Gold Trails is a new TV show produced by the Gold Prospectors Association of America (GPAA) that promotes the lifestyle of the prospector. Host Kevin Hoagland travels the country working with local prospectors and equipment manufacturers in search of the next big gold strike. Gold Trails is really an introduction for the general public to basic prospecting — to a lot of people who haven’t experienced it yet.
The premiere episode of Gold Trails will air Saturday, January 3, 2015 on the following local TV stations:
- KDOC TV — Los Angeles, 8 a.m (LA 56 — Verizon Fios HD is 506)
- AZTV — Phoenix, Ariz. — 11 a.m.
- KWVT — Salem, Ore., 10:30 a.m. (available to viewers in Portland)
The following excerpt and information is found on the GPAA's website.
Gold Trails has been three years in the making, but is worth every minute of the wait, said GPAA President and Executive Producer Brandon Johnson. He’s confident viewers will feel the same by the time they’ve watched all seven weekly half-hour episodes of this first season. Though Johnson, who is Tom Massie’s stepson, is carrying on the family business, he has stepped outside of the Massie family for the first time with the choice of Hoagland as the on-camera personality and the public persona of the GPAA. But, Hoagland is first and foremost a gold prospector with solid roots in the small-scale mining industry as well as the GPAA and Lost Dutchman's Mining Association, so he’s a natural fit.
Although Johnson is a gold prospector and miner, he admits he never grew up immersed neck-deep in mining the same way as Tom and Perry Massie did. Still, he has spent countless hours at mining camps with Tom, his mother, Cindy and his siblings and he’s grown to love the mining community and GPAA family. “My grandfather was a miner. What drives me is not necessarily the mining as much as that mining community my grandfather created,” he said.“It was always important to me. To me it’s a great pleasure.”
It takes a certain kind of person to be on-camera and, Johnson by his very nature ducks and dodges the limelight, preferring instead a behind-the-scenes management approach. “I wouldn’t be opposed to it, if it makes sense for the episode,” he said, quipping, “I can give a tour of the office.” Humbly, he said, that the miners who are out in the field, rolling up their sleeves and getting down to the nitty-gritty can better reflect what gold prospecting is all about to viewers than he can as a company president, which carries with it the burden of financial and managerial responsibilities. “They have so much more to say than I do ... but I have no problem jumping in there,” he said.
Johnson is convinced Hoagland is the right person for the job of Gold Trails host. “This is a show that we’ve been passionate about producing for a few years, but the chemistry really needed to be right. My grandfather was a baseball player, and so he built a baseball field. We’ve had the opportunity with the baseball field for a long time, but we’ve been looking for the right players and the right coach. Now, I think we’ve got that,” Johnson said. “To me, it’s important. I can probably play baseball, but I’m not a baseball player; Kevin is. So, with his ability and how similar our passion is — as far as his passion to get the information out there and to help people and the joy he gets from it — I’ve got a baseball player. I can continue to be the athletic director, while Kevin is taking on the responsibility from a television, media standpoint ... and I’m a big supporter of it.”
While Gold Trails started out much like Gold Fever episodes (another GPAA TV series), the formula was changed to make it more educational with a little less of the antics that are Tom Massie’s trademark.
Although Hoagland had been visible in the mining industry, Johnson was especially impressed with him at a GPAA Gold & Treasure Show, where Hoagland had led a popular seminar on metal detecting. It was apparent then — and still is — that Hoagland’s passion for prospecting floweth over the proverbial cup. And, he has the knowledge and experience to back it up.
Listening to the story of how Hoagland got his first metal detector and then set out to create a better one, and then explore metals and geology, Johnson was impressed with Hoagland’s inquisitive nature, gumption and gusto. “I think that says a lot about how Kevin’s mind works ... He wanted to understand how the Earth works. He is very knowledgeable,” Johnson said. “We had a similar focus. I’ve met hundreds of people over the years at gold shows, but Kevin really stood out — his voice and his presence and his knowledge of prospecting.”
