Dave Turin is an American Engineer and TV personality, born on 21 April 1959, in Sandy, Oregon USA. He’s known from his appearances in various reality shows such as “Gold Rush” and its spin-off “Dave Turin’s Lost Mine”.

Early Life

Born into a middle-class family, David Turin’s childhood in Mt Hood was spent outdoors, taking interest in activities such as fishing and hunting. There’s no information about his early education, though it’s known that he was a football player during high school.

In his teens, he along his three brothers Dan, Dennis and Douglas started paving their family ground with their father Jim’s guidance.

As their neighbors praised the four young boys’ exceptional work, the family started by obtaining small paving contracts in Oregon. Growing a reputation for work excellence, they officially formed Jim Turin and Sons, Inc. in 1973.

Dave left his family’s business to enter college, graduating with a Bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering from Portland State University.

Career

Family Business

After obtaining his degree, Dave went back to work in his family’s paving company, as the late 80’s economy was in crisis and it was hard for him to find other jobs in his field. His decision to continue his family business was right for his career though, as their company expanded to include a successful asphalt plant named Mt. Hood Asphalt.

Dave’s natural leadership was proven true when he took charge of Mt. Hood Rock, a rock quarry which also belonged to his family after they acquired it in 1988, shortly after Dave’s graduation. Therefore, in his position as Quarry Manager he obtained experience mining and subsequently became an expert on work safety and equipment, working in the field for over 25 years.

“Gold Rush” – TV Debut

He appeared for the first time in “Gold Rush” in the first season of the series, when he was brought by Todd Hoffman as a guest consultant to solve crew issues while working at Jim Nail Placer Mine, in Alaska. At the time, he only appeared briefly in the show, as his main job was still with his family’s company.

Convinced to pursue his dream of chasing gold and following a promise to his father, Dave Turin joined Hoffman’s crew at Quartz Creek Claim in the show’s second season. His equipment expertise was useful for his team, leading him to become one of the main stars and Hoffman’s right-hand-man until 2017, when he quit the show. His retirement was caused by problems following a fight with Trey Poulson in the last episode of the seventh season.

Turin made his departure from the show official in a post on his Facebook page, on which he thanked fans for their support, declaring it was time for him to ‘move on’.

In the comments’ section, fans rapidly enquired the reason of his retirement to which Dave answered that ‘no amount of money or gold is worth working with a disrespectful crew member.

Time for me to move on and put this behind me.’

Scott Lewers, executive on Discovery Channel, praised Turin’s role in the show: ‘Dave Turin cemented himself as a fan favorite as viewers witnessed his successes, failures and persistence’. Turin was highly regarded by his fellow miners as well, as he frequently showed deep interest on their wellbeing: ‘We got guys with young kids. We got guys with kids in college. That gold is enough gold that it significantly impacts their life.’

“Gold Rush” ran its first season in 2011, and has been a reality TV success ever since. The show broadcast on Discovery Channel and its subsidiaries worldwide, and has been filmed in various locations such as Canada, Guyana, Chile and Peru.

“Dave Turin’s Lost Mine” – 2019

In 2019 it was announced that an after-show of “Gold Rush” entitled “Dave Turin’s Lost Mine” was going to debut in April. The spin-off series is centered on Dave in his search of gold in Lynx Creek, Arizona. The reality show also marked the first Discovery series to be broadcast on various platforms simultaneously, such as the network’s app Discovery GO and official website. During the show, Dave formed his own mining crew, declaring that despite its member’s inexperience, it’s formed by people he respects.

At the start of the series Dave was financed by third party sources, however, as mining work successfully progressed, Dave financed mining explorations himself.

Centered on Turin’s search of gold in thousands of abandoned mines in Montana, a second season of the show was aired in February 2020, lasting eight episodes.

Personal Life

Marriage

Dave Turin is married to Shelly Turin, his high school sweetheart with who he has three children. At this time, Dave is grandfather of four children, and currently lives in Gresham, Oregon.

In 2016, Dave posted a photo commemorating his 35^th anniversary of marriage in his Facebook page: ‘My heart became yours the moment I met you in 11th grade. Thank you for being my sweet sunshine, my best friend and the most incredible wife, mom and grandma. I am so lucky, Shelly.’

Values

Dave Turin is not only a man with strong work-ethic values; he also has a strong faith in God, and loves his family immensely. His persistence has been a decisive factor in his success as a miner: ‘I’ve always been the guy that always gets back up, gets back in the fight, puts his boots on, and goes to work.’

Net Worth

Dave Turin has an estimated net worth of $2 Million, the result of his continuous work in his family’s quarry, as part of a mining crew in “Gold Rush”, and leading his own mining explorations.

Appearance

Dave Turin is a man of white ethnicity, with green eyes and brown hair. His weight and stature are unknown, though he has a strong-looking appearance and tough physique.

Interesting Facts

Due to his work ethic, expertise on mining and work equipment, he was nicknamed “Dozer Dave”.

Todd Hoffman and Dave used to be close friends, but after Dave’s retirement from “Gold Rush” their friendship was strained – Turin declared they still sometimes talk and text, but not as frequently as before. It’s also known that Turin often disagreed with Hoffman’s decisions during the show: ‘What had begun as a group that felt as close as family had changed’, Dave declared.

Dave says that the toughest part of mining is to be away from his family for extended periods of time.

Dave’s wife Shelly manages finances of mining business in “Dave Turin’s Lost Mine”.

During Dave’s time working in Hoffman’s crew in “Gold Rush”, the team once explored gold mines in Guyana. However, this journey was considered a failure as apparently the crew only collected two ounces of gold.

In 2016, Turin expressed his feelings on problems Hoffman’s crew faced during show’s seventh season to Channel Guide Mag: ‘We start out high … and then in the middle of the season, we have this valley. I lived through it and I’m one of the leaders of the group, and it was one of the hardest months that I’ve ever had because there’s a lot of bickering. These guys are family, and we start coming apart at the seams’. This interview was released shortly before he officially quit the series.