‘Gold Rush’ Star Brennan Ruault Reveals Why He Left Parker Schnabel’s Crew

Rick Ness’ newest crew member on Gold Rush is a familiar face to anyone who has kept up with the Discovery reality series. The show’s Season 12 premiere on Sept. 24 revealed that Brennan Ruault had jumped ship and left Parker Schnabel’s crew for Rick’s.

So, what happened to Brennan on Gold Rush?

Brennan explained his change of heart in the Season 12 premiere as he caught up with Rick, whom he met on Parker’s claim six years prior when Brennan was still a greenhorn operator.

“You know, Parker and I just seemed to, for some reason, start butting heads a little bit more in the last few years, and it’s just made it quite tough and draining at the end of the day,” Brennan told his new colleague.

According to his Discovery profile, Brennan is a logger from Invermere, British Columbia. He made his Gold Rush debut in the show’s sixth season when he linked up with Parker’s crew.

“Predominantly working with excavators, Brennan has gold fever and finds the most rewarding part of the job to be the gold weighs,” Discovery explains. “It makes him feel like all the hard work is worth it.”

When he’s not searching for gold, Brennan works out, hunts, fishes, motorbikes, and snowmobiles.

According to the Gold Rush narration in that Sept. 24 season premiere, Brennan left Parker and joined Rick to get a fresh start.

“Here I am, I’m on my way back up here to the Yukon,” he said on the show. “I just knew it was time for a change. Whole new crew, whole new blood, and a whole new way of mining, you know?”

He said that he was tired of all the drama with Parker, who had made him co-foreman during their work together. “Last year, it was pretty brutal, and Parker and I seemed to not see eye to eye anymore,” Brennan said. “It’s very draining and stressful when you’re angry half the time. Like, that’s no way to work, you know?”

Viewers also saw clips of some of Brennan’s arguments with Parker, including one in which Parker questioned Brennan’s leadership.

“Right there, I kinda knew,” Brennan said in the season premiere, reflecting on that squabble. “I was like, well, I don’t think it’s going to go any farther for me. This year, I just want to run some big gear, move some dirt, and, you know, go back to having a nice fun summer like it used to be, and kill it and hopefully find a s—t-ton of gold.”

So far, however, some Gold Rush fans are skeptical of Brennan’s career move. “Brennan was never cut out to be a foreman,” one tweeted. “He can move dirt, but he doesn’t want responsibility, and he doesn’t understand the pressure Parker is under.”

Another wrote, “As long as he knows he’s only making a fraction of what he made with Parker. When I saw Parker chew him out, it was justified, and he later apologized. But say goodbye to big money. 1,000 ounces split 20 ways doesn’t go far.”

Gold Rush airs on Fridays at 8 p.m. ET on Discovery.