Waterloo woman digging for gold on popular TV show

A local woman is digging for gold and getting famous at the same time. 

Brianna Harrison is one of the latest stars on the popular reality show Gold Rush, airing on the Discovery Channel. 

“My team under Parker Schnabel seems to be more and more successful every year but not without our troubles,” Harrison tells KitchenerToday.com. “The show basically documents the struggles we go through to get the gold out of the ground and keep everything running while dealing with problems with our landlord Tony Beets who Parker leases his ground off of currently.”

Gold Rush is currently in it's ninth season. Harrison joined the program as the primary plant operator towards the end of the 2017 season. After moving out to British Columbia when she was 18 to pursue a career in the automotive industry, she made friends with Alec Kelly. Kelly's friend was one of Parker Schnabel's mechanics and ended up getting both him and Harrison jobs on Team Parker. 

Harrison's working season goes from March until November. She tends to work 12 days in a row, then getting two days off. She says she doesn't get recognized when she visits her family here in the Region, but feels like a bit of a local celebrity in her British Columbia home. 

“It's not really a big show here but when you are in a blue collar community like where I live in British Columbia, I get noticed a lot more often, and that's cool. I know it makes people's days to meet people that they look up to on a show, and I don't know if I'm quite that role yet.”

Gold Rush has a strong following south of the border. Harrison was recently travelling by air when she was recognized by a nearby passenger. That woman was travelling with her baby, who she named after Harrison's boss on the show, Schnabel. 

“I'm not used to the attention and I didn't take the job hoping to be on TV. I just really like operating and it was something I felt really strongly about pursuing it as a career but I'm hoping that if anything can come out of the attention it's that it's a good career for other women to pursue if that's what they are interested in.”

There are numerous women on the team with Harrison. She says gender is not an issue on Team Parker. While she says it may be daunting for women to enter the industry, she believes that there are a lot more opportunities now. According to Harrison, there is a stereotype that women can be better operators than men, as they tend to be more gentle with equipment and problem solve with a more level head than their male counterparts. 

Harrison said she has been questioned into how real the show is. She says that people have questioned their calm reaction some of the miners have in severe situation. She says that things go wrong all the time, so remaining calm is key. 

“I've seen a lot of posts and comments and had a lot people say to my face that they believe we're actors and that we're not actually mining, that everything is staged and that's absolutely not the case. We run 24 hours a day, seven days a week for seven months straight.”

While her experience has been mostly positive, Harrison has had to adjust to the reality of being a public figure. She says that a number of different articles have circulated online, spreading false information and using content from her social media account without her knowledge. 

“Some stuff that I posted not thinking anyone other than close friends would ever see, so I got a little bit of an internet safety lesson.”

With nine seasons down, Harrison has an idea as to what keeps the show going. She says everyone likes to see the little guy do well. 

“A Gold Rush is the ultimate American dream, literally starting from nothing and striking it rich just by sticking your hand in the water and pulling out these massive nuggets,” Harrison says. “People want to see good, hard-working people get what they deserve.”