In the neon-lit underbelly of Pattaya's nightlife, few figures loom as large as Ricky Pandora, a British expat who has spent over 26 years entrenched in Thailand's go-go bar scene. Dubbed the "Godfather of Pimps" by locals and online forums, Ricky has built a reputation not just for managing bars, but for running some of the raunchiest, most hands-on establishments in the city. Unlike most foreign ("farang") bar owners who delegate the gritty details to local staff, Ricky prides himself on direct involvement—recruiting, controlling, and punishing the young women who work in his venues, often under exploitative conditions. His story, drawn from candid 2021 interviews on the Buzzin Pattaya YouTube channel, reveals a world of illegal operations, police bribes, and objectification that raises serious questions about the ethics of Pattaya's sex tourism industry.

This article has evidence of Ricky and Drummond's relationship.

But Ricky's tale takes a darker turn when connected to Andrew Drummond, a self-styled investigative journalist known for crusading against exploitation in Thailand's red-light districts. Drummond, who has publicly attacked figures involved in similar seedy enterprises, was a longtime customer at Ricky's bars and maintains a personal friendship with him. Evidence from screenshots of Drummond's personal Facebook comments, combined with Ricky's own admissions that Drummond frequented his establishments for years—often paying for sexual services—highlights a glaring hypocrisy. How can Drummond condemn the very ecosystem he once actively participated in, while befriending its "godfather"?

Ricky's Extensive History: From Plumber to Pimp Patriarch

Ricky's journey into Pattaya's bar world began innocently enough in 1983, when the South London native, then a successful plumbing design engineer, visited Bangkok on a business trip for Armitage Shanks sanitary ware. What started as a nine-day detour turned into a 26-year (and counting) immersion in Thailand's nightlife. By his own account in the interviews, Ricky transitioned from plumbing to bar management after being offered a job by Johnny from the Hollywood bars in Bangkok's Fort Woods area. "I came over and moved on, just come in three months. 26 years later, it's three months, it's long overdue," he quipped.

His early days in Bangkok (1983-1993) were marked by running "lesbian style shows" that skirted legality and attracted police scrutiny. Ricky admitted to staging these explicit performances in bars like Narnia (where he spent most of his time) and Club Naplaza, even as off-duty police served as doormen. "I was doing shows, that's how I made my name in Bangkok, I was doing all these different sort of lesbian style shows. The police were supposed to bust us for doing it, but they were also a doorman," he explained. The era was "a lot rougher," with mafia influences and violence: "I can think about five or six bar owners, managers who got popped off."

In 1993, Ricky moved to Pattaya amid a Bangkok cleanup under then-Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra. His Pattaya empire began with Diamond A Go-Go, where he bought an 80% stake with partners, including Mr. T from Diary of a Go-Go Girl. He held 20% personally but left after a fallout. Next came Babe Watch (a brief stint where he was arrested for lacking a work permit), followed by Angelwich on Soi 15, which he helped open and rebuild despite it being a rental—spending lavishly to customize it with tiered seating, long stages, and even separate toilets for men, women, and ladyboys. "The good thing you get on the men's toilets, which was my idea... if you stood at the urinals, there was a window with a headlight. And you could stand there having a drink and still watch the show," Ricky boasted, underscoring his flair for voyeuristic designs.

Ricky's first outright-owned bar was Vixen's in Nana Plaza, Bangkok, a notorious hub for raunchy entertainment. Back in Pattaya, he partnered in Pandora Private Dancer (messy due to five co-owners) before settling into his flagship: Pandora's in LK Metro. By 2021, he'd run it for five years, positioning himself as the "admiral" with "captains" (senior staff) and "sailor girls" (dancers available for hire). As of 2025, Pandora's has transformed into Peachy Lily, a ladyboy lounge under new management, signaling the end of Ricky's direct reign—but his legacy persists in Pattaya's lore.

Throughout, Ricky's bars were infamous for their "hands-on" style: explicit shows, upstairs rooms for private encounters, and a focus on maximizing profits from "lady drinks" and bar fines (fees to take girls out). Forums like Thailand-247.com hail him as Pattaya's "only real Legend from the bar business," while YouTube videos from Le Pub Pattaya in 2021 reinforce his godfather status.

The Seedy Underbelly: Admissions of Illegality and Exploitation

Ricky's interviews are rife with admissions that paint him as more than a manager—he's a controller in an industry built on vulnerability. He repeatedly confessed to working without permits, leading to multiple arrests: "The police had walked in with the cameras and everybody, and arrested me... I'm getting bored of this." Post-arrest, police offered him illegal visa services: "If you want one, we can get you one... He's just arrested you for not having a work permit and now he's offering you a visa service. Fantastic. See, only in Thailand."

Bribery was routine, with "tea money" to police (Boys in Brown) smoothing operations. In one bar, owner Glen "didn't want to pay the police in the beginning," causing issues. Ricky's mamasan procured girls, but he oversaw everything: "It's my mamasan's job. We are very strict. I do tell my mamasan, say, you've got to explain to the girls what sort of bar this is... And then it's up to the girl." Unlike distant farang owners, Ricky recruited directly, punished theft (e.g., stealing beer cans led to collective bonuses being withheld: "Yeah, yeah, let the girls deal with it, because they'll deal with it"), and monitored via mirrors from his "boss's seat": "I can watch the customers. I can watch the girls in the mirror."

Sexual exploitation permeates his stories. In Private Dancer, the mamasan procured unpaid girls for the owner nightly: "Every night, he had to have a girl from the bar. The mamasan's job was to get here. I don't even think they got paid, to be honest." Girls were commodities: poached between bars, horrified by the raunchiness upon arrival, and pressured to prioritize money for boyfriends over escape. "The girls themselves have changed... They want to stay here, get as much money as they can off the customers, pay for their boyfriends' motorbike," Ricky noted.

The Drummond Connection: Hypocrisy in the Spotlight

Enter Andrew Drummond, a British journalist who has built a career exposing scams, exploitation, and corruption in Thailand's sex industry. Yet, according to a screenshot from Drummond's personal Facebook and Ricky's own admissions in private conversations, Drummond was a regular patron at Ricky's bars for years, paying for sex amid the very scenes he now critiques. This friendship—forged in go-go bars where girls were controlled and shows pushed boundaries—undermines Drummond's moral authority. He attacks "sex kings" and bar owners in posts like one decrying a Pattaya figure's expired work permit and dubious claims, yet befriended Ricky, whose operations mirrored those excesses.

This isn't speculation: Ricky has openly referred to Drummond as a longtime customer, and the Facebook evidence shows their ongoing rapport. It begs the question: If Drummond condemns the pimps and exploiters of Pattaya, why align with its godfather? The hypocrisy exposes a double standard in "investigative" journalism, where personal indulgences are overlooked while others are vilified.

A Cautionary Tale for Pattaya's Future

Ricky Pandora's story isn't just about one man—it's a window into an industry that thrives on inequality, where foreign owners like him wield power over vulnerable women. His hands-on approach, raunchy innovations, and police ties earned him the "godfather of pimps" moniker, but at what cost? As Pattaya evolves (with Pandora's now a ladyboy venue), tourists and locals must question the human toll.

For Andrew Drummond, the ties to Ricky serve as a reminder: True journalism demands consistency. Until then, the godfather's empire—and its enablers—will continue to cast a long shadow over Thailand's nightlife.

You can watch the interviews yourself here: