Facebook Dave Turin and his wife, Shelly Turin.
Dave Turin went from being part of the series, “Gold Rush”, to being the star of his own spinoff, “Gold Rush: Dave Turin’s Lost Mine.” A fan-favorite on the Discovery Channel, Dave is adamant in his pursuit of gold and hopes that being his own boss will lead him to even more success than he found working alongside Todd Hoffman.
How will Dave’s search culminate this season on the show? What do we know about this adventurer-seeking entrepreneur? Read on.
1. He is the Star of ‘Gold Rush: Dave Turin’s Lost Mine’
For years, Turin worked alongside fellow Oregonian Todd Hoffman on “Gold Rush”. But tensions with the crew resulted in him leaving for his own spinoff show, “Dave Turin’ Lost Mine”, which premiered on the Discovery Channel on April 5.
In an interview with Oregon Live, Turin explains that he was feeling frustrated with the Hoffman crew when he decided to leave.
The outlet writes, “While he could stay in Oregon and work in the family business — which does road building, paving and operates a rock quarry in Brightwood – Turin says finding gold in a sluice box is more exciting than admiring, as he says in the show, ‘a nice pile of rock.'”
The first seven episodes of Turin’s spinoff premiered on Discovery GO.
2. His Wife Is His High School Sweetheart
Turin is married to his Shelly Turin, his high school sweetheart. Together, the couple has three children and two grandkids. Shelly is involved in the business side of Turin’s operation.
According to Medium, she also works as a nurse.
On Instagram, Dave posts a number of photos with his children and grandchildren.
A recent photo shows him hanging out at Hunting’s beach with his family.
3. His Estimated Net Worth is $2 Million
In April 2017, Medium reported Turin as having a net worth of around $2 million.
They write, “Most of this has been earned through the success of his mining endeavors and the show ‘Gold Rush’, of whom he has been a permanent full time crew after leaving his family quarry business.”
Turin worked for that family business for nearly 25 years. It was after Hoffman asked him to consult on the Porcupine Creek gold mining claim that he chose to turn to mining full-time.
4. His Show Films in Montana
According to Helen Air, filming for Turin’s series has taken place in Montana, in the Helena area.
Discussing why fans are interested in the “Gold Rush” series to begin with, Dave tells the outlet, “I think they fell in love with us because it was a very difficult time in America’s history… We were in a severe recession and Todd asked the question, ‘Can a man in America still go out and risk it all and succeed?’ That resonated with many, many people because there were a lot of people unemployed, a lot of guys sitting at home going, ‘I wish I could do that,’ so they lived vicariously through us.”
5. He Grew up in a Family of Six
Turin grew up in a family of six in a suburb of Portland, Oregon. Today, he still co-owns Mount Hood Rock Products in Oregon with his three brothers. The family also operates a rock quarry, where Turin learned to mine, according to Helen Air.
In an interview with the River Pointe Church, Dave explains that he was raised in a Catholic home. “I got one sister and one brother that go to church with me. We go to a church that’s non-denominational.”
Turn went on to play football at the junior college level and then walked onto Oregon State’s team after that. Eventually, however, he realized he didn’t have what it takes to compete at the major university level and transitioned to mining. He received his civil engineering degree from Portland State.
Discussing mining with Alaska Sporting Journal, Turin states, “That’s one thing I enjoy about this job, teaching younger guys about a profession. I consider myself a professional miner; for whatever reason that’s how my life has gone,” he says. “And I want to instill in the young men that it’s a good job; do your job to the best of your ability. Take the ground and put it back into something useful. We need to extract the natural resources, but we also have the responsibility to put the ground back. And I love teaching the young men to not only be good operators and good miners, but to be good men.”
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