How to build a Porsche community: Das Treffen founder Tenn Xoomsai’s advice
The story of how one Porsche fan turned his love for the brand into a thriving community
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Das Treffen began with a handful of Porsche owners meeting for coffee and Sunday drives in Bangkok. Nearly 20 years later, founder Tenn Xoomsai explains how that small group grew into one of Asia’s biggest Porsche events – and shares his advice for anyone hoping to start a Porsche community of their own
Fast facts: how to build a Porsche community with Das Treffen’s Tenn Xoomsai• Das Treffen is an independent Porsche community and annual event in Bangkok, Thailand• It was founded by Thai film director and Porsche enthusiast Tenn Xoomsai• The community began almost 20 years ago with a small group of Porsche owners meeting for coffee and Sunday drives• The first Das Treffen event gathered around 150 cars; the most recent event brought together around 750 Porsche cars• Tenn’s advice for starting a Porsche community is to start small, stay open-minded, make people feel welcome, listen to their stories and avoid letting the pressure take the fun out of it All over the world, Porsche inspires passionate fandom. And for many fans and owners, that leads to seeking out ways to engage with people who also share that passion, whether its official Porsche clubs or unofficial communities, online groups or just meeting up to drink coffee and talk cars.Almost 20 years ago, Tenn Xoomsai, a Bangkok-based film director, decided to elevate his ownership experience by gathering together Porsche owners in Thailand who were just like him. What began as a small get together heading out on road trips into the countryside outside Bangkok has snowballed into a phenomenon, highlighted by an annual event that’s one of the biggest in Asia.Here, Tenn tells his story and offers up some tips and advice on how you can set up your own.Tenn Xoomsai, founder of Das Treffen, has seen his Thailand-based Porsche community grow to encompass one of the biggest Porsche events in Asia Photo: PorscheHow did your passion for Porsche begin, Tenn?“It started with my dad, who was a photographer by trade. He had a different take on cars, so I came at it from that angle. Most people were interested in sports cars in Thailand but my dad loved big American cars, vans and station wagons. Cars that were perfect for hauling his stuff around in. “I remember us going on long road trips on vacations and him explaining about the cars we’d see. And that built up my fondness for cars in general. Growing up in the 1980s I had posters on my wall and that included the 911. I couldn’t explain why I was attracted to it at the time. We didn’t have one and I never sat in one as a child, but the Porsche design language talked to me. From there I started reading about them in US car magazines. It was something that I could talk about with my friends, discussing which cars we wanted to buy.”What was your first Porsche?“I had this inner drive that one day I would have a Porsche. When my work as a film director started picking up, I was working with a friend who was a composer of music for films and he turned up one day in a type 964 911. I asked him how he could afford it and he just said to me, ‘You probably can too’.“I told him that yes, I probably could – but I wouldn’t be able to eat! But it gave me a kick in my backside that, if I was financially responsible, I could own one some day. And about 20 years ago, that happened when I bought that type 964 – a convertible – from my friend. That car became my daily driver for about four years. If it had to go in for a service, then I’d just catch the bus.”Before Das Treffen, the community founded by Tenn began as a loose affiliation of Porsche-owning friends, meeting up to head out for drives in the countryside surrounding Bangkok. Such informal gatherings remain the lifeblood of the community Photo: PorscheHow many Porsche cars have you owned over the years since then?“I think I’ve now owned, at some point, every 911 model up to the type 991.1, apart from the type 993. Right now, I have seven Porsche cars in my collection, including a 924, three air-cooled 911 models, a Cayenne and two mid-engined models – one of which, a Boxster (type 987) is my wife’s daily driver – and a Cayman S which is the perfect car to run around Bangkok in. I also have a 911 Carrera 4S (type 996). A few different cars for a few different flavours.”You have a great garage to store them in too…“I had a three-car garage but needed something a bit bigger. About 10 years ago, with the help of an architect friend, we built a [two-storey] garage with a lift. So, you can put the car in the lift and raise it up and then the car is right there in the middle of the house. It means you can go and sit in it, you can even smell it. It’s kind of cool because, depending on the colour of the car you choose, what you take up to the room on the lift changes the whole mood of the house.”Tell us about how you started your independent Porsche community in Thailand? “Thailand has a small Porsche community, but then communities like ours always start small. Initially it was just an inner circle of Porsche owners who would meet every Sunday. Living in Bangkok means you don’t get to drive the car properly so often, so it was a chance to meet for a coffee, drive out of the city and head