Who is Rick Ness?

Before Rick joined Gold Rush in season 3, it was his dream to become a professional football player. When a life-changing injury abruptly ended his college football career, he turned to music, playing the double bass in the '.357 Stringband'. Over the last seven years the band have released three albums and toured relentlessly around the world. It was during a stop on their tour at the Southeast Alaskan State Fair where Rick first met Parker and the rest is history!

Rick had no previous mining experience before joining Gold Rush, but he had learned about heavy machines from his early work at his family’s commercial construction company. Little did he know, he would end up working on a gold mine for six years under boss Parker!

It's every miner for himself this season, which will see Rick take the helm as the new mine boss, competing against rival miners Parker and Tony Beets. With high hopes and even higher stakes, Rick has cashed in his life savings and has put everything on the line in an attempt to mine 1,000oz and beat what Parker made in his first season. Will he have gold mining success?