Blame it on the Samurai, Thomas Meiser on Episode 322
Thomas Meiser is a rock buggy fabricator and off-road enthusiast from Magna, Utah. Once a competitive baseball player coached by his father, Thomas shifted to fabrication after discovering the Suzuki Samurai at age 16—a pivotal moment that redirected his passion entirely.
Early Career Path
Thomas worked under influential mentors including Casey Beach (Beaches Off-Road) and Ben Hanks Racing, where he learned welding fundamentals and tubing work. After Caterpillar's internship program and structural steel fabrication, he found his true calling at Midnight 4x4 with JC, working with CNC burning tables and tube cutters.
Building Fab'n 801
In 2018, Thomas launched Fab'n 801 (named from his habit of saying "I'm fab'n" in the garage, plus Salt Lake's 801 area code). He's built over 5,000 chassis for customers worldwide—in Australia, Canada, Mexico, Italy, and even Guam—and designed 15+ unique chassis platforms for Toyotas, Samurais, and Jeeps.
Future Vision
Thomas recently invested in 5 acres near Parowan, Utah (surrounded by BLM land and six canyons), where he plans to build a new fabrication shop. He's exploring RC rock crawling innovations to inform real-life buggy design and actively seeking a business partner to help scale operations. His YouTube channel (Fab'n 801) showcases builds and off-road adventures.