Graduate Connections – Meet Simeon Tobby

Simeon, 45, was born and raised in Cape Town, South Africa. He moved to the United States with his family at the age of 12. Simeon completed the seven-month Welding Specialist program at RSI in May 2025.

Thanks for your time, Simeon. Did you move to Arizona when you came to the U.S. in the 90s?

We moved to Utah. I come from a very religious family background, and we were Mormon, so Utah made sense for us. I moved to Arizona about five years ago, right after COVID, when everyone was wearing masks. 

Take us through your career before coming to RSI.

I wouldn’t say it was a career. I’ve always admired the idea of ‘time freedom’ and flexibility in life. Money is important, we all need it to live and thrive, but I value flexibility even more. At first, not too long after high school, I moved to China and lived there for about five years. I was about 21, maybe 22 when I moved. After China, I came back to Utah and started doing door-to-door sales. I ran a sales team for a company called Living Scriptures for years. For the past 11/12 years, I’ve been building food trucks. I’ve stuck with it because I really enjoy it; it’s given me that flexibility. It’s like the mobile food unit version of flipping houses. 

So, you’d done some welding then?

No, I love building food trucks, but I’d never welded anything in my life! I didn’t know how to weld or really understand how metals were joined together. I’d build out trucks and trailers, cut openings for windows, put things together, but I used to freelance out the welding and some of the other trade work when I needed to.

The thing about food trucks is if they’re done properly, about 90% of the interior is stainless steel, excluding the structural frame, which is usually carbon steel. Stainless steel requires a lot of TIG welding. If you call ten welders in Arizona, or even Texas, and ask if they do TIG welding, probably seven or eight of them would say no. TIG welding is more of a specialty process in the welding industry. Not a lot of welders can do it well; it takes time to master. Usually, you either go to school for it or have a strong mentor.

How was that experience of freelancing out the welding?

Like any trade, there are good and bad experiences. Sometimes welders would keep my jobs for too long or charge prices that seemed pretty high to me. Work that should have taken three days could take a month.

So, you thought, “I could do this myself”?

Basically, yes. I started thinking, this doesn’t look that complicated. I was watching videos online and trying to learn. I met an older gentleman in Goodyear, Arizona, who was a retired welder. I asked him if he could teach me. This was 2023. He said yes, but honestly, it was a bit dangerous. There wasn’t much focus on safety – like wearing a proper hood. I got flashed by the arc a few times and got burned. I realized this wasn’t the best way to learn, so I decided the best path would be to go to welding school. 

How did you find the program? 

Those seven months were difficult, really grueling work. But the timing worked out well. Summers in Arizona are brutally hot, but I enrolled toward the end of summer and started class in November and finished in May before the next summer hit. My one regret about the whole experience is that I didn’t sign up for welding school sooner. Going to RSI changed my life. It was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. I could spend much more time than we have today telling you how it has changed my life.

Thinking back to the seven months at RSI, what did you enjoy most about the experience?

Looking back, I’d say the friendships I made were the best part. Of course, the growth from a career standpoint was important too, but I met some really great people. I’m not a big extrovert, but I made a very close friend there – Brandon. The instructors were amazing. One of my favorites was Jeremy. He’s an incredible human being, very patient, very understanding, and easygoing. You’d never hear him raise his voice, and he doesn’t have an ego about teaching. Matt, the head welding instructor, was also really great. Meeting people like them inspired me to become a better person and to go after the things I want in life.

Were you one of the older students in your class? Or was it a mix of ages?

I was definitely among the older students; I had instructors younger than me. I was 43. Most students were in their mid-20s to early 30s, but there were also people older than me, some in their 50s. It wasn’t a class full of teenagers or high school grads. A lot of people had families and were starting a second career.

You mentioned  it was “difficult and grueling”. What made you keep coming back every day?

That’s a great question. I read a lot of books – self-help, biographies, inspirational stories – and at this point in my life I understand that nothing worthwhile comes easy. People say, “no pain, no gain,” and there’s truth to that. Before my dad passed away, he would say, “In life, whether you do something or you don’t, time is still going to pass. A year from now, you’ll be a year older, and you might regret not doing that something.”

Learning welding wasn’t just a career choice for me, it was survival. I needed to know how to weld because I had so many bad experiences with welders holding onto my projects too long or charging too much. When you build and sell things, time matters. The faster you can finish a project and get it to market, the better it is for your business. So, for me, there was no going back, no quitting. I had to finish.

Has learning to weld made your food truck business more profitable?

Absolutely. Even before graduation I was looking for my own welding shop space. I knew what I wanted to do. When you’re in your 40s, you don’t feel like you have unlimited time, so I wanted to move quickly.

So, you’re still building food trucks, just doing more of the work yourself now?

Exactly. I currently have two people who want me to build food trucks for them. My dream has always been to weld and build the trucks myself. I also have four box trucks already purchased that I plan to build out – three to keep and run, and one to sell.

Keep three to run as your own food trucks?

Yes. It’s actually a very profitable business. For example, just yesterday I ran one truck for about three or four hours and brought in around $650. The day before it was close to $800. I’m not even cooking full meals – I sell things like cut fruit, drinks, açaí bowls, lemonades, smoothies, and shaved ice. Arizona is extremely hot, and the long summers make it a great market for that kind of business.

That’s awesome, you’ve diversified! What’s your career plan from here?

My plan is to have five food trucks running daily operations. I understand the margins pretty well now. Alongside that, I want to grow the manufacturing side and build more trucks, maybe seven or eight per year, and keep doing that for the next 10 to 15 years.

Will your welding stay focused mainly on food trucks, or will you take on other work too?

I plan to do both. I have a shop space where I can take on other work as well – trailers, custom fabrication, things like that. But my main focus is manufacturing and building trucks consistently and efficiently.

Thinking specifically about welding, what do you enjoy most about the trade?

Honestly, one of the biggest things is being able to look at something and say, “I made that.” It’s extremely fulfilling. I think all welders share that sentiment no mater what they work on. Taking pieces of metal – stainless steel, aluminum, carbon steel, copper – and turning them into something real from a blueprint is incredible. It’s like giving something life. That feeling is hard to describe, but it’s amazing.

What advice would you give to new students who are about to start at RSI?

It’s important to know what you want and why you want it. There’s a book I like by Simon Sinek called “Start With Why”. What’s your why? That matters. Are you doing this because someone else told you to, or because you genuinely want it? When it’s something that really matters to you, you’ll stick with it. Then, once you start, don’t quit. Quitting affects not just your future but also your mindset and confidence. Nothing worthwhile is easy. There will be good days and bad days but keep pushing forward no matter what.

If you’re an RSI graduate and would like to share your success and be an inspiration to others, please email [email protected] to be considered for a Graduate Connection interview. Please include details such as your graduation date (month/year) and program.