Swing Fast, Dig Smart: An Interview with Paystreak Superfreak

Metal detecting YouTuber Paystreak Superfreak, Jeremy Allen, is well-known for his fast-paced swing and frank, educational detecting banter. His straightforward, practical approach resonates with advanced detectorists—including myself—who value his insightful tips and regard him as an excellent mentor for improving detecting skills and increasing finds ratios.

Primarily hunting parks, playgrounds, curb strips, and fields, Paystreak Superfreak regularly uses the XP Deus, XP Deus II, Nokta Legend, and recently the Minelab Manticore. In the past, he’s also used the Nokta Anfibio—which he sold to a friend at a great price and has featured different Whites Electronics, Bounty Hunters, Fisher Labs, and Tesoro detectors in his over 6500 videos on YouTube.

I personally appreciate his philosophy of gaining real-world experience in actual detecting scenarios rather than relying solely on air tests or staged test gardens when evaluating and learning new detectors and settings.

Below you will find my interview questions and Paystreak Superfreak’s answers.

Paystreak Superfreak’s Detecting History

I have to ask—since one of our readers brought it up—are you a fan of Rick James and his song Super Freak? Or more directly, how did you come up with your YouTube name?

I do like the song Super Freak, but the song had no influence with my channel name. I have had many people ask how I created my channel name. I was in the middle of a river on a day over 100 degrees digging pit run for my classification bin while mining for gold. I was exhausted and felt lightheaded after several hours of digging. I staggered over to the riverbank and took a short nap. I woke up all of a sudden and shouted Paystreak Superfreak. I bursted into laughter because I had been struggling with the creation of my channel name. I was always called a freak when I was a kid. 

How and when did you get into metal detecting?

I was about 19 years old when I saw an older man and his grandson out at a park while I was playing basketball with my buddies. I went over and talked with him, he showed me a bunch of coins and junk he was digging. He had 2 silver coins with that junk. I had a coin collection at home, so this was right up my alley. The next week I was playing basketball again with my friends, and that old man showed up with 2 detectors. He let me borrow a Tesoro Sabre. We had a blast. I ended up buying that Sabre from that old man.  

Who are your metal detecting mentors? 

That old man that introduced me to metal detecting was my first mentor. His name was Leroy. He taught me that having expectations leads to disappointment. I metal detected with Leroy very often. Leroy got lung cancer and died 1996. Leroy gave me 3 very nice detectors just before he died. I had another old timer friend who I befriended for a few years. He moved to Tennessee in 2005. He came and visited a few times to visit relatives but we lost touch after a few years. My current hunting mentor is “Jewelry Jim”. All of my mentors seem to be odd characters like myself and we are not much different than other treasure hunters…we are just nerdy!! 

Paystreak Superfreak’s Tips

We often hear the advice “keep the detector coil slow and low,” yet your videos emphasize a faster swing speed. For readers who may not be familiar with your approach, could you explain why you prefer a fast swing?

The camera makes it look faster than I actually swing. I do swing faster with small coils, because I am not trying to hit deep targets. Small coils I can cover lots of ground and dig many targets in a short amount of time. I will skip many targets as I want to have the least amount of impact in the area. I can come back in a few days and hunt it again. We have many hotspots that are high traffic areas we hit at least weekly during the warmer months. In the winter we will search the areas for deeper targets with our bigger coils and swing slower. We maintain the parks in the summer by digging the surface junk. Summer is when most of the junk is dropped,  we do not use our shovels in the summer. I will swing fast in playgrounds for one main reason, we never know when the kids will arrive. Sometimes we get one or two targets from the playground and a bunch of kids show up..

Which metal detector settings or features do you think detectorists are undervaluing and should pay more attention to in order to improve their finds? 

