Fred Lewis' Favorite Team Member On Gold Rush Is Camera Shy
Although some people on the popular "Gold Rush" television show come from families or backgrounds related to gold mining, not all follow this same path. Fred Lewis is one such example. Whereas "Gold Rush" members like Parker Schnabel and Tony Beets consider gold mining a family affair, Lewis comes from a completely different background, one that certainly understands the chain of command, focus, and teamwork. For anybody who has watched "Gold Rush" and Lewis in any capacity, it becomes immediately apparent that Lewis hails from a military background.
Lewis is a former Green Beret and Special Forces medic who finds that veterans take to the profession quite well. In an interview with Fox News, Lewis spoke about his motivations and thought process for joining the cast of "Gold Rush" and his mentality on trying to hire veterans by saying, "The reason I decided to start work with veterans in gold mining was because of the similarities of the military and a deployment for a mining season. It takes a little bit of enjoying the suck."
He continued, "Everything is outside the box, and gold mining, there's nothing that goes traditionally straight down the line and hits target...It takes someone that can work 80, 90-plus hours a week, sustained for six months and keep the mentality to not let everything defeat you." Surprisingly, one of Lewis' favorite team members isn't a veteran, nor does he appear as much on camera, so who is this mysterious figure who has earned Lewis' wholehearted support?
Lewis met one of his favorite team members when he contracted them to build cabins
Speaking with Idaho Press, Fred Lewis explained how he came across Buzz Legault, who isn't a veteran like much of Lewis' team, but one that quickly endeared himself among Lewis and his compatriots. Lewis then elaborated on how he met Legault, who was originally contracted to build some cabins for the team to live in. Lewis continued and said that Legault had seen him struggling with some equipment, and Legault offered to teach Lewis how to use them properly. Lewis added that he is a big fan of learning and quickly took to Legault's efforts to teach him. However, despite Legault's influence, Lewis says that Legault isn't the biggest fan of being on camera, so audiences don't get to see him as much as other members of Lewis' team.
Lewis continued, "He's part of the family now, one of my biggest assets. He can fix and do anything; the guy is a jack of all trades ... He's one of the greatest characters in my life that I've ever met and a great person. So he earned his spot here ... He is not a veteran, but everybody has problems, something they're trying to transition from at some point in their life, and Buzz is in that moment in his life, too. So he's along for the ride, just like all of us."
This means that there may be some other members of Lewis' team that don't share the spotlight with him but are nevertheless crucial to Lewis' gold mining endeavors.