Special Request: Donate to the West Kentucky Tornado Relief Fund
Learn how you can help those affected by the West Kentucky Tornado.
Episode 160: On December 10, 2021, a violent, long-tracked tornado moved across Western Kentucky, producing severe to catastrophic damage in numerous towns. It was the deadliest and longest-tracked tornado in an outbreak that produced numerous strong tornadoes in several states; 75+ fatalities were confirmed in the tornado.
My guest today is Nathan Clark from the hit show Gold Rush: Dave Turin’s Lost Mine.
Head to HeavyDutyPartsReport.com/Relief/ if you want to donate to the relief fund today.
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Transcript of Episode:
Jamie Irvine:
You are listening to The Heavy-Duty Parts Report. I’m your host, Jamie Irvine. And this is the show where you get expert advice about heavy-duty parts that keeps trucks and trailers on the road longer while lowering cost-per-mile.
On December 10th, 2021, a violent long track tornado tore across Western Kentucky. This produced catastrophic damage in numerous towns. It’s the deadliest and longest track tornado in an outbreak that produced numerous, not only injuries, but also sadly fatalities. This has really put the proud, strong people of Kentucky in a position where they do need assistance. And so we’re here to talk about that today, how you can get involved and help. And to help us to really understand how big of an event this truly was, we’ve got Nathan Clark. Now he’s from the hit show Gold rush Dave Turin’s Lost Mine. Nathan. Welcome to The Heavy-Duty Parts Report. Thank you for being here. I wish it was to discuss something a little less serious than what has happened, but I’m glad to have you here.
Nathan Clark:
Thank you. Thank you for getting me on here. I really appreciate you helping spread the word of what Kentucky needs ’cause it’s crazy, man. Honestly crazy, 10 miles from my house. I mean, complete destruction.
Jamie Irvine:
Yeah. I watched your YouTube video where you were kind of driving around and you showed the courthouse and it’s unbelievable. And certainly as someone who lives in Canada, I heard the news at the time, but I didn’t fully understand. And I’m also going to put up a link right now, we’re gonna run this ticker the entire time. So if you want to support the Kentucky disaster relief fund, go to heavydutypartsreport.com/relief, and you will be redirected to a page with all the details. We’re gonna talk more about it in a few minutes, but we’re gonna run this throughout our entire broadcast. So let’s talk a little bit about what happened, explain to the listeners and the viewers, the extent of the damage that was done. And, you know, like I said, I certainly didn’t realize how bad it was until I saw your YouTube video.
Nathan Clark:
I’ve been around tornadoes all my life. I grew up in the south, you know, so we we’ve been around tornadoes, but this one here was a long track tornado. I mean EF4 for over 200 miles, it nonstop just plowed through and it hit many major areas. You know, usually a lot of tornados has hit some areas. This hit downtown Mayfield, all the way through Marshall county. It went over 200 miles. I mean, I wanna say over 70 people lost their lives. You know, it had run before Christmas and that was one of the hardest things is like, man, I want to help, you know, these people out. So, I mean, you know, started the front lines, helping people out with, you know, extension cords, blankets, clothes, quilts, and then you trying to help ’em out there. It was just so much to handle, honestly, it was just so much to handle.
Jamie Irvine:
Yeah, I can, I can really only imagine certainly where I live. We’ve never had that kind of a weather event and I can imagine how scary it was. So that’s what happened the day of, and in the immediate aftermath, but what is the current situation now over two months later?
Nathan Clark:
I tell you, you drive through the area, it doesn’t look like nothing changed. I know the government came in and helped out for the first 30 days, but you got a lot of people come in and I don’t know how genuine they are, but not a lot’s been done in the last two months. And now it’s time for basically the people to start getting to work and helping out and our Governor opened up this link that you can go to and donate. And it goes directly to the people and it helps out with like travel trailers, fuel, food, everything for these workers that are out there trying to get everything back in order. But we had to level half the town down and rebuild. You’re talking years, you’re not talking weeks, months, you’re talking years. And you know, we’re proud people, you know, we’re gonna get back on our feet, but is gonna take some time and it’s gonna take some help.
