Gold Rush’s Dave Turin on Todd Being Nuts and What They Never Saw Coming

Dave Turin of Gold Rush Discovery Channel

“Can you believe it’s gone seven years?” Dave Turin asks. He’s talking about Discovery Channel’s hit series Gold Rush that starts its seventh season this Friday (Oct. 14 at 9pm ET/PT). “ I remember Season 1 and thinking nobody had any idea. We had no clue that the show was going to be any good or successful.”

We didn’t either. We had no clue what a sluice box was or what kind of money you could make mining. We had no idea of all the headaches involved in the equipment. Nor did we anticipate being scared of hell of this Norwegian that required subtitles; or that we would fall in love with an elderly gentleman known as Grandpa John. But Discovery Channel quickly claimed victory over Friday nights as Gold Rush became their juggernaut – consistently holding its spot as Discovery Channel’s No. 1 series year over year. The series has introduced millions of viewers to the Klondike and the race for gold, as well as the personalities, opportunities, dangers and constant equipment malfunctions that go along with it.

Turin has been Todd Hoffman’s right-hand man since the start. The fellow Oregonian has faithfully followed the Hoffman crew to Alaska and the Yukon and even on one ill-fated trip to mine for diamonds in the rain forests of Guyana. This season Team Hoffman is staying home — well, staying in their home state mining in Eastern Oregon at High Bar Mine, which is about a six-hour car ride from Turin’s home.

“It was a very difficult decision for us,” Turin says of Team Hoffman’s decision to stay in Oregon. “We all came together, and we all talked about it. We left our most successful season ever. We dug up 3,030 ounces, over 3 million dollar’s worth of gold. We all put gold in our pocket. The gold that we dig up, I don’t know about any of the other crews, but I do know that the gold that we get is meaningful. It means a lot in all of the crews’ life. We got guys with young kids. We got guys with kids in college. That gold is enough gold that it significantly impacts their life. For us to leave the most successful season, we had the most gold that we’d ever gotten, and each one of us personally, we walked away from last season with a lot of gold in our pocket.”

Dave Turin on Gold Rush Season 7

So why on God’s green Earth would they ever leave? Oh wait, it’s the Hoffmans – we should know better, right?

“The reason we left, Barb, is gold mining is a tough job,” Turin says. “We were working 15, 16 hours a day, six days a week, in a really difficult, difficult environment in the Yukon territory. The worst thing for us is we’re all family men, and it was so hard to be away from our families. Todd is the dreamer. Todd is the guy that’s always chasing the next best thing, so for us to go to Oregon and be closer to our families, it was kind of like a no-brainer. When we went and prospected, oh my gosh, the prospecting was as good as I’ve ever seen it, and we have traveled the world prospecting. We went to Guyana. We went to Chile. We went to Peru. I’ve looked around. I’ve been into Alaska. I’ve been into Nome and Fairbanks, and this was, in Oregon, was one of the best prospects I had been on. For us, it was a no-brainer. We’re closer to our families. We’re in our home state, and there’s good gold.”

Despite their high hopes and thinking they were going to give Parker a run for his money, what happened they didn’t see coming.

“We went into the season, we were on a high like this is going to be our best season ever. It’s Season 7; we’re going to kill it. We’re going to give Parker a run for his money,” Turin says. “Todd set the lofty goal that was something that I thought he was nuts [an ambitious 5,000 ounce goal, which is more than 2,000 ounces than his best total ever!]. Anyways, he went out on a limb, sets his very lofty goal, and we start mining. What we find out, what you’ll see on the TV is that we ended up — in the middle of the season — we end up with some problems. It’s problems that I couldn’t foresee. Todd couldn’t foresee it. We couldn’t plan for it, and what happened was we started to come apart from inside.”

MORE: Interview with Parker Schnabel on his new girlfriend, new wash plant and new TV series!

“It’s like if you had a baseball team that just won the pennant. The next season they come back, they have high hopes, and there’s squabbling in the clubhouse. There’s issues with personnel, and that’s what happens to us,” he admits. “Our tight-knit little family starts to crumble. We start out high … and then in the middle of the season, we have this valley. I lived through it and I’m one of the leaders of the group, and it was one of the hardest months that I’ve ever had because there’s a lot of bickering. These guys are family, and we start coming apart at the seams.”

Season 7 of Gold Rush begins on Discovery Channel Friday, Oct. 14 at 9pmET.

22 Comments

  1. Wow Todd is not the only one at fault for this season. You are either a miner or you are not. Dave and Freddy should have been the cooler heads and they failed big time. News Flash why in the hell didn’t they drill a bunch of holes to see where how deep and if there was any gold.If I didn’t know better it’s almost like this is a setup or for drama in the story line. One very important thing is those guys are all adults although really lame to stay with Todd with his track record of doing dumb s#@t but they chose to follow his dumb ass.Whining about hours worked and not being home they should get a job @ Mickey D’s. Mining ain’t for no damn sissy! BTW they ain’t miners they are wanna be miners except for Freddy and really what the hell is he wasting his time with Todd? I wish em all good luck cuz if they don’t do something different they will fail again. Sorry just how I see things although I could be wrong. Miklo

    • Hi Miklo!!

      You have to understand, that Todd and his dad jack both claim to have ADHD-Attention Deficit Disorder. my background is medical research. My wife and her whole family has ADD/ADHD, as well as her nieces and nephews. It’s an incredibly interesting disorder. highly genetically passed on. If one person in a family has ADD, it’s not if their children might have ADD. It’s only a slight chance the children don’t have ADD.

