Steve1989MREInfo

Early and personal life Thomas's interest in military rations began as a youth in 1997 when his uncle purchased a case of Meal, Ready-to-Eat (MRE) rations from a surplus store. The first ration Thomas ate from the case was a ham slice meal manufactured in 1993, which he ate cold because he did not know how to use the included flameless ration heater.

Outside of YouTube, Thomas works as a landscaper in Lakeland, Florida. Later that year, a video review of Thomas eating American Civil War-era hardtack from 1863 went viral.

Thomas has reviewed both vintage and contemporary rations of several armed forces from around the world, including those from the American, British, Canadian, Russian, Ukrainian, Australian, Japanese, South Korean and Chinese militaries. He has reviewed a variety of military chocolate, including the American World War II-era D-ration and Tropical Bar. Thomas also reviews and smokes the cigarettes included in rations, the oldest being a 123-year-old cigarette dating to 1897. Because many of the rations Thomas opens are extremely rare, he has stated that he will only open and review a ration once he has obtained a duplicate that will remain unopened in a private collection. He almost always ends his videos with the catchphrase, "This is Steve1989. I... hope you liked the video, and I'll be coming back at you with something new... or old. Alright, cool. See ya."

Complications Despite eating rations that are well beyond the recommended shelf life specified by manufacturers, Thomas has reported that he rarely becomes ill from eating them. As of 2023, he is only known to have become ill from two rations—a Ukrainian ration in 2015 (before his YouTube channel began), for which he was hospitalized for E. coli; —both of which were only one year old and in-date when he ate them. He has described a cheese spread from a 1985 MRE as "the grossest thing I've ever tasted, because it literally felt like fire. And bitterness."