The Gold Rush Crew Member Who's More Qualified Than We Realized

Without a doubt, mining is a job that requires a lot of expertise, perhaps more than you might think. With the advent of more technologically advanced mining methods, any mining crew worth its salt is going to need some knowledge on mechanics, geography, the local wildlife, and more to get the most out of the land they're on. Of course, longtime viewers of the Discovery series "Gold Rush" know all of this too well. What they might not know, however, is that some of the "Gold Rush" cast has expertise in areas beyond their work in mining. 

Case in point, there is a "Gold Rush" crew member who is way more qualified than we realized. As a matter of fact, you can find him flexing his academic knowledge on several other networks. Far from the hustle and bustle of the mines, Klint Janulis, a new addition for Season 12 of "Gold Rush," doubles as an expert on the subject of paleoanthropology.

On Reddit, "Gold Rush" fans were surprised to learn about new cast member Klint Janulis' archeology chops after spotting him as a talking-head expert on an episode of the Science Channel's "Forbidden History." 

"When not on gold rush he is an oxford educated archeologist," wrote u/md28usmc. "Man, this guy is two sides of the coin."

Despite the surprising revelation among fans, Janulis is definitely an archeologist first and a "Gold Rush" cast member second. According to his LinkedIn page, Janulis is a lead instructor for the University of Colorado's Center For Cognitive Archeology and is working on his doctorate from Oxford University. Additionally, he has worked on several documentary series for different networks, including Channel 5's, "10,000 BC." In October 2021, he revealed via Twitter that he is researching the cognitive implications of the trapping and hunting of ancient humans. And that's not all. Before he began his academic journey, Klint spent years in the military as a combat medic and survival instructor for the Army Special Forces.

With all his academic accomplishments, it's a wonder why Janulis would ever turn to something as tough as mining. Still, his geological knowledge is something that will certainly come in handy when digging for gold. That, combined with his military experience, has prepared him for the rough-and-tumble work on Discovery's popular series.