From Casual Hobby to Passion: The Metal Detecting Journey of Detectorist “Seek and Detect” in Southern California

Meet the man behind the YouTube channel “Seek and Detect,” a metal detectorist in Southern California. Growing up, his love for metal detecting began when his dad gifted him a Radio Shack metal detector. Although the hobby took a backseat for a while, about 15 years ago, he rekindled his interest with a Bounty Hunter. Three years ago, upgraded to a Minelab Vanquish 540 reignited his passion further, and today, with Minelab Equinox 900, he’s hunting beaches across LA and Orange County, sharing his finds and adventures with a growing online audience on YouTube, TikTok, Facebook and Instagram.

In this interview, we dive into Seek and Detect’s journey from a casual hobbyist to a YouTuber. See my questions and his answers below.

Getting Serious About Metal Detecting: Where It All Started

Your dad bought you your first metal detector from Radio Shack when you were a kid. How did that early experience influence your love for metal detecting, and what made you return to the hobby later in life? 

Dad kept me engaged with all sorts of stuff when I was young. One day he came home with one of those basic Radio Shack metal detectors. I don’t remember finding very much with it, but I do remember my best find. It was an old scuba diving knife. I spent a lot of time down on the beach in Baja when I was growing up. It was almost like a 2nd home. I actually still have that knife somewhere. More recently (2008), I was living in a 1920’s house and I stumbled on a couple of old pieces of metal in the backyard. I wanted to see what else I could find. I stopped by the local discount sporting goods store and picked up a $150 Bounty Hunter. This little old house sat in the middle of a very large yard. I spent a whole summer carefully detecting it slow and steady. I ended up filling up a couple of 5 gallon bucket with all sorts of random objects. I dug every signal I could find.

Bounty Hunters are excellent, budget-friendly metal detectors. I even know expert detectorists who use them. For those who’ve received one as a gift or recently bought one, could you share some of your top finds made with your Bounty Hunter to inspire them? Also, could you offer a couple of tips that helped you succeed with your Bounty Hunter and draw you further into the hobby?

Some of the things I found that summer were of course older coins ranging from early 1900’s to current. I did find a vintage Matchbox car that was in great condition. Luckily it was buried in what was probably an old sand box. It stayed nice and dry which kept it almost pristine shape. The most unusual object was a brass belt buckle with a surfer on the front. I found out it was from a vintage pair of 1930’s surf trunks. The best tip I can give and this goes not only for the Bounty Hunter but also any new detector you get your hands on. Spend as much time swinging and digging as you can. You hear this advice often, “dig everything”. Time and repetition is the best way to learn your machine. Listen to how it reacts to different objects. My Bounty Hunter has a very slow response time, so I would have to swing multiple times, very slowly over a target to get an accurate location. Moving up to a more modern machine is great, but the learning curve starts again. Every time you get a new machine it’s like you’re learning a new language. I’m always caught off guard when a tone sounds terrible and I find something interesting or valuable. As you get better, you’ll have a better idea of what you’ve found before you even dig. I never discriminate or “notch” anything.

You mentioned using a Bounty Hunter for a while and then upgrading to the Vanquish 540. What made the Vanquish 540 the turning point where you started taking metal detecting more seriously? 

I came across an article about metal detectors and found out how advanced machines have become. And at the same time, a lot of these features have become more affordable. Multi-frequency seemed to be a game changer everyone raved about. The Nokta Simplex and Minelab Vanquish were reasonably priced multi-frequency machines. I decided to give one a try. I ended up at a local detector shop with both machines in stock and I walked out with the Vanquish. That machine improved my speed and efficiency immensely. Solid target ID’s and crisp responsive tones made hunting a whole new experience.

Who were your mentors when you were first learning, and now that you’ve developed your skills, where do you turn for tips and advice?

Obviously, my dad giving me a detector at such a young age planted the seed. Getting  back into detecting in ‘08, with just a budget machine and the instruction manual, I was pretty much on my own. This is when YouTube just started and there was not a lot of information available. Not having any help or inspiration probably kept me really getting as “deep” into the hobby. More recently, the amount of information you can find online is amazing. It may not always be completely accurate, but there is enough out there to really help you figure it out. I enjoy hunting on my own but I also enjoy meeting and talking to people I run into. I’ve made quite a few friends in the hobby and I try to listen and learn from their experience. When I run into someone starting off I enjoy helping them out.

