John Gray is literally a giant of a man, both in reputation and in personal stature. He’s often affectionately known as ‘Caveman’ for his pioneering work bringing the sport of sea kayaking to the caves, lagoons and ‘hongs’ (sea caves) of Phang Nga Bay.
Alternatively, you’ll hear him described as the ‘Ling Yai’ ‒ literally ‘big monkey’ in Thai. In his prime, he was certainly big (close to two metres tall and over 110 kilos and also rather hairy like a monkey and blessed with incredible strength and dexterity, so the monkey moniker is pretty appropriate.
Many documentaries and films have been made about John’s adventurous exploits and passionate stance on environmental protection. The Discovery Channel, Animal Planet and National Geographic magazine have all come calling at Caveman’s door to promote his larger-than-life personality, amazing kayaking adventures and passionate environmentalism.
I was fortunate enough to meet John very soon after I made Phuket my home in 2005 and experience several sea kayaking adventures with him and his company John Gray Sea Canoe Adventures. We became firm friends and I have been lucky enough to follow John’s fascinating trajectory and experience for the past 20 years, while also experiencing many further adventures together.
John pioneered sea kayaking in the Andaman region, starting his company in 1983, so by 2009 he’d celebrated 25 incredible years pursuing his dual passions of promoting sea kayaking and environmentalism. I set out to use that occasion to write an article not only focusing on his remarkable achievements, but also to try and capture a little of the essence of what made this incredible man tick.
I’d arranged to meet John (always a difficult thing to do as he personifies the word “busy”) one Sunday afternoon at Friendship Beach in southeast Phuket. At the appointed hour John arrived and was immediately welcomed by a barrage of greetings and jokes from the assembled expats and locals. Everybody seemed to know the ‘ling yai’... yes, he’d certainly earned the soubriquet ‘icon’.
In all the years I’d known John, I’d never been able to buy him a beer, so I tried again, but as usual he turned me down. “OK John, that’s as good a place to start as any,” I said. “How come a hulking ex-rugby player like you doesn’t drink beer?”
“I was playing rugby for UCLA when I was studying there on a journalism scholarship and they wanted to move me from wing-forward to second row, because I was putting on weight. I stopped drinking beer then and there and have never gone back.”
This was typical of the man.
Despite his genial, gentle giant persona, John has a will of iron and when he puts his mind to doing something, he gets it done.
John had an amazing childhood being immersed in environmentalism and adventure from an early age.John’s parents met on a Sierra Club outing, and like so many remarkable men John has a remarkable woman standing behind him, in this case his beloved mother.
“My mom was the greatest influence on my life and was truly a visionary. We were a sixth-generation Los Angeles family and I remember when I was about five that our house was the local drop-off for the Audubon Society. It was a menagerie full of birds and other abandoned or damaged animals. Ma would lavish tender care on all the animals and teach us about them at the same time. My love of Nature comes directly from her.”
John’s mother was also a very forward-looking free-thinker with strong egalitarian principles.
“When I was 12, Ma said I was old enough to go ‘religion shopping’. She took me around, Sunday after Sunday, to all of the churches in the neighbourhood. She helped me understand what each religion had to offer and believed, and then left it up to me to decide for myself.”
So what religion is John Gray now 68 years later? Laughing mischievously, he says, “Oh, a bit of a humanist, with a dash of agnostic and a side sauce of Buddhism.”
What drove John’s unrelenting passion for environmental education and conservation, I asked.
“I was blessed with an amazing childhood. I was swimming in the ocean at six months old in 1945, camping in the Sierras by 1949, rehabilitating birds, (1950), living in a village in northern Japan (1953-4), specialising in raptor rehabilitation (1957 to the present). I was SCUBA certified in 1957, and conducted six straight Science Fair marine biology projects (1957-62) and became a Red Cross Lifeguard (1960) ‒ all before I’d even finished high school.
“I was raised to appreciate the marvels of Nature, different cultures, creativity, curiosity, courage and integrity. Selfless service to all living things is everybody’s duty, I think. Why are we blessed with intelligence if not to use it to help the world?”
“Thanks to those early years, I remain in awe of our marvellous planet and the miracle of life. Sharing the fruits of my amazing childhood with visitors to Phuket is my great mission, in the hope that we all realise that we are capable of accomplishing anything we want, just as long as we never forget we are nothing but overgrown monkeys.”
John’s ethos has always been dedicated towards environmental conservation and education, rather money-making. He pioneered such practices as taking all garbage and waste out of the environments his company was showing to visitors and ‘look but don’t touch’ the wondrous ecosystems he was able to open up to thousands of wide-eyed tourists. Sadly, many of the companies which copied his pioneering sea-kayaking tours were not so diligent and protective of the environment that people had come to see, a source of great sadness and disappointment to John.
I last had the pleasure of spending time with John at my 70th birthday party held in Chalong in 2019. He was his usual hulking and unmissable presence, but sadly he was showing some signs of mental deterioration.
Since then, this incredible man has had to step back from the day-to-day running of his pioneering company, but his wife and his many close friends, staff and business associates now manage the company and the fabulous experiences it offers.
John is indeed a Colossus of a man who points the way in which responsible, sustainable tourism could and should be managed. We have a lot to learn from this giant of a man and you will find no better way to honour his passion and legacy than to take a day trip into Phang Nga Bay with John Gray Sea Canoeing Adventures… I’m sure that like myself, you will find it one of the most transcendent experiences you’ve ever had.