fighter. I don’t know if you’ve felt this yourself – even though I do post and write a lot, there may be something of me missing that was present before. It seems that with everything that I’m doing some are feeling left out. I hear you. So this is a time for an improvement. Starting today I’m creating Patreon supporter only content for those who have pledged monthly to help me do what I’m doing. For those who are not Patreon supporters, have no fear, I will continue publishing all the same content as before. And I’ll still be filming awesome, monthly hour-long sessions with Muay Thai legends for my sponsor Nak Muay Nation, and the members there. What I’ll be adding is more personal vlogs covering my daily journey, and 15 to 20 minute training videos with audio commentary, to show you more of the things I’m discovering, and also to share some of the lessor known names, but still incredible Krus and ex-fighters, who I work with. The Patreon only content will be a closer look into my journey as a fighter, something extra for the support that makes all my content possible.
here is my little vlog update, talking about the new content (above)
I’m also starting a Closed Facebook Group just for Patreon supporters, which will have all that content too, plus upcoming fight information and other supporter only information. In fact I’ve already added the first of these supporter only training videos, a 30 minute session with the incredible trainer Pi Earn, who is the man responsible behind the fight style of rising Thai Fight star PTT Petchrungruang, a fighter I idolize, and who was a trainer of Rambaa when he was just starting out as a kid. If you’d like to be a part of this community of support and study you can become a Patreon supporter at any level, with a pledge starting at $1 a month. One dollar may not seem like it makes a big impact, but each hand offered raises the whole effort. And at this point I really want to try to actively thank those who are behind me in all of this. Everyone has been supporting me out of the simple value they have felt for what I’m doing. Now I’m trying to give something substantive in thanks to the people who are supporting me, 8limbs.us and the content that everyone can have for free. I’m just about at 150 fights in Thailand so far. It should take me about two more years to get to 200 fights, a landmark measure that hopefully will inspire women to come and fight in Thailand in even greater numbers, and to dream impossible things.
- exclusive long-form training videos with commentary
- more personal vlog updates covering my mental journey
- sharing of finance pictures and logistics
- my upcoming fight schedule & prospective fights
There will be a fair amount of experiment with the closed Facebook Group in the beginning, but I think it’s a great place for my supporters to connect with me and to each other, and for everyone to give feedback on the things they enjoy or find meaningful. It should improve my writing and my videography for everyone. I’ve always wanted Patreon to be a way for me to feel that I am working for my readers, that we are co-creating together. I’ll also appreciate a space where I can speak more freely knowing that everyone in the group is a supporter. The idea really is for Patreon supporters to be able to very easily follow what’s happening with me in all the important ways, without having to wade through a lot of very fine, but still voluminous content and also to get some exclusive in-depth technique for study. Cut to the good stuff.
above, as of writing this we are 73% of the way there to 8limbs.us becoming self supporting
For those who don’t know what Patreon is, it’s a platform that allows supporters to pledge a monthly amount to a creator. In my case I’m creating 4 blog posts a week subscribe for free here, and countless videos and training film. All of that is free and readily available on 8limbs.us. It’s very simple to join Patreon and, once joined, easy to edit your pledge up or down. Once you have become a patron you will be able to see all the Patreon only content posted there (as mentioned, I’ll post it in our Patreon Only Facebook Group too). If you are already a Patreon supporter of mine, look for my message as I’ll be adding you to our Facebook Group. If you haven’t been added please feel free to contact me on Facebook to make sure you don’t miss out. And if you’re not on Facebook (I do still meet these people occasionally!) you can access the content through Patreon.
Again, to everyone who has enjoyed all the free content I’ve put out over the years, this isn’t going to stop. With my husband Kevin joining me, devoting much more time to organizing and editing, I should be able to create even more quality Muay Thai journalism for everyone to enjoy.
A special thanks to Jack from my sponsor Onyx MMA who had a nice long talk with me about this, and inspired me to go in this direction. And to Zaki, my Patreon supporter, who messaged me about wanting to be able to follow me more closely from Patreon itself. I’m excited for what this will bring!
If you’d like to see the history of the Support for me and 8limbs.Us, these are the people who have made this happen
If you prefer to support me in some other way, you can donate through PayPal at sylvie8limbs AT outlook.com
