About Paul Richardson
Paul is a dredge diver and gold miner, known for his appearances in Discovery’s “Gold Rush” franchise. Having appeared in over 60 episodes of “Gold Rush: White Water”, fans were devastated to see him and his wife Kayla Sheets, walk away from the show in January 2021. Outlandish theories regarding their sudden departure began circulating online until the real story came out: Paul and Kayla had been pretty much forced to leave by co-star Dustin Hurts, who refused to continue filming unless she bowed out of the series.
Personal drama was the root of the problem, as prior to her departure, Kayla had been butting heads with the rest of the family regarding their very different outlooks on gold mining. Dustin, who is also Kayla’s stepbrother, even said that he didn’t believe women should be part of the mining industry. After months of tension both on- and off-screen, Dustin gave producers an ultimatum: if Kayla didn’t leave, he would.
Being a supportive husband, Paul also left the show when Kayla was given her marching orders. Kayla herself said of the debacle: “I think the little man [Dustin] was intimidated that I could do everything that he did, despite being a woman,” and added that she didn’t regret standing up to him even if it cost her the show.
Dustin and Kayla’s ugly fallout shocked viewers, with some of them stating that they would no longer be watching the show due to his behavior. Despite the bad blood between themselves and Dustin, Kayla and Paul are believed to remain on good terms with Kayla’s stepfather Fred, as Paul was one of Fred’s most trusty employees before marrying his stepdaughter.
Moving on to Fred’s personal life, he was raised in a stable household by his parents, Paul Sr. and Jeanette, and has a sibling named Wesley. Paul Sr. sadly passed away of lung cancer in September 2014, while Jeanette continues to be in good health. Meanwhile, Wesley is the co-owner of New Age Mining Equipment, and is a fellow cast member of “White Water”, despite his brother having left the show.
Wesley has no children of his own, but his wife, an interior designer named Deborah, has a daughter named Shawna from a prior marriage. As for Paul and Kayla, they are child-free for the time being, and have shown no interest in expanding their family unit.
Kayla hails from San Francisco, California, and matriculated from Mount Diablo High School, later furthering her studies at Rogue Community College, and eventually obtaining a degree from George Fox University. Before becoming a miner, she worked as an office manager at Oregon State University.
The circumstances behind Kayla’s sudden career change are a mystery, but it’s possible that she joined the mining industry as a chance to be part of her stepfather’s lucrative business. As the Californian is a private individual who doesn’t give many interviews, it remains unclear whether she’s continued gold mining or changed jobs since leaving the show.
“Gold Rush” Franchise
“Gold Rush”, originally entitled “Gold Rush: Alaska”, is a Discovery Channel reality series that premiered in December 2010, and allows viewers to see how operations are run in gold mining companies, most of which are located in Alaska and Canada. The first season of the show documented the tenacious gamble taken by six Oregon natives, who were travelling to Porcupine Creek, Alaska, to try their luck at placer gold mining. Having recently lost their jobs, these men had nothing to lose; even so, their incompetence contributed to chaotic events, albeit amusing viewing.
The protagonist of the show was Todd Hoffman, the charismatic but hapless head of the Hoffman crew. Without the help of his longtime friend Dave Turin – who had worked on his family quarry for years – and the show’s resident mechanic James Harness, Todd would’ve had a disastrous first season in the show. As it happens, Todd and his crew had a hard enough time thanks to a slew of problems, such as a malfunctioning wash plant and other unreliable equipment.
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Halfway through season one, expert miner Fred Hurt joined the cast of the show, and brought plenty of friction and drama. Viewers were also shocked to see two cast members engage in a physical brawl, with the production team having to intervene before things got totally out of control. In the end, the Hoffman crew mined less than 15 ozt of gold, but learned plenty along the way.
The Schnabel and Hurt crews were introduced in the second season of “Gold Rush”. This time round, the crews mined much more gold thanks largely to their acquire knowledge and a more generous production budget that allowed for better equipment. In later seasons, the Ness, Lewis, and Beets crews also joined the show.
In season three, Fred Hurt was promoted to a regular cast member, after helping the Hoffmans out during seasons one and two. While filming the third season, the gold miner’s father-in-law died, and Fred showed viewers his vulnerable side, thus helping him become an unlikely fan favorite after initially turning people off with his gruff personality. In a rare show of unity, the cast members also overcame their differences, and rallied around Fred in the aftermath of his father-in-law’s death.
During season eleven, the coronavirus pandemic wreaked havoc on the 2020 filming schedule – the Yukon government classified miners as essential workers, but film crews were left out in the cold. To make matters even more complicated, the beginning of filming coincided with Canada’s strict travel lockdown, meaning that the production crews were unable to enter the country. In the end, only one member of the filming crew was on set to record the season, but most of the miners decided to sit it out and return the following year.
The thirteenth season of “Gold Rush” premiered in September 2022. This time round, the main characters were the Lewis, Beets, and Schnabel crews, as well as the Clayton brothers.
The “Gold Rush” franchise has proven itself to be incredibly successful, with various spin-offs, aftershows, and special programs. The aftershows feature additional footage, studio interviews with crew members and miners, and sneak peeks of behind-the-scenes action, whereas more mining coverage and information are available in extended versions of normal episodes.
