Todd Hoffman is best known for his starring appearance on the tv show Gold Rush as a gold prospector. But did you know that he’s making waves online as a musician too? Todd has been posting videos of his cover performances of classic hits on his Facebook page and YouTube channel, and they’ve been getting over a million hits. Not bad for a guy who spent most of his life growing up working in aviation and then prospecting for gold. So, who is Todd Hoffman?
Todd was born in the town of Sandy, Oregon, in the USA on the 12th of April 1969. His parents’ names were Jack and Georgia Hoffman, and he had one sibling, his sister Tamra. His father, Jack, was a gold prospector himself, and though his work took him far from his family, the stories he told young Todd about his adventures in gold mines are partly what sparked an interest in going into the business when he grew up.
He attended Portland Christian High School and, when he graduated, chose to study Theology at William Jessup University. Neither prospecting nor singing seemed anywhere in his plans when he left university. He ran a small airport until the financial crisis of 2008 made running it as his only source of income impossible. Making a video as remarkable as this performance of The Sound of Silence had never entered his head.
When the financial crisis hit, Todd needed a new way to earn a living. After all, he had a wife and three children to provide for. He met his wife, Shawna, in 1991 when he was 21, and she was only 18. They may have been young, but it seems they were soulmates. They became engaged just two years later in 1993 and married a year later.
They are still happily married and celebrated their 27th anniversary in December 2021. They have three children, sons Hudson and Hunter and daughter Olivia. So, with four mouths to feed, Todd looked back on the stories his Dad told and decided to give prospecting a try. He was able to make a success of it despite only having a small crew, and it occurred to him it would make an excellent documentary. He sent videos he made of his experiences to a producer who loved it, and the Discovery Channel show was born.
So how did he make the jump from miner to singer? It seems that he simply had a passion for music. He has uploaded dozens of videos of his singing performances to his YouTube channel, which now has 147,000 subscribers. Several of his performances have millions of views, including The Sound of Silence which has 14.5 million! Todd’s Facebook page is also extremely popular and boasts nearly half a million followers.
It seems Todd is one of those lucky, multi-talented people who can reinvent themselves several times throughout their life. He seems to be making music his main focus at the moment. He’s even gone so far as to create a music video for one of his recent performances. It is a cover of the Ozzy Osborne and Lita Ford duet, Close My Eyes Forever.
The female part of the track was performed by Heidi Grisham, lead singer of the band When Vanity Kills. Although fans are keen to see this song released, alongside an album or Todd’s songs so far, there’s nothing on the horizon. His many fans will need to keep waiting with their fingers crossed.
If you want to see more from Todd you can subscribe to his YouTube channel or follow him on his official Facebook page.