out on road trips. For most, their Porsche is their weekend car. Das Treffen started as a gathering of 150 cars but there were around 750 gathered at the most recent event in December 2025. In 2026, it is set to move to a new site Photo: Porsche“At the time – this was around 2006/2007 – social media was really starting to take off here and we would post pictures of our meet-ups and cars. The next thing, people would be contacting us on social media: ‘Are you doing it again next Sunday? I would love to join! I don't know where to go! I have a car, but I don't have any friends to drive it with…’. It’s typical of Thai culture not to do things on your own and to find friends to go somewhere with. So, we started a chat group called Renndrive. That’s how our community really started. “It began with about five cars but very quickly that became 20, 30, 40… which is quite problematic as you need to find a space to accommodate all those cars! The next thing you know, we organised a four-day road trip for 10 cars and 35 people signed up for it. And we ended up meeting every Sunday for coffee and a drive for about 10 years. People just like being part of a group.”It’s a big leap from there to Das Treffen – how did that come about?“It’s a bit of a long story but Das Treffen really began when a friend of mine asked me to get involved in the Thai version of a magazine called GT Porsche. I became editor-in-chief, steering the direction of the magazine – offering guidance, making sure they were doing things right. From the beginning, we wanted this to be a magazine that wasn’t closed off to people. We wanted it to be a platform for different groups. And it seemed natural that would include having an event that would gather everyone together. “We wanted it to be Thai style. No exclusions, just a chance to celebrate a brand in Porsche that we all loved. I’d been to events in the US and Europe and they were great, but we wanted to do something a little different. We want you, if you are a Porsche owner, to be part of the show, be part of the whole thing. This wasn’t a fluke, it was the idea from the start. “Geography worked for us, as we aren’t in Germany where 10,000 cars might turn up at a show. We had numbers we could handle. You just turn up with your friends, park wherever you want and feel immediately part of it. Everyone has a story and with Das Treffen you had a place to tell it. Got an overland build on your Cayenne? Bring it along, put your tent up. It’s all one culture.”Cars of all colours, models and flavours gather at Das Treffen. It’s a place where you can tell the community your story, says Tenn Photo: Das Treffen/PorscheAnd Das Treffen is now a big event on the Porsche calendar…“We had over 750 cars at the last event in December 2025, which was held at IMPACT Speed Park in Bangkok. We started with 150 for the first one. We had Porsche drivers and fans from Vietnam, Malaysia, Singapore – wherever the roads are connected to, they drove in from. We even had people driving to it from China this year too. It becomes a road trip for these people, with Das Treffen at the heart of it.“We’ve had a lot of help from Porsche with the event. That’s what they do – they really understand and support the wider Porsche community. For example, they’ve taken me to Porsche events in Europe like the F.A.T. Ice Race and Rennsport Reunion in the US, which have been really helpful in me getting new ideas and inspiration for what we could bring to Das Treffen. They have been a great place to meet new friends.”“We are very lucky as Porsche really cares about its entire community – including those clubs and gatherings that aren’t ‘official’ – and even has people in place to help you. The official Porsche club structure is brilliant and offers so much. But Porsche also understands that sometimes people want something different. Our community is a little more informal – we’ve recently started up a new event, which we hold every two to three months, called Das Treffen and Coffee, which takes us back to where it all started. The great thing is that there’s a place for everyone in this community.”The annual Das Treffen event in Bangkok, Thailand attracts Porsche drivers and their cars from as far afield as Vietnam, Malaysia and even China Photo: Das Treffen/PorscheDas Treffen’s Tenn Xoomsai on his tips for starting your own Porsche community• “Firstly, make sure you ask yourself, do you really want to be the leader of a car community? It might look easy, but the reality can be rather different. It’s a lot of hard work and you need to always make yourself available to people.”• “Be open-minded, because you are catering to lots of different people. You have to enjoy being around people and hearing their stories.”• “Start small and build – but don’t be afraid to think big.”• “Running a Porsche community, Porsche has to be your passion, has to be your hobby. You need to enjoy what you are doing every day rather than thinking about what it could turn out to be. I wanted it to be organic. I just want to have fun with my friends.” • “Things will sometimes go wrong. People will want your time and call you. A lot. ‘When are we meeting? Who’s coming?’ Part of the job as a community leader is about managing people’s feelings too. Most importantly of all, don’t stress. There are always people around you who want to help.”
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