Reality TV stars are often discovered on social media, but April Acciarito’s journey began with what she discovered there herself.
“I found a video on Tik-Tok of a guy metal detecting,” said the 25 year old from Werribee.
“I asked my dad if he could buy me a cheap metal detector and he caved in and bought me one.”
From searching for coins or keys on the beach, Ms Acciarito quickly transitioned to looking for gold, efforts she documented on social media as the ‘Pretty Prospector.’
“I was just making videos for myself and to educate female prospectors because they’re very rare. Basically it’s just old white men in the gold prospecting community,” she said of her social media content which soon caught they eye of reality TV producers.
“They approached me through my Instagram page.”
A year on, Ms Acciarito has filmed two seasons of the new reality series Adventure: Gold Diggers which will soon air on 7 Mate.
“I’m so stoked. I’ve had to keep it a secret for a very long time,” she said of the program which premieres on October 3.
On the show Ms Aciarrito and partner Ian Holland compete against other prospecting duos to find the biggest gold nuggets, with each employing different techniques to do so.
“There’s a lot of talent and a different styles of gold prospecting. For example, there’s the Victorian mine chasers, they go down into mines which is pretty dangerous,” said Ms Acciarito
who along with Mr Holland use trenches dug by excavator.
She hopes appearing on the program will help promote gold prospecting as an activity and maybe lead to her doing it full-time.
“In an ideal world I’d like to own my own lease and find big nuggets. It’s my passion.”