Rather than having six minutes of commercial time for big national advertiser on Outdoor Channel, Johnson hopes Gold Trails will expand from three to 20 different local markets, which means plenty of advertising spots for local mining equipment and prospecting shops. “Gold Trails to me is about starting that gold rush everyone expected to happen. I think a lot of people have a fascination with gold when the price fluctuates. People get excited about prospecting for gold, but I don’t think many of them know how to get started, ” Johnson said. “We’re giving people the next step. The prospecting and mining industry, really doesn’t have a show like this.”
And, no other gold prospecting TV series can offer viewers a chance to join a national membership-based organization and go out prospect on mining claims across the United States. The GPAA also has publications, such as Gold Prospectors magazine, the Pick & Shovel Gazette, and a network of local chapters that Gold Trails viewers can join for free to become part of the small-scale mining community and learn more about the industry.
Mining rights
When it comes to mining rights, Johnson said the GPAA has consistently been a strong voice for keeping public lands open to prospecting, mining and other outdoor uses, such as hunting, fishing, hiking and biking, for example. “For the last few generations, mining in this country has become something you read about in history, but that doesn’t mean in today’s word that it has gone away,” Johnson said. “It’s still done in other countries very efficiently and it’s a huge part of their economies. And, the way I see it, there will come a time when it will be part of our economy again. It has to. Grandpa said, ‘If you can’t grow it and you can’t mine it, it doesn’t exist.’ ”
And, Massie couldn’t have been more right — computers, smart phones, vehicles and the fuel that goes in them, plastics, electrical wires — virtually everything including the kitchen sink comes from some type of mining.
Historically, during periods of high unemployment or a depressed economies, many Americans looked to prospecting and mining on public lands to earn to living. “We don’t want to lose that access to public lands. I think people need to experience it. It’s great to be able to go out there casually without the need to support your family ... When you go out there and experience it, I think a lot of people get a sense of how important it actually is. You can’t care about public lands unless you’ve had a mining claim and you have that right that right is being taken away from you,” he said. “You are much more passionate about it when you’ve got a vested interest. So, this show is really about getting back to basics and encouraging people to understand prospecting and to feel more connected to public lands and to their rights and what they may be losing if they lose access.”
Modern image of miners
Many of today’s reality TV shows set the stage for human conflict and drama wrapped around a gold mining theme. The upside is that these shows put mining back on the map in the minds of the mainstream public, but the downside is a negative image of miners and mining. “I don’t want people to think of mining stereotyped with a lot of drama or that it’s old guys with beards that fight each other all the time,” Johnson said. “We need mining much like carpentry, masonry, mechanics or anything else.”
In stark contrast to stereotypes, GPAA members are often mild-mannered stewards of the land with a great respect for nature as well as natural resources. “They are ‘salt-of-the-Earth’ people, the most accepting people in the world, which really speaks to the purity of what some of us are doing” Johnson said.
His hope for Gold Trails is that it gives viewers a much more realistic view of what prospecting and small-scale mining are all about. “When you get out and actually prospect, it’s fun. It’s a family activity,” he said. “Gold fever is something that is so natural, you connect with it. Most people will, and they need to be properly introduced to it — and that’s what our show is about.” While Johnson admits he’s got high expectations and a unique vision for what Gold Trails is all about, he applauds Hoagland and the GPAA TV production crew. “I think they’ve done a phenomenal job,” he said. “Right now we have three local markets, but I see us getting to 20,” he said.
“Our members are our best resources,” said Johnson, adding that they’re often the mining experts in any given area. They know the terrain and the right equipment to use — not to mention the manufacturers who make it. Hoagland and the production crew will feature not only the equipment, but the inventors of many different mining innovations on the show.
The premiere episode of Gold Trails will air Saturday, Jan. 3 on the following local TV stations:
- KDOC TV — Los Angeles, 8 a.m (LA 56 — Verizon Fios HD is 506)
- AZTV — Phoenix, Ariz. — 11 a.m.
- KWVT — Salem, Ore., 10:30 a.m. (available to viewers in Portland)
Visit the GPAA website to watch sample episodes and get more information about Gold Trails.
