Plenty of fans who first tuned in to Discovery’s “Gold Rush” likely believed they were in for a show about people living a non-stop adventurous lifestyle. After all, they’re digging for buried treasure. But it doesn’t take long for the show to reveal that the average day in the life of these teams is far from exciting. In fact, with all the digging, sifting through mountains of pay dirt, moving boulders, and repairing complicated equipment, the job can be downright monotonous and painfully boring. One person who surely knows that all too well is crew boss Rick Ness, who has been featured on the series since 2012.
Ness stepped into the world of “Gold Rush” thanks to a chance meeting with another featured boss, Parker Schnabel, before the idea of becoming a miner for a living was even on his radar. As a musician at the time, Ness first met Schnabel at the South East Alaskan State Fair. After a conversation about the gold mining life, the two eventually reconnected months later. Ness worked under Schnabel for a while, eventually finding enough success to take on his own crew and become the leader fans know him as today. Of course, being a good leader requires attention to team morale. And according to Ness, the best way to break up the long, slow days is to make sure everyone has some fun.
Ness tricks his crew by telling them it’s a fun road trip
Despite being brand new to the world of gold mining, Rick Ness quickly established himself in the business as a force to be reckoned with. The crew boss, who has appeared on over 200 episodes of “Gold Rush” and its various spinoff series, has earned the nickname “The Comeback Kid” thanks to his documented ability to bounce back from what sometimes seems like a bottomless financial hole. Years of experience has not only helped Ness zero in on the gold, but also learn how to make sure his crew enjoys themselves in the process as much as possible. Just like any other monotonous job with long hours, just a dose of satisfaction could end up resulting in more profits. And for Ness, the remedy is good old fashion fun.
When the spinoff series “Gold Rush: Winter’s Fortune” premiered Ness spoke with Hollywood Soapbox about the differences between mining in mild conditions and in the freezing cold, and how it’s important to fill empty time. “In the wintertime, there’s still a lot of work to be done, prep work and stuff, but I think people can see that me and my crew we definitely like to have a lot of fun,” he said. Part of Ness’ job is to have his crew see the excursion in a more positive light. “I kind of trick them into thinking we’re having this big, long, fun road trip, which is a lot of fun, but we mix a lot of business in there as far as prepping for this season,” Ness revealed. “We do a bunch of racing and things like that.”