Jamie Irvine:
I’ve always said, the people you want to help are the ones who are giving it, everything they’ve got and for whatever reason have come up a little short, those are the people you want to help. And I know that, like you said, the people of Kentucky are proud and they’re they’re working and doing all that they can immediately. I imagine there was, like you said, there was some government response. But the reality is that it’s just never enough. And, and we need to come together to, to help. I mean, that to me is obvious.
Nathan Clark:
Yes, sir. And that’s exactly right. You know, and people start to forget, around here, you don’t forget, but around the world, you’re gonna start forgetting. I mean it’s human nature. So I’m just trying to keep awareness about this. And I feel doing this fundraiser would be ideal for me, popularity from the show, listen I’m gonna give gold away. All this stuff we’re giving away, people will donate. So I contacted the state of Kentucky. I said, look, this is what I wanted to do. I want to help out. And they said, great, let’s do this and let’s get this set up. So if people go donate on the government website and use Gold Rush Nathan as the event name are all eligible. So it doesn’t matter if you donate five bucks, a thousand bucks you’re eligible. And that’s one way you can get to everybody, you know, cause everybody’s got five bucks all around.
Jamie Irvine:
Can you tell us a little bit about if they donate, what kinds of things there’s some incentives there that have been supplied by corporations? So let’s talk a little bit about that.
Nathan Clark:
So yeah, I contacted some companies and said, look, this is what I want do. I’m a personally giving away gold. Dave Turin’s gonna give away ounce gold. Jason’s giving out ounce of gold and we’re doing it, you know, basically here. So you got three ounces of pure raw gold that came outta Montana. DeWalt tools donated three combo kits. We got the NFL donated a Drew Bree’s autographed helmet, Lincoln welder, Lincoln electric donated one 40 MP welder in 1840 hood. Gorin Rock donated an electric pump, 12 volt electric pump. And all these items are pretty high end dollar items. I mean, they’re all $1,600 and above. So the combo kits are probably $800 piece, something like that, but there’s three of ’em. So these companies really stepped up and I really thanked them for that. It meant a lot to me. I’ve got one more item coming in. It hasn’t came in yet. I’m still waiting. Hopefully it comes in, there’s a guy out of Montana, he does a lot of awesome fly fishing and stuff and his stuff’s coming in and it’s got our logos kind engraved on it and stuff. He does a lot of inlay. So it’s like high end dollar fly fishing kit. So it’s coming in. So we got some really cool items for people to win just by donating at least five bucks.
Jamie Irvine:
Yeah. And that’s the other thing too. Let’s talk a little bit about, I mean, if I had the money and I’m sure many people feel the same way, right. If I had a million bucks that I could just give, I would, most of us aren’t in that position, how valuable is a $5 donation?
Nathan Clark:
It’s extremely valuable right now. I mean, it’s every little bit helps. And that’s, that’s the honest truth right now. I mean, if you, this drive through right now, you’d be like, this just happened yesterday. It hasn’t. I mean, it takes millions and millions of dollars and every little bit helps out every little bit can help a family out, a business out, get back on their feet. Because small business is the backbone of America. You gotta have him.
Jamie Irvine:
Yeah. Len Prince is a supporter of the show. He’s the CEO of a company that manufactures the Eco Fins, which is a drag reduction system for commercial trucks. And he’s gone and publicly said that he’ll donate. So Len, afterwards, I’m gonna send you an email with Nathan’s email so that you guys can get connected and uh, that’ll be a corporate donation. So thank you Len so much. And Len, I know you’ve got a lot of people following your company, let’s share today’s episode with all of your followers and, and all of your customers so that we can get more people involved. So Nathan, let’s talk a little bit about also if you’re a US citizen, because your governor set this up, is there a tax incentive for this donation on top of the opportunity to get these corporate incentives?
Nathan Clark:
Exactly. Anybody donates a 501 C3 falls into the tax bracket, a hundred percent tax deductible. So you donate, you get your email, get your CPA, or whoever does your taxes, it’s all tax deductible. And that’s why I went this route. I didn’t wanna go Go Fund me or anything like that. I wanted it to be legitimate. I want people to know, Hey, this is the real deal, I can donate any amount, give my tax credit for it. So yes, it is a 501 C3.
