A man raised in Agassiz has found his calling among the rocks and clear blue waters of Cayoosh Creek.

Along his journey of sobriety after a long battle with drug and alcohol addiction, Renegade Prospectors co-founder Rick Curiston 香蕉视频直播� now loving life in Lillooet 香蕉视频直播� hopes to turn his prospecting passion into a new career.

Curiston香蕉视频直播檚 skills in video editing and creating content he developed as a DJ spurred him on to create a YouTube channel, documenting his new-found love of small-scale mining and prospecting.

香蕉视频直播淓veryone in Agassiz would most remember me as the crazy DJ that partied all night, and I was in the festival scene for many years before COVID,香蕉视频直播� he said.

The name Renegade Prospectors is a reference to his former annual festival 香蕉视频直播淲eekend Renegade.香蕉视频直播�

香蕉视频直播淚 smoked crack for 11 years,香蕉视频直播� Curiston said. 香蕉视频直播淚香蕉视频直播檝e been clean for eight. I found prospecting 11 months ago, and I香蕉视频直播檝e been sober for a year.香蕉视频直播�

香蕉视频直播淚香蕉视频直播檒l always be an addict, but now it香蕉视频直播檚 for gold,香蕉视频直播� he added.

Curiston and his fiancee Tina Francis made a pact to get sober together and stuck to it. The Renegade Prospectors logo contains a nod to the couple香蕉视频直播檚 past; the web in the dream catcher resembles the dopamine molecule. Dopamine is a neurotransmitter linked to the brain香蕉视频直播檚 pleasure centre and plays a key role in the forming of habits, both good (socializing, eating properly) and bad (gambling, addiction).

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He vividly remembers the first time he found his first piece of gold while panning along Cayoosh Creek.

香蕉视频直播淧rospecting takes us to a whole new level,香蕉视频直播� Curiston said. 香蕉视频直播淭he high I got from seeing that [first piece of gold] 香蕉视频直播� shake [the pan] back, and bang! There it was. I jumped right up and yelped.香蕉视频直播�

Curiston hopes to incorporate parts of his First Nations ancestry in his YouTube channel 香蕉视频直播� also named Renegade Prospectors 香蕉视频直播� speaking on local legends in addition to showcasing his prospecting finds. He hopes to turn his channel and his hobby prospecting into a career.

Prospecting, hobby mining and panning for gold is the trendy new hobby in the Cayoosh Creek area, according to Curiston.

香蕉视频直播淚t香蕉视频直播檚 booming right now because of COVID; we香蕉视频直播檝e bumped into a lot of people, all newbies,香蕉视频直播� he said. 香蕉视频直播淭here香蕉视频直播檚 nothing else to do!香蕉视频直播�

After seeing Curiston and Francis香蕉视频直播檚 success, the couple香蕉视频直播檚 received private messages across social media looking for their expertise in the hobby.

Agate seems to be their most common find.

香蕉视频直播淚t香蕉视频直播檚 huge on agate,香蕉视频直播� Curiston said of the Cayoosh Creek area. Agate is a volcanic rock that melds chalcedony and quartz.

Prior to venturing out, Curiston looks for irregularities and coloration in the land using Google Earth to help him determine where to look next.

香蕉视频直播淲e haven香蕉视频直播檛 found 香蕉视频直播榥othing香蕉视频直播� yet. Every time, it works,香蕉视频直播� Curiston said.

Then, off he goes treasure hunting with Francis, 4-year-old daughter Paisley and loyal canine friend Biscuit.

香蕉视频直播淸Paisley] even has her own hat, vest, gear and tools for digging agates and amethyst,香蕉视频直播� Curiston said. 香蕉视频直播淪he香蕉视频直播檚 still the holder of the best purple piece of amethyst to date! Due to her being so close to the ground, she finds the really nice stuff.香蕉视频直播�

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Among their biggest hauls is a 35-pound piece of agate and amethyst chunks the size of Curiston香蕉视频直播檚 fist. He described the first amethyst find as a 香蕉视频直播減ocket glowing with purple inside.香蕉视频直播�

香蕉视频直播淭hat was it, all high fives,香蕉视频直播� he recalled. 香蕉视频直播淲e started chiseling; it香蕉视频直播檚 took two and a half hours to get it out of super hard, hard rock. It was super, super dense rock, but it was very worth it.香蕉视频直播�

Francis is enrolled in online schooling for business skills and has been working on building blogs. She crafts pendants 香蕉视频直播� doing everything from polishing to cutting gems to assembling the pendants themselves 香蕉视频直播� from the agate they find while prospecting and has sold a few already to friends and family.

When they香蕉视频直播檙e not treasure hunting, the family likes to fish for trout and hike, exploring familiar trails, relics and old mining sites possibly hearkening back to the days of the Cayoosh Creek Gold Rush in the late 1800s.

Curiston and Francis have been posting videos since late August on YouTube, garnering just under 40 subscribers so far. Their Facebook page is more active with more than 100 followers as of publication; the page features photos of their finds, video briefs out in the field and articles about mining and prospecting. They have also set up a Patreon page for those who want to support their work and content.

香蕉视频直播淭hanks to those who have helped me, guided me into the world of prospecting and who have supported me along the way,香蕉视频直播� Curiston wrote on Facebook at the one year sober mark. 香蕉视频直播淚 appreciate every one of you. Life has changed a lot in the past few years and I香蕉视频直播檓 so happy I can live every day now, clean and sober.香蕉视频直播�

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