Eric aka Sombat aka Todger – Ladyboy Photographer RIP 6th Sept 2008
Eric aka Somchai aka Sombat aka Todger. You will be missed …
A longtime photographer for Ladyboy Ladyboy and a very Grooby guy, Eric (aka Somchai aka Sombat aka Todger) died on Saturday after a battle with cancer.
Many people knew Eric had been ill with colon cancer and it looked like he had it beaten, his spirits were back up, he’d restarted shooting for the sites (after only a short break) and
when Frank and I saw him in April, he was very excited about his project, LBLB Forum which we were doing together. Only a month later, he called to say he’d been given 6 months to live as the cancer had spread.
His wife was with him throughout his whole illness and when he died.
A Brummie by birth, most would have taken him for almost a Geordie … having lived and worked in the North East of England for most of his life, he talked and looked the part. He’d been coming to Thailand
for many years, eventually settling in Pattaya area where he was well known among the ladyboys and the girls.
Eric first started working for us in June 2003, shooting many natural type Pattaya ladyboys and frequenting the bars that many members had never heard of. His work grew better
as his eagerness to improve his photography (and pornography) skills grew and he has produced some of the most memorable shots and models on Ladyboy Ladyboy over the past 5 years.
Eric and I spend more time together over the last 3 yrs, he was an integral part of any Grooby trip to Thailand using his knowledge of the local scene to get us around the town. He was in turns infuriating, drunk, embarressing and lecherous – but also generous, jovial and
gentleman-like. I think most of his friends would agree, Eric was not the best drunk and often a figure of controversy in the local bar and ex-pat scene.
The transsexual porn world has lost one of it’s true characters. The ladyboys of Pattaya one of their main benefactors. Grooby has lost a great photographer and contributor and fans and travelers to Pattaya will miss his
regular reports on the scene there as well has his generous pointers on where to meet specific ladyboys.
I’ve lost a friend and a fellow ladyboy afficionado. Keep on rocking, Eric!
A selection of Eric’s work over the years…