World News – CA – ‘Gold Rush’ undermines fascinating group of season 11 veterans – Report Door

This group of’ Gold Rush ‘miners is unlike any of their predecessors in the top rated Discovery series

« Gold Rush » returns Friday for Season 11 with a two-hour episode (8-10 pm) and a new mining boss: Fred Lewis, a former medical sergeant and special forces linguist who has assembled a team of five veteran friends to search for gold in a ghost town near Sumpter, Ore

“They all overcame obstacles,” says Lewis, 42, who was shot in the helmet in Afghanistan. “What we’re trying to do is give them a new boost in life, a new goal Two guys had to go to the police academy and COVID stopped this I was supposed to be in the Yukon but the border was closed because of COVID I also train wrestling in high school and it stopped

“We had to fend for ourselves,” he said “It’s not a cliché, but it was ‘s – t or get out of the pot’ and it was probably the best time to do it « 

The Lewis team includes battle-scarred veterans, Kendell Madden (Air Force); Stuart McKenzie, a former infantry sniper whose hand was blown off by a roadside bomb and then reattached (he is now a bodybuilder); Stefan General, a Green Beret who served for 26 years with 12 deployments; Kyle Pletzke, whose pelvis was shattered in a rollover accident in Afghanistan; and John Stanz, a former marine raider with two Purple Hearts who was in a coma after being detonated by a roadside bomb « He was given 0% chance of living and they said he would never speak » , says Lewis « Now he’s super obnoxious »

Although this is his first time as a mine manager, Lewis is very familiar with the world of the « gold rush ». Three years ago he accompanied the star of the series Parker Schnabel in Papua, New Guinea as chief of security and medic, then worked behind the scenes of ‘Gold Rush’ last season (in the Yukon) He also traveled with Schnabel to Australia

« I saw how gold affects villages and I started to take an interest, I got more and more interested in [mining] and I was thinking about what I could do » , he says When COVID ended his time in the Yukon, Lewis was asked to form a team “I always thought I wanted to do this with a team of vets,” he says “I knew we could make it happen I introduced him to Discovery in July and three weeks later I was chosen as the next mine manager

“We went straight to the gauntlet,” he says, “since the launch, meeting with the owners of the claim and negotiating the lease I have funded all of this with my own money and with two of my others veteran friends… between the three of us pooled our money and invested in the opportunity A lot of people think Discovery pays it all – that’s all us « 

And, with Lewis keenly aware that gold prices were very high, he prepared to embark on his mining expedition

“I had to manage my own information,” he says “I thought outside the box I did a lot of research on the biggest gold reserves near my home [in the east of Washington], spending a lot of time on microfiche trying out historical data and finding this area which is a ghost town… which has never been mined before I was teaching biology in high school and we tested 4000 old ashes years in soil that had never been dug

“This season is a big success as far as the operation is concerned,” he says “We are living the American dream, in a ghost town, and we are the only residents No matter how much gold we find , we will all benefit « 

Lewis, whose wife Khara also served in the military (former psychological operations), says he hasn’t seen any of his episodes yet

« I like to watch it on TV for the first time, » he said « Friday at 8 o’clock we’ll be around 260 people at a local bar for the first night We’re going to watch it and then wake up on next morning and get into mining « 

Gary James is an entertainment news media professional with a solid background in online journalism, content management and social media Gary’s strength includes solid knowledge of the entertainment industry and he detects thus potential trending topics related to the entertainment industry

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Gold Rush, Discovery Channel, Parker Schnabel