I first met Andy at the 2003 Melt, and have gotten to hang out with him a little more each year since then.  One of the nicest people you'll ever meet, and a blast to wheel with!  Andy is one of the reasons that the Melt is what it is!  Yea, the wheeling is top notch, but it's sitting around the camp fire at the end of the day that really makes it the event that it is!  I hope you enjoy this interview as much as I did!

1. Tell us your full name?
Andrew J Tharp

2. Where and when were you born?
Berryville, AR.

3. Do you have any brother’s or sister’s?
One older brother, two younger sisters.

4. Where do you live now?
The metropolis of Dutton Arkansas, (about an hour east of Fayetteville, AR) no actual population signs, but my best estimate is around 8. We rent a house on 800 acres.

5. Where do you work?
I work a 14 days on 14 days off schedule in the gulf of Mexico, and am contracted to Nexen petroleum, Canadian based.

6. What do you do there?
I am the lead mechanic on my platform, and take care of 4 turbine generators and two large compressors. and various other equipment and lots of paperwork. I specialize in CAT 3600 series engines and plan to get certified as a trainer and become an independent trainer.

7. Do you have a nick name that you like to go by?
In high school it was big red. and now it is Red Beard

8. How did you get this Nickname?
 In high school I was 6' 2" and about 292 lbs at the peak of football and with the hair it just fit. Now I have a beard that grows in extremely red, much darker than my hair. I also have a habit of going yarrrrrrr, so it is kinda piratey.

9. How many years have you been off roading?
11 years or so. In high school I can remember taking a buddies blazer out to places we shouldn't have gone and then later roughing up his dads J10 truck. It was fun but nothing too serious. I got my first off road toy when my wife and I got married in the summer of 2000. It was a Sami that had been used for pulling stumps in southern Arkansas. Some of those pieces are still lurking under my current Sami.

10. Who, or what first got you interested in the sport?
At first is was just a way to get away from school and work, but later a guy named Glenn Dunn introduced me to the mighty Suzuki. I still remember him converting his Sami from 2 to 4wd. He is still a great friend.

11. Are you involved in any off-road club’s, and if so, what is the name of your club?
I am a member of the rockcrawlers 4x4 club in Fayetteville, AR. but due to my schedule I can't make meetings as often as I would like.

12. What is the year, make, and model of your current trail rig?
91 or so Suzuki Samurai, and a '48 Willyz CJ2A

13. How long have you had it?
I have had the Sami for 5 years now and the Willyz for 3 years

14. Why did you choose this rig to off-road?
I chose the Sami because of its amazing capabilities and maneuverability, the Willyz because a 300hp Willyz that can climb over highway barricades was too awesome to pass up.

15. Is this your first off-road 4x4?
The Sami was.

16. What's best modification you've done to it so far?
I love my 6:1 t-case and I am also very happy with my current suspension, I got an 802 RTI score at ZookiMelt this year.

17. What's the worst modification you've done so far?
They all work pretty good together, but I would not have done it so quick, also spent way to much money and time in the shop.

18. What’s the scariest moment you’ve ever had off-roading?
Rolling my Sami in the snow, out by myself and where I knew better than to go. The worst part was trying to remove it, (in-laws property) no one could make it in and I had to use chain binders to set it up. After the fire I was able to limp off the hill. My father inlaw was threatening to get a d6 dozer to retrieve it if it was still there come deer season.

19. What was the funniest?
Trying to convince a group I was out with in LA that if someone would just pull on my nerf bar it would set back up and I would be on my way.

20. What have you learned from the sport that you can apply to your everyday life?
It has taught me a lot more self control and the you don't always have to be aggressive to get where you want to go. Finesse goes a long way on the trail and in life

21. If you could sit down and talk to anyone, past or present, who would it be and why?
This is a very tough question, but I guess Benjamin Franklin, we owe a lot of what we have to him.

22. Books on tape, or sit down and read?
I spend a lot of time on the road so on CD is more convenient but I do enjoy reading.

23. DVD at home or Theater?
I cannot even remember going to the theater last, so definitely DVD's at home.

24. What is on your MP3 player or in your CD player right now?
Dido, Tenacious D, Pink Floyd.

25. Radio, CD’s or "Trail Music" when your wheeling?
Trail Music, used to have a radio in the Sami, pulled about a pound of pine needles out of the tape deck and it worked fine, but I guess one too many trips to the car wash finally killed it.

26. When you're not off-roading, or working, how do you like to spend your time?
Cooking on the grill and hanging out with friends, occasionally take time to fix a broken toy.

27. If I gave you a free ticket to visit anywhere in the world, where would you go?
Probably New Zealand, or Iceland, are you all covering rent a car too?

28. Have you ever been outside of the United States?
Vancouver, on our honey moon we camped for 17 days and traveled about 8000 miles.

29. What did you want to be as a kid?
Plumber, or Trash Truck driver, guess I just enjoyed being dirty more then, but those trash trucks are still cool.

30. If you could learn to speak any language, what would it be?
Women, that would really help me out at home.

31. What is your best time of the day, morning, noon, or night?
I am more of a night owl, very seldom do I intentionally get up early.

32. What’s your most embarrassing moment (so far)?
There are so many...  This year at ZookiMelt I guess was pretty bad, I had more mechanical troubles this year than in all the previous ones combined. I probably didn't inspire too much confidence in people behind me while trail leading.

33. Have you ever met anyone famous, and if so, who?
Not really, people always tell me I look like that Mikey guy off of OCC but I cut some of my hair and hope that stops some of that.

34. If you could give any piece of advice to a future off-roader, what would it be?
Take your time and enjoy it. There are a lot of things a stock vehicle can do, try them all before upgrading... also never spend money needed for meets and runs on parts. The best part of this sport is its people.