Why Fred Talks So Much About His Military History On Gold Rush

Since making its debut on Discovery over a decade ago, "Gold Rush" has solidified itself as one of the channel's biggest hits. The reality series follows crews of modern-day treasure hunters as they explore remote regions of Canada and the United States in search of riches. Some of their missions turn out to be prosperous, while others are a waste of time and energy for the participants involved. That being said, the unpredictability, coupled with the possibility of treasures being discovered, keeps fans of "Gold Rush" tuning in for more.

Fred Lewis has been a mainstay on Discovery's hit reality series for quite some time now. In addition to being notable for his beard and gold hunting exploits, Lewis is a military veteran who worked as a Green Beret and Special Forces Medic and completed tours all over the world. As Military.com notes, he actually got his start on the show after working as a medic on the spin-off series "Gold Rush: Parker's Trail" where he discovered he has a knack for mining.

The military history of Lewis is mentioned frequently in "Gold Rush," but there might be a behind-the-scenes reason for why it's often brought up.

The ongoing mention of Fred Lewis' military history has drawn criticism from some fans of "Gold Rush," which has led to some speculation that the show might be trying to portray him in a certain way. According to Reddit user u/alcoholic_child, who claims to be Lewis' stepson who "[lurks] from time to time" on the show's subreddit, it isn't necessarily always Fred's choice to discuss his history on the show. They acknowledged, "the biggest thing people diss on my crew for is how Fred always talk about how he's a vet and all that." However, according to u/alcoholic_child, there is a reason behind it.

"As with all 'reality tv shows' there is a loose script of what's needed, and with us there's a lot of takes where we were talking and the film crew telling us to say it again but to 'relate it to the army,'" they alleged. "And if we don't, they just won't film us, so if we want screen time that what we kinda have to do."

The alleged stepson went on to say that Lewis is proud of his military history and doesn't mind discussing it on some occasions. However, he supposedly "hates" having to bring it up as often as he does on "Gold Rush."