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00:00Alright, well, let's get into it, then. Let's roll for initiative here, because I gotta start with what got you guys on this epic quest to begin with, because we heard so much about, obviously, your respective, you know, childhood and how the two of you had connected, but where and when did The Amazing Race come into the picture, and did you always have this mentality of wanting to race, let alone together?
00:23Yeah, I mean, I think, you know, who hasn't seen The Amazing Race when they're a child and been like, okay, so that's going to be me. And then actually, seven years ago, sorry, Nick and Mike, we also applied together seven years ago, but we were just like not in the right headspace with each other, like our lives didn't align quite as much.
00:46And then during COVID, I think when everyone was like, I can't even leave my house, the like fantasy of watching The Amazing Race and being like, I'm ready to go to all these places, and I want to do anything. And I don't care how hard it is, at least I'm not in my house. I think then propelled us to be like, we should really do this. And then we applied together. Yeah, like this last time, and that was it.
01:11Yeah. Yeah. And interestingly enough, too, if we're, you know, talking about like history and sort of where it all stems from, actually, two things that they didn't actually talk about on the race or didn't edit into our edit, which I think was okay, because it was really about our sort of friendship over a decade now. But, like, two major things that I think were impetuses is like, actually, I had an Amazing Race birthday party when I was like, I also
01:38We didn't talk about it. But, but I should, I'm gonna post the picture soon. I have this picture of me running around San Diego having an Amazing Race birthday party when I was like, 13. But it's because I actually, I used to watch with my mom, who was like a big CBS, sort of like, survivor, Amazing Race, we used to watch together. And my mom, unfortunately, passed three years ago.
01:59And so I feel like this was also to honor her and, you know, to do something that, you know, she sort of instilled in me, she was somebody who like, loved games and loved, like, you know, doing crazy stuff. And so I think, again, like when we applied seven years ago, of course, we wanted to be on it. But now felt like there was more like spiritual stuff behind it, too.
02:24Well, yeah, I'm so sorry to hear about your loss. But I think it makes it all the better when we fast forward to the finish line. And of all places in a Miami Marlins stadium, the two of you become a million dollars richer.
02:37I know, I've never heard of that. I don't know who they are. Sorry to those fish.
02:43Well, let's talk about the big catch that you landed here. Because I mean, the scramble, I know you would vocalize like, not gonna get too confident here.
02:52But like, it seemed like we got into a familiar setting for the two of you, which is you got out to an early lead, and you never relinquished it. What was your mentality throughout the day? Did that confidence grow every task that you went through?
03:06Yes, it definitely did. But also, what's really interesting is, and I'm sure you maybe have heard about this is that we stopped down in the middle of the lake, there was a huge storm that that blew through Miami.
03:18And so after the speedboat, it was like, production needs to stop. It's dangerous to be outside.
03:25It was like flooding everywhere.
03:25Miami was like under a storm.
03:27Underwater.
03:28Yeah, yeah. And so we stopped down for a long time. And honestly, I think the mental thing that happened over those couple days was really helpful to finishing up the race.
03:40Because of course, you have this insane adrenaline on the last leg, the one that is $4 million. And being able to be like, okay, stop.
03:49Like, there are actually things in this world that can, we can zoom out and be like, you know what, this is an incredible opportunity.
03:56Like, Miami's underwater. And like, you know, it's not all about us.
04:02It's not all about us. And so we were able to like, put our egos aside a little bit, going into the rest of the race.
04:08And I honestly think it helped us a lot to grow our confidence and be like, you know, we got this. Let's stay calm.
04:13Yeah, absolutely. I also think like, it was helped by, you know, and it was also scary, because we knew, you know, Anna was not the strongest swimmer.
04:26And we had sort of a understanding, this was gonna be a lot of water stuff. But then on the opposite end of the spectrum, we were like, well, Han, Han is gonna swim.
04:36Oh, my God. And so I think we were nervous. But then I think once, yeah, once we had done like the hoverboard challenge, and realizing like, oh, actually, we're from San Diego, and we can do anything we want in the water as well.
04:54And then, except for sail.
04:58But yeah, even Han couldn't sail. So it was it was like, where was the wind? Yes, where was the wind?
05:05It's like, we were on the Truman Show. Like, we were on a set, whereas like, the wind just didn't exist.
05:10And yet, and yet, there are all these like, eight year olds in boats being like, and we're like, what? Like, they are whipping around. I don't know. It was, it was so strange.
05:22But yeah, after that, I think, not my hair. After that, we were like, we had a pep in our step, I think, after that.
05:32Yeah. Well, let's talk about maybe what put the pep in your step to begin with, all the way at the beginning of the race. And you know, this is something you vocalize even on that first pit stop is like, we don't have big arms, but we have big hopes.
05:44Realistically, what do you think your expectations were of your performance going in? And how much did especially that first half, right, where we keep seeing this commentary of like, listen, we're killing it right now. And no one's clocking us. How much did that live up to the expectations you had going in?