Jamie Irvine:
Okay, fantastic. So regardless of where you are in the world, you might have a chance at the corporate incentives. And if you’re in the US, it’s tax deductible, you gotta pay tax anyway. So you’re literally not spending a dime of your own personal money. How great is that to also be able to spend the US government’s money to help the great people of Kentucky. We’re gonna take a quick break. We’ll be right back having issues with your commercial equipment. You need ATA’s Technology and Maintenance Council also known as TMC. TMC develops recommended practices, addressing the most pressing technology and maintenance issues affecting commercial vehicle fleets. You can join TMC for just pennies a day. And when you do, you’ll get access to thousands of pages of technical information and you can attend events like the upcoming 2022 Annual Meeting and Exhibition March 7th through 10th in Orlando, Florida.
For more information, check out TMC at TMCtrucking.org. Don’t have a heavy-duty part number and need to look up a part? Go to parts.diesellaptops.com or download the app on Apple or Android to create your free account. Looking for high quality fuel injection for heavy-duty applications? Having one supplier for fuel injection allows you to better serve customers by providing them with a complete line, which increases your sales and profitability. Learn more at ambacinternational.com/aftermarket. So let’s talk a little bit about your show for people who, some people are big fans, other people may wanna watch the show for the first time. Tell us about the history of how you ended up on television and Gold Rush in this spinoff series.
Nathan Clark:
Yeah, sure. Actually about eight or nine years ago, Juan Ibarra he’s on the main Gold Rush series, was on the main Gold Rush series. We actually went to the head to head for the final position for mechanic. They picked one and you know, I stepped back and, you know, I did my thing. Dave remember me and Dave’s like, man, remember that guy that did the, you know, filming with one on, we really like talk to him. So Dave called me and said, Hey, this is what I wanting to do. And I said, well, what are you, what are you trying to get to the people? He goes, I wanna show people how true mining is. I wanna show respect to mining. I wanna have class and I, you know, so these are some things I wanna do. And he’s like also I wanna inspire people. I said, what do you mean? He’s like, I wanna show people blue collars do mean something, you know, hardworking people of the country is what built America. I mean, mining built America. And I’m all about that. I’m a blue collar guy. I grew up poor and you know, I had a hard life growing up, but I never let nothing get me down. I always put my head forward and kept driving. And I said, dude, this is what I’m wanting to do. I said, this is a great opportunity. So we hooked up and we found the guys along the way and it kinda started it from there.
Jamie Irvine:
So what makes your series a little different from the other ones in this franchise or just in general, other people competing for that kind of space?
Nathan Clark:
You know, we talk a lot about the history. You know, we talk about the old timers, the 49ers, we go out to these places is we do a lot of prospecting. I mean, my Lord, if I could just tell you how many sites I prospecting last year, it’s not even funny. So we bring all that history in and we show more in depth. You know, a lot of the shows are bam, bam, bam, bam is done. You know, we wanna be more involved, more personal, get to know us, you know, get to know exactly how the mining is and how the process goes. So our show stands different than the regular full blown production, let’s just run and gun, you know, we’re more personal, a small crew, seven people. I mean that’s pretty dang small. I mean, we don’t work night shift or anything like that. It’s just us working 12, 14 hours a days a week and Sunday, we try to do laundry and get our groceries and go back to camp. I mean it’s pretty, it’s pretty hard. It’s pretty fun. But our show just sets different and people have watched it have always commented, your show is kind of like the original Gold Rush with a twist. And I’m like, Hey, that’s what I’m looking for.
Jamie Irvine:
That makes sense. That makes sense. So, you know, it’s funny the winding twisting roads that bring us to our careers and I think of how I got into trucking. And I could tell you a whole story about my biological father, who I never met and ended up finding out after I turned 40, that he was a truck driver and been driving for the last 36 years is like, well, there’s something in the genetics. What drew you to mining?