Metal Detecting SoCal Beaches:

You primarily hunt beaches in LA and OC counties. What is it about beach detecting that draws you in compared to other types of detecting?

I don’t think I’m giving away any secrets here, it’s much easier digging in the sand! I’ve dug in many types of soil, but you can’t beat the ease of curving into soft sand with a big scoop. Also, my knees like not having to bend over as much (although walking for hours on dry sand is no picnic). The other nice thing about searching through sand is I rarely have to use a pinpointer. Besides that I just love being on the beach. The downside is you are not going to find as many old things like relics or coins. Most of the stuff on the beach is either trash or freshly dropped. 

Beach detecting can be challenging due to tides and trash. What advanced tips would you give other detectorists to improve their success rate at the beach?

There’s 3 things you need to be successful on the beach, and you need a little (or a lot) of each.

First is skill. Learn your detector. Understand it as well as you can. Practice and keep practicing. Also know the beach, and the conditions. Figure out the best times and places to hunt. Know where people gather, know where people don’t detect as often.

Second, be persistent. Go out as often as you can for as long as you can. The more time you spend searching, the more targets you will find and dig.

And last is something we have no control of, which is just luck. You have to walk over a target if you’re going to find it. Everyone has had that day where they turn on their machine and just find an amazing first target. Or you may have a day where you search for hours and the last turn before you leave you hit something good. What if you decided to turn left instead of right. You just never know.

Skill, persistence and luck, when you have a good amount of each, you’re bound to have a successful hunt.

What advanced tips can you share for specifically targeting and finding gold on beaches?

First of all, I’m definitely not an expert at finding gold! If you watch my videos, you’ll see how successful I am(not). I film and upload almost every hunt (unless it’s an exceptionally terrible day). I have my good days where I find some gold and my bad days when it’s all tent stakes. Even though I’ve been at it a few years, I’m still learning every time I go out. Read, watch and listen to any advice, then see what works for you. Unfortunately I’m going to have to refer back to my previous answer, Skill, Time and Luck. You need to know how your machine reacts to gold. Hopefully you have a few pieces so you can test out, to see how your machine reacts and sounds. 

You enjoy participating in group beach hunts and mentoring newcomers who are interested in the hobby. What advice would you offer to those starting in metal detecting and meeting others in the hobby, especially in Southern California?

I’ve been to a few events, but I’m not a member of any metal detecting clubs. That would be a great way to meet people. I wish there were more big public events here in California. It would be nice to have a get together where manufacturers and fellow hobbyists could all meet up. How about the annual “Focus Speed Southern California Detector Festival”. I’d go to that for sure!

Becoming A Metal Detecting YouTuber:

You started your YouTube channel, “Seek and Detect,” in mid-2023. What inspired you to turn your metal detecting hobby into a video-sharing project?

I had been sharing photos of my finds on different metal detecting groups and occasionally filming short dig videos. Most of the videos I would share on my personal social media accounts. Usually just video stories I would edit clips together, the tones, then then dig, then the target reveal. At the same time, I’ve always watched a lot of YouTube and loved watching detecting videos. It does help with the learning curve to watch other people that use the same machine you use. At some point I decided to give it a try myself. I filmed a few hunts and edited them together.  It was tough at first, but I got the hang of it fairly quickly. I shot and edited quite a few hunt videos before I decided to create a YouTube account and upload my first video. I’ve been consistently sharing all of my hunts since then.

How has creating videos added complexity to your detecting sessions, and how do you balance hunting with capturing great footage?

I don’t think about it as much anymore, I put on a camera like I put on my finds pouch. It is something extra to remember every time I go out. Is everything charged? Do I have enough camera memory available? Did I turn the camera on or off? Once in a while I’ll accidentally leave the camera recording and shoot 10 mins of just the coil swinging back and forth. Then there’s the times I forget to hit “record” and I have to explain on camera that I screwed up. “It sounded like this and gave me this target ID, here it is”. That doesn’t make for a good reveal. I try to shoot almost every dig, you just never know when you’ll be surprised. Learning how to edit and follow the YouTube stats is another component that’s been challenging and rewarding at the same time.