      And what ADD impacts is the front cortex, which is the decision making part of the brain. Like with Todd Hoffman, they are prone to seek the unknown, and jump into things without researching their decisions first.

      Like Todd’s ill-conceived South America mining operation. As well as their Oregon mining project. As you re call, he learned in Alaska, you don’t guess if and how much gold there is, and where to mine. You drill it first, map it out, as the drill holes don’t lie!!

      However…the ADD mind does not learn from the past experiences, because those experiences and mistake do not become a permanent part of their mind, by which they make decisions.

      Like with my wife. She signed contracts twice without reading them and got sued for $11,000 and lost. She swore she’d read every contract first. But 6 months later she signed another major contract without reading it and got sued again.

      She went shopping for 2 hours, but left our 6 month old baby in the crib, where I came home from work to find her screaming with a horse cry and dried tears. Her niece did the same thing, even not thinking to feed her baby, where her niece’s parents (my wife’s older sister and her husband)were going to Court to get custody of their granddaughter.

      You can take ADD Medicine, like Todd Hoffman, but it doesn’t stop or repair the brain malfunctions. Believe me, living with an ADD person can be very challenging to say the least. ADD people can function well and be high achievers, as they jump into risk without thought…but it can lead to disaster as well!!

      • PS: On the Oregon mining venture, why would you leave a claim in the Yukon, where you were HIGHLY successful. You had all your equipment there, wee all setup, building a reputation, to get more claims there. To go Oregon. They could’ve mined the Yukon, where the season is very short. Used the profits to open up the Oregon mining. Create a drilling map to prove the Oregon gold reserves and at what depths!

        I’m involved in Lithium Mining as an investor. And the companies ALWAYS…I mean ALWAYS….drill first. Creating a drilling map, before ANY major investors would get involved in the project!! But Todd Hoffman, doesn’t even do drilling assays to protect himself or his crew. YET…Todd says his crew is his first priority!! Not so!!! As the frontal cortex of the ADD brain is also the part of the brain that regulates empathy for others. They just jump into things without thoughts to make an informed decision!! They look as leaders, but their minds are afflicted with a distorted ability to make decisions!! They tend to just…wing it!!!

        They tend to self destruct, because they don’t research to make informed decisions!!!

  2. The one thing I have always wondered is why team Hoffman never does extensive testing. At best, all that’s been done is a simplistic panning of a handful of dirt. Seems to me you should drill test a wide area before committing to it.

  3. I would like to work with todd I’ve got 30,000 hours running excavater I’ve seen alot anyway thank god Donald trump our president.

  4. It seems to me that these Oregon operations are already played out by their owners. Then they give access to Todd in the hopes his crew will luck out and do the heavy lifting whilst they get commision. Todd and Jack are getting suckered.

  5. Dave looks like and is a hard worker how he got mixed up with Todd was probably a good thing because he has learned gold mining and that is from him being involved in every move on the entire gold mining operation because he is a leader. Now that he knows gold mining I would love to see him with his own operation WITHOUT TODD OR JACK AROUND. Dave is a real leader Todd is a smooth mouth flunky who could never succeed at anything without someone like Dave to do the work. Todd is not a leader because after watching him and Jack over the years I can see that when trouble hits they always have something to do away from the work and the trouble. A real leader stays and helps no matter how hard it is or how dangerous it is. Some people might say you need someone like Todd to negotiate deals but after over 40 years in the heavy construction business (marine and land) I can tell you people like Todd and Jack get you in more trouble than you need.

  6. Todd has gold fever and doesn’t make very good decisions. He has dragged the crew with him and has failed more than has succeeded. I was appalled that he asked his crew to not get paid for two weeks. He is a very selfish fool. I would like to see the crew dump him and continue under new leadership.

  7. I couldn’t believe you went back to AK to get the wash-plant. and didn’t keep a few guys up there where you knew the gold was.. I dont know mining but i do know dirt work.and i know what its like to be away from home 300 days a year,,wishing only the best for you and yours, as the holiday season comes near…GRH

    • They weren’t in alaska they were in the Yukon, CANADA. They haven’t mined in Alaska since the first season, hence the change in name from Gold Rush Alaska to just plain Gold Rush.

    • Ya, funny how they keep calling him the “Viking” when his nationality has nothing to do with being a norseman.

  8. God is making you all humble again. Accept it, remember how humble you were when u started, and bring that back.

  9. All I can say, You Need More Women On Your Team =) You guys know us women LOVE our Gold and Diamonds. And NOTHING (Within Reason), We will not do to get it.. (Keep your minds out of the gutter guys)… So, Ya want to find the gold, The women’s crew is coming !!!!

  10. Hi im from Australia would love a go at working with you guys i work very hard .i have always worked long hours and am very good with machinery. I love the show and im funny too.

    • Glad Todd wasn’t in the Yukon this year. we should build a wall and keep all you Americans out. lol

  11. I just wanted to say, you guys have been an inspiration to mensure and I’m sure you guys get asked a lot but what the heck I’m going to give it a try, I’m a single man, I’ve been out of work for a few years, i had a back surgery but it has not stopped me and I’m now getting to the point of looking at getting a job and I was wondering what and where do I go to see about getting a job with you guys working on a mine, hope to here from you and I hope I can get a chance to work for you guys, God has a plan for us all and I hope he has my back on me trying to get the opportunity to work for you guys, I’m a very hard worker and easy to get along with. Thank you for reading, hope to here back.

    Thanks
    Ron

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