Some of the many spin-off shows spawned by the franchise are “Gold Rush: Parker’s Trail”, which shines a spotlight on Parker Schnabel and his crew as they travel to far-flung locations; “Hoffman Family Gold”, a standalone series that sees Todd and his family return to gold mining; and “Gold Rush: South America”, which saw Todd and other crew members mine gold in Peru, Chile and Guyana with varying levels of success.
“Gold Rush: White Water”
“Gold Rush: White Water” premiered in January 2018, and stars Fred and Dustin Hurt as they try their luck suction dredge diving in the rich whitewater creeks of Alaska’s Haines Borough. Fred and Dustin, also nicknamed the “Dakota Boys”, share the limelight with Wes Richardson, Carlos Minor, James Hamm, Scott Allen, Kayla Johanson and Justin Peterson. Other cast members who have come and gone include Casey Morgan, Ryan Cardoza and Eric Foster.
Naturally, “White Water” boasts a diverse and talented cast with a range of skills necessary to thrive in the gold mining industry. From gold cleaners to helicopter pilots to everything in-between, every cast member plays an important role in ensuring the smooth running of operations.
Surprisingly, in January 2023 the show was placed on a three-month hiatus while in the middle of its sixth season. The news was shared by producer Tim Dalby, who took to social media to voice his displeasure at the decision. According to Tim, an unnamed executive at Discovery-Warner Bros. seemingly decided that it would be too expensive to air the series on Friday nights – despite the episodes already being shot months prior.
“The series has been rating well, and this rather short-sighted move will obviously harm that,” Tim wrote. “I hate this, and as I say, I’m just a reluctant messenger as it seems they have also failed to communicate any of this. Sorry for the bad news.” To date, there have been no updates regarding the unexpected hiatus, nor the future of the series.
“Gold Rush” Scandals, Lawsuits
Almost every reality show on Discovery Channel has been accused of using scripted or faked elements to attract viewers, and “Gold Rush” is no exception.
For example, some miners have been known to engage in lengthy screaming matches which can last for minutes at a time. Although fans blame the challenging work environment, the truth is that the “Gold Rush” cast are paid depending on their screentime – which causes them to exaggerate certain situations. The show’s filming crew only shoots when something interesting’s about to happen, and what’s more interesting than stirring up drama and arguing in front of cameras?
Rick Ness discusses the importance of taking care of yourself and what's prevented him from starting his mining season 🏔
You can catch his entire conversation with hometown buddy Zee Zaremba on #GoldRush this Friday at 8p ET on @discovery and @discoveryplus pic.twitter.com/2LcOtaYJ9L— Gold Rush (@Gold_Rush) October 5, 2022
Wildlife advocates are no fans of “Gold Rush”, and perhaps for good reason, as the crew members once destroyed a protected salmon habitat by driving a 50-ton piece of mining equipment through it. On another occasion, a bear got too close to miners, and was tracked down and killed by a cast member. No apologies were offered for the incidents; in fact, the crew members insisted that they were allowed to drive their equipment through rivers and streams.
Dustin Otteson, Dave Turin and Mike Halstead are just three miners who suddenly disappeared from the show with no explanation provided. Although we know that Dave was fired after a non-scripted fistfight with a fellow miner, the reason behind Dustin and Mike’s disappearances remains an enigma. This can make it hard for viewers to follow the show’s storylines.
Jimmy Dorsey is a former cast member, who gave a scathing interview about his time in the series, claiming that many of the show’s events – including his departure – were scripted and planned out months in advance. It’s possible that Jimmy was displeased with his unfavorable portrayal in the show, as he also alleged that the production team forced him to play up to his “bad guy” role, instead of being himself. Whatever the case, Discovery refused to reply to Jimmy’s interview, while Jimmy himself stepped away from the entertainment industry.
The producers and cast members of “Gold Rush” are no strangers to lawsuits from small mining communities. Residents of South Park, Colorado, were so tired of the Hoffman crew at the end of the 2017 mining season that they filed a lawsuit preventing them from returning to the claim in the future. Many complaints and lawsuits have been noise-related, whereas other communities alleged that cast members were breaking the law by mining on residential land.
“Gold Rush” has also been criticized for not providing its cast members with adequate mental health resources. James Harness was a recurring cast member during the show’s first couple of seasons, but his contract was suddenly terminated for failing to achieve team goals. Prior to his short-lived TV career, James was the victim of a severe car accident and later became addicted to painkillers in an effort to cope with the constant agony.
James’s pain medication addiction was something of an open secret in the series, and he had also been open about his struggles with depression. It’s even been rumored that Discovery used his underperformance as a coverup to give him the boot, as his addiction was too much to deal with. Sadly, James’s troubles continued when he left the show, and he died of a stroke in 2014 despite being relatively young.
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It’s also been said that the production team compromised the safety of crew members by encouraging them to skip performing maintenance on mining equipment, especially during season one. This is possibly the reason behind the frequent equipment malfunctions, which despite making for entertaining viewing, can be potentially life-threatening for those on set.
With that said, “Gold Rush” continues to be one of the most popular shows on Discovery. Although the future of “Gold Rush: White Water” is uncertain, we’ll be sure to keep you updated with any relevant information.
