He spent four grim nights in an immigration detention centre before being deported and allowed to fly home.
A spokeswoman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT) today said the New Zealand Embassy in Thailand provided consular assistance to Ryan after his arrest.
Timaru-born Ryan, who retired from competing in 2016, was a top track and road cyclist who collected bronze at the 2008 Beijing Olympics with Sam Bewley, Hayden Roulston, Jesse Sergent and Wes Gough before they repeated their third-placed heroics at the 2012 London Olympics.
Cycling legend Marc Ryan had moved to Thailand to coach promising young riders. Photo / Facebook
After studying for a coaching diploma at the UCI World Cycling Centre in Switzerland and working in Italy, Ryan moved to Thailand two years ago for a coaching job.
He was there on a working visa but earlier this year decided to swap jobs, where he'd help a mixture of top athletes and up and coming stars, as well as people cycling for fitness.
Ryan didn't work from August to October while going through a new work visa application.
He told the Herald he'd been granted a non-immigrant B visa – the initial visa that foreigners on a travel visa must acquire before applying for a work visa – when he was arrested earlier this month.
Officers swooped on the gym and took Ryan to an immigration detention centre.
For the first two nights, he was kept in a filthy, crowded cell with about six others. He slept on the floor and had no money to buy a blanket on the cool evenings. No cellphones were allowed.
"It was like a jail and the first two nights were bad," he said.
"I was lucky to get out. Some people had been in there a long time."
After two nights, he was then taken to a court hearing.
Ryan's photo had appeared on marketing material for the company, which meant he felt he had no option other than to plead guilty.
He was fined 5000 baht (NZ$250) and before he was able to be deported and catch a flight to New Zealand, he was detained for another two nights.
This time, it was a bigger cell with around 70-80 people. There were just two toilets, no showers, and again, detainees slept on the floor with just centimetres between bodies.
Ryan was relieved to finally return to New Zealand two weeks ago.
He hasn't been blacklisted from Thailand and could one day return. He has a girlfriend there but Ryan says he won't be rushing back.
Before his deportation, he said he was threatened with kidnapping or that he would "go missing". Harassment allegations were also made against him, without any complaints made or charges laid.
He wants to take some time to consider his options, especially given that he has fears for his safety.
