TEEP OO2: The Magic of Media

Since I first began moving through the Los Angeles muay thai community Jeff Dojillo has been a present force. Our discussion here delves into the origins of muay thai's presence here on the west coast, and features a detailed account of Jeff's journey through muay thai gyms, trainers and experiences. Including his time at The Boxing Club (San Diego) training with Melchor Menor, Caine Gayle and Artem Sheroshkinbefore turning pro. The legendary Fairtex Gym in San Francisco (now closed) alongside Luis Bio and Ganyao Arunleung. Other key elements in our discussion reach as far as Rajadamnern Stadium in Thailand and we get inside of Galen Okazaki's West Coast Muay Thai brand and collaborating with photographers Marty Rockatansky and Ahren Nunag. Jeff shares very personal and enriching stories about his journey through muay thai via taking us behind the scenes of portraits that he's shot of our favorite muay thai fighters in North America including Kevin Ross, David Huerta and Tiffany Van Soest (pictured below). I hope that you enjoy our conversation as much as I did and please share the articles and spread the word. Muay Thai is here to stay! Here are a few other links that we touched on in the interview which may be of interest to you. | Robot Fight & Fitness | Tetsuya Yamato | USA vs Thailand | Inside The Fight | Mark Beecher | East Los Angeles Youth Center | Adam Rothweiler | Coach Jorge Zerate | Zarate Muay Thai | Dialogue (video teaser) | And here's another interview on Jeff Dojillo at a respected muay thai source My Muay Thai

The best links to keep up with Jeff Dojillo are his website and facebook.com/westcoastmuaythai

In the second half of the podcast I caught up with photographer and muay thai fanatic Erica De León of Vivar Photography. She's a super passionate individual a devoted mother, committed photographer and she trains hard alongside champion muay thai fighters like Ariana 'Pink Lady' Gomez and Selina Flores. In our conversation Erica takes us inside training at Muay Thai Academy of America in North Hollywood, CA. She shares intimate stories of how she found muay thai, photography and became friends with the likes of Ariana Gomez and Troy Fisher (Big Troy of Cali Muay Thai Series). Erica has shot some beautiful images and we discussed a few including one of my favorites in her repertoire entitled The Flying Knee fearturing 11 year old Isaiah "Izzy" Ramirez. Erica is hilarious, honest and inspired. She was truly a joy to speak with and I know there's nothing but more to come as we've just scratched the surface of what lies ahead! I'll look forward to seeing her this month out at the fights ringside capturing the magic that is muay thai in action and ultimately training with her and breaking an honest sweat.

This month's podcast episode comes laced with a fun musical offering from Chicago true-school hip-hop artists The Surge and Sam I Am The MC. Sam I Am is an incredible artist, incredible human being and a die-hard-hip-hop-head! He's an authentic songwriter and producer who prides himself on practicing and preserving the art of freestyle rapping. He and his friends like The Surge produce and host one-off and repeat hip-hop nights around Chicago advocating for and advancing hip-hop; the music and the accompanying culture that they love and respect so dearly. Please enjoy the interviews and the music and above all enjoy this and every moment. Sawaddee krap.

DOWNLOAD "TALKING CRAP" for free right here right now
https://soundcloud.com/samiamthemc/talking-crap-1