Steve Darnell is well-known for his success on the Discovery Channel hit series Vegas Rat Rods and as the creative mastermind behind Welder Up, the Las Vegas rat rod and fabrication shop. Steve is passionate about bringing history back to life, showing that his creativity knows no limits. Besides designing the craziest rat rods, Steve also enjoys interior design, set design, producing music videos, and short films. He created the post-apocalyptic set design, props, and vehicles in Five Finger Death Punch’s music video for “House of the Rising Sun.” Currently, he is restoring his historic property in Goodsprings, NV, which will be the new home of Welder Up, aka the “Carnival of Rust,” all while creating content for his popular YouTube channel and social media.
Steve was born in Las Vegas but spent part of his childhood in Montana. He learned to weld and fabricate early on while working with his dad at the family’s steel company in Las Vegas. After selling the family business, Steve started his own fabrication shop, which fueled his passion for cars. When the famous D-Rod rolled out of his shop featuring a twin-turbo 12-valve diesel engine that produced 1000 hp, the automotive world took notice of the unique builds Steve and his team were creating; so did the Discovery Channel. In 2013, the popular series Vegas Rat Rods took the world by storm. Steve’s creations soon appeared in multiple national publications like Hot Rod Magazine, Diesel World Magazine, Mopar Magazine, and more. He slowly but surely became known as the king of badass rat rods.
Today, Steve’s passion has expanded from rat rods to cover all aspects of the design-build industry. Besides revitalizing the Goodsprings, NV property, he is also restoring pre-war traditional hot rods to match the new location's theme. As a committed supporter of the welding industry, he is eager to share his years of experience and hard-won wisdom with aspiring welding students attending the WelderUp workshops.
Steve has always been dedicated to exceeding everyone’s expectations.