Steve Darnell is famed for his success on the Discovery Channel hit series, Vegas Rat Rods, and as the creative genius behind Welder Up, the Las Vegas rat rod and fabrication shop. Steve leads his Welder Up team as he brings history back to life, proving his creativity has no boundaries. Apart from designing the wildest rat rods, Steve also enjoys interior designs, set designs, producing music videos, short movies, and creating content for his loyally followed YouTube channel.
Steve learned how to weld and fabricate at an early age while working with his dad at the family’s steel company in Las Vegas. After the business was sold, Steve started his own fabrication business which took his passion for cars to a new level. When the infamous D-Rod drove out of his shop with a twin turbo 12 valve diesel engine that made 1000 hp, the car world took notice.
Steve Darnell’s creativity went wild when he designed the vehicles, set, props, and costumes in the Five Finger Death Punch “House of the Rising Sun” music video. In 2020, Steve focused his attention on education and launched “Welder 101”, a series of online welding video courses.
Today, Steve’s passion has evolved beyond rat rods to all areas in the design-build space, and he is now looking to use his years of experience and hard-earned wisdom to good use as he guides and inspires people to learn to weld through the Welder 101 course, providing tips and tricks along the way.