Let’s get this out of the way!! Metal detecting is mostly luck!! The best way to increase your finds is to stop trying to metal detect like other people. Develop your own hunting style at your own pace. Taking a little bit of many other detectorist’s hunting styles is a great approach at creating your own style. Developing your own styles and strategies takes years. Swing in a way that makes you feel comfortable. Using a YouTuber’s magic program or “BUYING THE BEST DETECTOR”  is not going to get you more finds. Everybody has different skills. Everybody has different physical abilities. Everybody has different soils.  Trying to learn everything overnight will set you up for a stressful hunt. The only expectation I have with metal detecting is….every day is different!! I have taken many people out for their first metal detecting hunt. I do not teach them, I guide them. I give them the proper tools and show them a couple of my digs, and just let them go out and do it. I do not tell them how to dig, I do not tell them how to swing. Some people learn very fast and some people learn very slow. Every person has a unique journey. My most important tip for any metal detectorist is to have fun, no matter who you are with or what you are finding…this is a hobby!!

Which metal detector setting or function do you think is most misunderstood or frequently misrepresented online? 

Metal detecting is tonal!!. One common feature that all detectors have… is a speaker!!! Almost every setting you adjust is a tonal adjustment. The features on metal detectors are tonal filters. The most misunderstood feature on modern metal detectors is hands down the noise cancel or frequency “scam” oops I misspelled there..frequency scan. I have thousands of hours on metal detectors every year and almost never have to use an offset. Frequency scan is just a very minuscule offset. Frequency offset has been on many detectors for decades If I encounter EMI. I change operating frequency. EMI from the environment will drift in small ranges that overlap the offset. Changing frequency will usually attenuate the EMI much better than a noise cancel.  

You frequently detect in parks and curbstrips—how do you handle interactions when approached by the public or local officials?

I have never had a foul experience in a park by any person. Most people in the parks want to ask questions and are very interested in what I am finding. Most people wish me good luck. Never met a person who had a problem with us digging in parks. There is a Park Ranger in our city that is a complete #%#? head. We know many of the maintenance crew members and they are always giving us praise because we pick up so much trash. I hunted curb strips for many years without any problems with homeowners. All the problems started on the curb strips in 2019. The pandemic changed people in a profound way. I tend to stay away from people’s homes now when I search curb strips. Even knocking on doors to ask permissions has changed so much since the pandemic.I have always been very shy about asking for permission anyway.  

If someone is considering purchasing a used metal detector, what models would you recommend that typically hold up well over time, even on the second-hand market?

I think Nokta has the most robust designed detectors, but they have had their own failure points with some models. The batteries inside waterproof  IP68 detectors may be hard to replace because they are sealed units. Most of the time, we do not know how the previous owner treated the internal batteries. I tend to stay away from buying used detectors because you just never know when they will fail. If you look at it, detectors are much cheaper than they were 10 years ago. We get so many features on modern metal detectors at such a bargain price compared to analog detectors. 

What is your favorite pinpointer and why?

My favorite pinpointer is the XP Mi4. It has a good balance of depth and battery life and is robust. It is a very quiet pinpointer, so I have drilled holes in the cap to make it louder. I have used many brands of pinpointers; sadly, no manufacturer has perfected the pinpointer. You would think that manufacturers would be able to develop and produce a great pinpointer.

Feedback to Manufacturers

If you had the opportunity to sit down with all the metal detector manufacturers, what suggestions would you offer regarding improvements to current technology, or what innovations would you like to see developed? 

I have been field testing metal detector prototypes with different brands for about 15 years. I have seen a lot come and go. I have been involved in the development of a few models that never progressed past the beta stage. I would like to see a comeback of the S shaft; this straight shaft has been overplayed for far too long. The S shaft design makes for a much more ergonomic swing. I think it should be easier to replace the internal batteries in the new detectors. Modern metal detectors should have a longer run time than 7 hours. Pinpointer design should have been perfected many years ago.

Closing Paragraph

Paystreak Superfreak’s insights remind us that metal detecting is both an art and a science. His emphasis on practical experience, understanding detector capabilities, and refining technique encourages all of us—whether novice or seasoned—to continually question our assumptions and sharpen our skills. As detectorists, we can greatly benefit from embracing Paystreak’s approach: stay curious, swing confidently, and always be open to learning new methods to uncover hidden treasures.