Your videos have done well on YouTube, TikTok, and other platforms. What do you think has been the key to connecting with your audience?

I just try to capture things as they happen. I don’t claim to be an expert. I show my digs and share my knowledge as I learn. I don’t do fake stuff like plant/dig any targets. I’d love to find amazing treasure and gold every time out, but that’s just not reality for me. So far YouTube has been doing much better than I ever thought. I’m really not completely sure why. I just try to keep uploading consistently and make the kinds of videos I like to watch. I see what does well and what does not. I try to listen to the feedback and comments from my viewers. I’m certainly having a lot of fun, so I’m going to keep at it!

Minelab Equinox 900 Tips:

What is your go-to Minelab Equinox 900 detecting setting for beach hunts in SoCal?

I don’t have any particular special setup. I tend to go with Beach 1 dry sand or  Beach 2 on the wet stuff. I noise cancel, auto-balance and set my sensitivity to 20-23. When the area is noisy or there’s lots of black said I’ll drop the sensitivity down. Sometimes I’ll lower recovery, but even at the default I get decent depth. I almost always have All-Metal on and the volume for low tones turned up a bit. Quite often I hunt without headphones so I can capture clear sounds on the camera. Minelab defaults the lowest tone way down and they’re hard to hear using the speaker. I use the stock 11in coil, but in trashy parks I’ll put the 6” on. In the water I’ve used the 6” as well, much easier to swing. I use all sorts of headphone setups. The stock ML-85 wireless work well and I’ve made a custom set up with a speaker to record sound when I’m filming. I also use the WM-09 wireless module with earbuds which are more comfortable on hot sunny days (I can wear them with a big hat). I also use the Tony Eisenhower waterproof headphones when I want to completely submerge the 900(wireless headphones won’t work with the detector control under water).

Do you have any aftermarket upgrades you recommend for the Minelab Equinox900? 

I only use a couple aftermarket things on my detector. One is a control head “bumper” for protection from drops. And a neoprene arm cuff pad, saves my forearms on those long hunt days. I may try a 15” coil at some point, just to see if the extra weight is worth swinging.

Future of Seek and Detect:

What’s next for “Seek and Detect”? Are there any new directions or goals for the channel that you’re excited about?

I’m going to just keep doing what I’m doing. I’ve been putting out 2-3 videos a week for over a year now. There’s always going to be dull videos and interesting ones that get a ton of views. As long as my channel and followers keep growing I’ll keep doing what I’m doing. I mainly do hunt videos where I’m out for a few hours, I show most of my interesting digs and then do a full finds review at the end. I do occasionally receive things to try out, test and review. I enjoy that. As I said earlier, I don’t claim to be an expert or authority. I just like to take something and film myself trying/figuring it out. So if anyone has something they’d like tested out, get a hold of me. (I do try to limit it to items that are useful or helpful for fellow detectorists)

Do you have any dream locations—either in SoCal or beyond—that you’re eager to detect and film in the future?

Dream hunt would be some of these locations where they find truly old stuff like Europe or the UK. I follow quite a few people online and I’m always blown away by what they find. I’ll keep hunting my area and take occasional trips to new places when I have time. If anyone has any fun spots they’d like to share with me, let me know!

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As “Seek and Detect” continues to grow, it’s clear that this passion for metal detecting goes far beyond just a hobby. From childhood curiosity with a Radio Shack detector to serious beach hunts with the Minelab Equinox 900, his journey is a testament to dedication and a love for the thrill of the hunt. His YouTube channel has opened up new avenues, allowing him to share his adventures, connect with fellow detectorists, and inspire others to dive into the hobby. With exciting future plans and the drive to keep learning, we can’t wait to see where his journey leads next. Whether it’s uncovering treasures on SoCal beaches or exploring new locations, one thing’s for sure—there’s much more to come from “Seek and Detect.”

Happy hunting!