Surprisingly, Rick Ness isn’t a lifelong miner like some that appear on “Gold Rush” like Parker Schnabel. According to Discovery, Ness was originally a football player but an injury ended his career early. Ness then joined a band, releasing several albums and going on tour before being hired by Schnabel during Season 3 of “Gold Rush.” At this point, Ness had zero experience in gold mining, and he was simply trying his hand at something different in life, lured by the promise of riches and adventure. Ness quickly displayed an aptitude for gold mining, learning fast and proving to be quite an asset to Schnabel, going so far as to set up his own gold claim at a later point without Schnabel’s direct oversight.
However, jumping head-first into gold mining isn’t without its own issues, and Ness definitely has some thoughts on the hardest aspect of the job. In an interview with Park City Television, Ness was asked about what he finds to be the thing many gold miners struggle with, and he replied, “The amount of time it takes – the amount of time you have to dedicate. You only get a six-month season to work, so you better be prepared 80, 90, 100 hours a week all summer.”
