Hey. I’m Nilson, the guy behind Code Black Fossils. What originally started as a COVID hobby almost immediately turned into a passion (or an obsession, depending on who you ask), one that I think is worth sharing. The idea for Code Black Fossils came to me while on a solo creek hunt at one of my favorite honey holes in early December, 2022. It was a particularly bountiful hunt, and I kept thinking there had to be a better way to share my finds than just posting pictures on social media, especially with Christmas right around the corner. I spent that whole drive home brainstorming and came up with a plan: fossil dig kits. The first iteration was fairly simple – burlap sacks with hand drawn labels and a welcome sheet explaining what hunters could expect to find. I rebranded a dormant IG page to document past and future hunts and threw some pictures up to act as an ID guide. In the ten days leading up to Christmas I sold 31 standard (now called Explorer Packs) and 25 small bags and donated many more, strictly through Facebook and word of mouth. Encouraged, I began refining the product: stencils for the burlap sacks instead of hand drawn labels; new “Premium Packs” offered in repurposed cigar boxes with sticker labels; “Big Dig” mega kits for classroom and group settings; meticulously researched educational inserts (a glossary, an FAQ, and a Premium Pack-specific fossil guide) for every kit; and finally, this website, with a more robust ID guide and a secure way to purchase (rather than just asking people on the internet to Venmo me and hope I wouldn’t rip them off – thanks to everyone who trusted me, btw!).

I’m far from the only person to sell fossil dig kits. I’m actually friends with and hunting companions of a few of them! There are some great products out there (if you want an awesome megalodon tooth, for example, I Hunt Dead Things is gonna be your best bet), but I think I have something special too: the most informative with the best variety of fossils, tied together by a cohesive and stylish aesthetic, all offered at a fair price.

Finding fossils isn’t easy. It takes time, effort, patience, and money. There’s always risk involved, whether it be a face to face encounter with a shark, alligator, or snake; potentially falling and breaking a bone in the middle of nowhere; getting ensnared by a downed tree or other obstacle while diving; getting stuck out at sea or stranded down-river with a boat engine that won’t start; or one of any other countless problems that could arise out in the field (especially solo, as I often am). But it’s a passion, a labor of love, and it’s truly a joy to be able to share the fruits of that labor with others, especially if it means getting kids into science and conservation and toward hopefully making the world a better place.

Thanks for the support and for taking the journey with me.

– Nilson