Beginning in the garment industry as 95 percent of the Vietnamese community in Brazil has, he has emerged as one of the richest men in the South American nation with an annual turnover of US$30 million.

He miraculously escaped death after surviving an operation to remove five bullets from his body, including his head, over two decades ago.

He is Thai Quang Nghia, 56, owner of the Gooc company based in Sao Mateus District, 20km from the center of Sao Paulo City, that specializes in producing handbags, backpacks, wallets, shoes, and clothes.

He is the first millionaire of the Vietnamese community in Brazil, despite having grown up in the slums of Rocinha in Rio de Janeiro. He is respected in the local community, not only for his assets but also his strong will to establish his fortune.

The Vietnamese millionaire in Brazil

In 2009, he spent 1.2 Brazilian Real or $542,000 to hire legendary football ‘king’ Pele to advertise recycled sandals in local media.

“Before, Brazil burned used car tires, which caused pollution. Now, we buy used tires and make sandals from them,” said Nghia.

“In the past 10 years, we have produced 20 million pairs of environmental-friendly sandals. My target is now 100 million pairs of sandals.”

A Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper journalist spoke with Nghia in his Sao Mateus factory, surrounded by boxes of shoes and sandals about to be exported all over South America.

He spoke modestly about his first days of life in Brazil. “I arrived in Rio de Janeiro in 1979 when I was 22 years old and went to school while living in the slum Rocinha.”

He had to teach himself Portuguese, the official language of Brazil. He even created his own Portuguese – Vietnamese dictionary, which became a valuable resource for the Vietnamese community living in Brazil.

In 1986, he started his business by selling handbags, as was common for Vietnamese living in the area. He hired employers to produce goods before establishing his company with its own production line.

At the same time, he enrolled at Mackenzie University in Sao Paulo to study administrative management. He graduated in 2002 and went on a two-month world tour, which included his native Vietnam, in order to broaden his knowledge.

Returning to Brazil, he was inspired to produce sandals similar to those Vietnamese soldiers wore during the U.S. war in Vietnam.

“I began launching Vietnamese-style sandals on the Brazilian market in 2004. Within three years, the inexpensive shoes dominated the local market,” Nghia said.

At that point, his Gooc company produced 500,000 pairs of the sandals and 80,000 handbags a month.

With 500 staff, his company had 12,000 regular customers from 15 nations, earning a turnover of over $30 million a year.

The trademark ‘Gooc’ originates from the word ‘gốc’ in Vietnamese, meaning ‘origin.’ He said he wants to remind himself that he will never forget his Vietnamese origin.

His success was featured on local media outlets, including CNN in the U.S.

Strong will

In 1992 Nghia was shot six times by robbers when he was strolling around in a park near his house. Five of the bullets hit his hand, neck, chest, stomach, and head.

He fell in a coma immediately at the site and was rushed to a hospital by a Brazilian police unit on patrol.

He survived a long operation to remove the five bullets.

This was not his only major challenge. In 2011, his 6,600 square meter factory burst into flames. The aggressive fire was only stamped out after 28 hours, incurring $5 million worth of damage.

He immediately sent emails to his employees and clients the following day to confirm that their work would not be delayed.

“I wish to help with all of my ability those who are less lucky than me,” said the Vietnamese-born millionaire.

The first Vietnamese in Brazil

Vietnamese ambassador to Brazil, Nguyen Van Kien, told Tuoi Tre that the Vietnamese community in the South American country is rather small with no more than 200 people, including younger generations born there.

Most of them came to Brazil in 1979.

The two countries set up diplomatic relations in 1989. They have almost no historical archives to identify the first Vietnamese immigrant to Brazil.

From research conducted by Tuoi Tre, it was discovered that two Vietnamese came to Brazil in the 1950s, including the late painter Tran Tho and professor Nguyen Huu Tung. They are considered the first Vietnamese to live in Brazil.

Tung came to Sao Paulo in 1952 and worked as a finance lecturer for Sao Paulo University. Since 1972, Tung has worked for the business training center Centro de Treinamento Universidade – Empresa in Sao Paulo.

Professor Phan Van Ngan left for Brazil in 1974 after completing his studies in Japan in 1957.