Gold Rush: How Freddy Dodge And Juan Ibarra's Friendship Really Began

Few shows accomplish what "Gold Rush: Freddy Dodge's Mine Rescue" delivers. Co-hosts Juan Ibarra and Freddie Dodge allow viewers to experience some of the challenges gold miners face to monetize their dreams. In a Josh Gates Tonight interview, Dodge explained, "There's a lot of people right now that have lost their jobs, that have lost their careers, and a lot of them were hobby miners. I guess, like I said, that's how I started it, right? So they're jumping into it, hoping to make a living, hoping to get ahead, hoping to put food on the table. Juan and myself, we're traveling around trying to help those guys be successful." 

The "Gold Guru" and his partner are evidently doing something right. They're helping down-and-out miners, struggling families, and other people by teaching them prospecting techniques, repairing their washplants and machinery, and helping them set up viable operations to be successful. Dodge and Ibarra have a fan base who wax lyrical about their skills. One fan noted, "Freddy and Juan are the absolute best... Juan and that magic truck of his is absolutely amazing!!! I love their show." Another stated, "We enjoy watching Juan and Freddy! Freddy has the gold reclaiming skills, and Juan has incredible fab skills, but they overlap and are a better team for it. The team chemistry seems to be there without the feigned drama on the typical 'Gold Rush' series." Dodge and Ibarra's partnership has come a long way, but how did it all begin?

It's no secret that Freddy Dodge and Juan Ibarra are firm friends. During the COVID-19 quarantine, the two even binged some shows together and cemented their bond even further. Monsters and Critics interviewed Dodge and learned more about his friendship with the master fabricator. He said, "We became friends right away. We share similar interests, and we have similar skills. For example, both of us are welder fabricators. But early on, Juan had not been around the gold stuff. So I've been teaching him over the years, and if there's anybody that can learn fast, it is Juan Ibarra. He is an extremely intelligent person." It seems as if Dodge helped to further Ibarra's skills in the niche field, and the latter ran with it. But their relationship goes further than sharing their expertise.

In a separate Monsters and Critics interview, Ibarra also revealed that they immediately had a connection when they met while he was working with Todd Hoffman's crew on "Gold Rush." Ibarra shared, "We'd spend days in [and] days out working with each other, putting this plant together, and we hit it off. Freddy loves to joke, and I'm the same way. I make up stupid jokes throughout the day to keep ourselves entertained. And we just hit it off really from the get-go." Apparently, the duo season their friendship with plenty of humor and even a dash of admiration.

What could be more flattering than a friend naming their newborn son after them? "Gold Rush" star Juan Ibarra and his wife Andrea named their fourth child Freddy Travis, born on August 31, 2021, after Freddy Dodge. Dodge told Monsters and Critics, "Oh, it was an absolute honor when he told me he was naming his son Freddy. It made me grin ear to ear. It humbled me, actually."

While Ibarra showed his high regard for his friend in such a remarkable way, Dodge has also made his feelings clear about his co-star. He told Josh Gates, "There's nobody on this planet that I'd work with rather than Juan. He's good at what he does, and he's a good person." Dodge is a seasoned miner and well-regarded in prospecting circles. For him to lavish such compliments on Ibarra, a relative newbie, is high praise. He later jokingly adds, "Juan, if loving you is wrong, I don't want to be right, my friend." With such obvious respect and mutual admiration for each other, it's little wonder their solid friendship translates so well on-screen.