Nathan Clark:
You know I actually worked in Texas. I’ve been a mechanic most of my life, and I got outta mechanics. I was big into hot rods and stuff. So I actually went into retail, retail wasn’t for me. I mean, I love people. I love talking, but man, I only take so much before my mouth takes over. And I said, man, this ain’t for me. So I had a buddy go to Wyoming, worked out in the oil field and said, Hey man, why don’t you come up here and come work in oil field? And I said, all right. So I moved up there and with nothing really and go up there and went to work and worked in oil field for a little bit, a rough industry, real shady industry. And so I changed out a bit to the coal side.
I went in the coal mining and started being a mechanic out there, a field guy. Loved Wyoming people out there were fantastic. Everybody worked hard. I mean the women out there, I learned so much respect for the women out there working in it. You’d be out there working in the coal fields and there’d be a chick next to you. And she’s black like the ACE of spades, you know, and she’s covered in the crap. And next day, you know, you see her in the bar and she’s like, Hey Nathan, what’s going on? I’m like, who are you? You know? So it really made me have a lot of passion for it after that. And then when Gold Rush came out, I really, really enjoyed it. I love watching it, you know, through those years. And you know, I stayed into it, moved to Kentucky. I mean, my wife have a son and we said, let’s move back to the south, be around the grandparents. So it’s, it’s been a long journey, but I mean 20 years of mining now, and I wouldn’t change it for the world.
Jamie Irvine:
You know, that expression that you made about your family and also the individuals who work in these industries like mining and trucking and logging and construction and oil field, all of that, it makes me think back to the people of Kentucky that have suffered because of this tornado. I mean, these are salt of the earth type people, hardworking families. And there’s human stories there that are, you know, just heartbreaking when you think of what they’re having to endure. It’s not just the trauma of the storm on the day, which I, which I can only imagine how bad that would be, but then it’s the aftermath and dealing with that. So we really need to come out and support this relief fund. And I really encourage everyone to do so. Can you share with us maybe one story of a family or someone that you saw firsthand in your area and what they’re going through, just so that people can truly understand?
Nathan Clark:
God, you know, when it first happened, you know, you start picking the phone, calling up everybody, Hey, I know the path went through this way. You okay? Yeah. I’m good. Just got a little bit of damage and you go along that path. One of my friends, Charlie Nelson, done a lot of work for him over the years and he’s helped me out a lot, especially during my Gold Rush career. When you’re off season, you’re like crap, I need to work, make some money and stuff. And he’s like, man, come over here and work. I’ll help you out. So he helped me out, so I wanted to help him out. So I went over there with him and, and they actually were in their dump truck, backed up against the high bank and watched the tornado come through, tore their whole shop down right in front of them. It was the most craziest story, his son and he got a video of it and I was like, holy crap, dude y’all are nuts. But it’s just, it’s just flabbergast. You just don’t know what to think. I mean it’s something unreal. I mean it looks like a bomb went off, honestly, like a third world country.
Jamie Irvine:
Yeah and I think of someone like that with years and years of work to build that business up and then just in seconds to watch your business or your home just be torn apart. I mean the full impact of what people are experiencing can’t really be expressed in words.
Nathan Clark:
No, not at all.
Jamie Irvine:
All right. Well, you know what, Nathan, thank you so much for giving us the opportunity to share your story and talk about this important relief fund that needs to be supported. I greatly appreciate you coming on the show and um, we’re, you know, The Heavy Duty Parts Report will definitely be donating and thanks also to Len Prince for making a corporate donation live on our show. That that means a lot to me, Len, thank you so much, you’re a big hearted guy. I appreciate it.
Nathan Clark:
Thanks guys. I really appreciate it. You know, and just make sure when you do the donations, put Gold Rush Nathan in the event name and you’re all eligible on the prizes, no matter who you are, know how you wanna use your mom, use your dad, your dog, use your cat. I don’t care. Just use your name, donate, win some stuff.
Jamie Irvine:
All right. That sounds great. So thank you again for being on the show and I really appreciate it. We’ll stay in touch and hopefully we can do something to help and move things in the right direction.
Nathan Clark:
Thank you. I really appreciate it.
