Travelling on his own much of the time, Levi has had some close calls.

Self-diagnosed with a bad case of gold-fever, his gold hunt was insatiable and physical safety soon went out the window.

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"The year when I started I was all about the gold. It was just really cool that I was finding it and I was just going all winter," he said.

"I had frostbite and hypothermia and almost passed out from it."

In describing the encounters that many would shudder at in their precariousness, Levi was unphased.

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"I had real gold fever. It's a real thing. You ask anyone that's right into it and they'll tell you," he said.

"It's not a physical illness, but a psychological thing that you have that makes you do really dumb stuff and get obsessive about a thing that's just a shiny little rock.

"What I love is that it glows under water, it stands out. When you're in the river in real life and you see it it's like ... 'wow'."

While finding gold fuelled his pursuit, Levi's obsession has layers.

His name may even ring a bell to some.

That is because the Triffitt surname has become known throughout Tasmania as the name of the Tassie Boys.

The Tassie Boys were once known for their daredevil videos that brought them local, national and international acclaim.

Nine years ago the Tassie Boys found what was briefly thought to be the remains of a Tasmanian Tiger which garnered them international recognition as it awaited identification at QVMAG.

From there the Tassie Boys went from strength-to-strength, even taking part in daredevil philanthropy to raise awareness for autism back in 2013, and the group's Youtube channel now has over 55,000 subscribers and more than 11 million views, and on Facebook the page has 21,000 followers.

For Levi, Tassie Boys Prospecting is now a full-time job. But the job is just the gold-plating on a lifestyle choice that has enabled him to battle through some of the most difficult times in his life.

"Prospecting is good for me all round because it's everything that I love. I've had depression and anxiety for years, and that's probably why I haven't done ordinary work over the years. For me it's just been the things that's really helped me," he said.

Levi and his brother Jarom Triffitt started Tassie Boys and even prospected together, but late in 2020 Jarom died by suicide after a long and complicated mental health battle.

His brother's death is still painful for Levi to process, and his eyes well with tears as he remembers the lifetime of memories they shared as the Tassie Boys.

"We had a different bond as brothers than most. Most brothers fight, they don't get along, we were pretty good because we had to survive with our third brother that had autism, which was severe. We relied on each other a lot of the time," Levi said.

"We had such an experience, it's been so different. But the memories, you just wouldn't change them for anything."

But Levi's journey with Jarom is not over.

Thanks to years of video footage and a bond made unbreakable as a result, Levi said he feels Jarom in every venture into the mountains and guiding him along each icy creek.

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Even still, when Levi discusses the Tassie Boys he does so as "we".

The Tassie Boys have gone from doing stunts on motorbikes and shocking the world with their "Tasmanian Tiger" discovery to meaning so much more.

"Because I'm loving what I'm doing, it might've been good timing for me. It's enabled me to not stress too much about it," he said.

"There's a lot of healing in it for me, I guess, now that he's gone. I do feel him about. I know he's out there somewhere."

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