05:59Yeah, well, but what's interesting is it's interesting you bring up expectation, because we keep talking about that we went to therapy together, which is like before the race, which was maybe the best thing, best advice we can give any racer ever.
06:15You know, it's not normal that you like go to, you know, therapy with your friend, but it was so crucial to our race, because we were talking about how do we relate to each other? How do we communicate? And really, how do we not expect certain things, right? Like removing people talk about what what do I have? What can I what what do I give to this race, right? But it was actually for us about breaking down things, right? Removing expectation, right?
06:42Like, if if Carson's upset, it's not my responsibility, actually, to make him feel better. He's gonna self soothe, I'm gonna self soothe. And then we're gonna know that like, we're doing our best for ourselves, which is in turn good for the other person. And so releasing that expectation of the other person to be any type of right, like, when I'm stressed, I need you to talk to me like this, right? No, like, no, like, I can't expect you to act or be or, you know, talk or, you know, compete.
07:12compete the way that I want you to write, you're a different person than me. And so, yeah, removing that expectation, I think was and we did talk about, you know, when you talked about expectation, it was really about like placement. We went into this being like, you know what, if we do go home, we did a lot of mental work to be like, leg one, if we go home, yeah, we imagined that, what would that be like? How would we feel? And what would we try to prepare ourselves for? Yeah, any situation?
07:39And I think like, you know, we root everything in like, some fantasy thing. So meeting all these people for the first time in LA, you couldn't talk, you could only size each other up. It felt like the Hunger Games where like, you were seeing these buff people like Alyssa and Josiah, like, immediately, we were terrified of them. Brett and Mark, like, we were like, yeah, we were like, these people are,
08:09but I'm the girl on fire. Like, you know, like, I'm Katniss Everdeen. She doesn't have all, everything everyone else has. She has her own things. We had to then like, remember, like, okay, but what do we have? We have fun.
08:21We have our brains. We have, you know, and just remembering like, the Amazing Race is not, you know, a marathon, literally. It's not a gun show. It is just what it is. It is just what it is. And we didn't know what it was going to be. And I felt really lucky that like, you know, a lot of things we were prepared for also, I think just through gaming and liking, liking to do stuff.
08:49Yeah. Um, generally. Yeah. Talk to me more about that. Because I do think that, you know, when it comes from the specific mindset that you were talking about, which is a lot of like role playing games or gaming in general, it gives you that mindset for problem solving, of adapting, of improvising. What would you say is sort of like, the secret to your success? What were some of the skills you felt most directly translated to all the great stuff you were able to do on the race?
09:13Yeah. I mean, I think being adaptable, like being, um, flexible, like, especially in Dungeons and Dragons, like we, a weekly practice in not maybe achieving, like it's such, every game is emotional, right?
09:29Right. But particularly Dungeons and Dragons, it's about how you communicate, how you talk, there's so much emotion in it. And every week, we're coming up against things that are like, oh, we're not doing as well as we thought, or we didn't defeat the big boss, or we didn't, you know, go through this dungeon the way we have to create alternate routes, we have to figure out new strategies. And I think that a weekly practice in expecting the unexpected.
09:52Yeah, it was helpful.
10:22In D&D, silliness, like when it's at its best is when you're with a group of people who are having a hilarious time, and then 10 minutes later, you might be sobbing, because a boss killed your friend, right? And I think, you know, having those, that dichotomy of both of those things, knowing that silliness is really serious for us, actually really helps.
10:48Yeah, well, and I mean, I imagine that really came in handy when you hit that low point hard in Bulgaria, and you go from being three hours behind the most, you know, recent team to coming back and finishing in first place a couple of legs later.
11:06Talk me through your thought process through that very stressful day and how you were able to sort of like mentally recover as you kept moving through the race.
11:14Yeah, you know, we have this mantra, you know, going into the race, but also particularly once we found out it was a season of surprises, and we knew things would be thrown at us that were unexpected.
11:24We said, use our obstacles as opportunities, right? So when you say like, you know, how did you recover? We actually were like, we don't need to recover, we can actually use this to our advantage.
11:38I actually think our brains were not only like, oh, we're at a deficit now, and we need to get back to feeling good about ourselves.
11:44It was like, no, we thought we were out of the game, and now we think we can do anything. Now we're even more energized, we're even more grateful, we're even more, you know, holding on to this as tightly as we can, right?
11:58It was, it didn't take us from here to here, it took us from here to there, you know, which was kind of cool.
12:05Yeah, I think you need to be behind in the Amazing Race at some point. And for us, you know, we were lucky that it was in a leg where, you know, frankly, Nick and Mike probably could have gone straw by straw and found the thing faster than we would have gotten there.
12:23Um, but yeah, I think it's a lesson in like, coming back, like you, you can't ever, ever, ever, ever count yourself out, because the Amazing Race surprises you. It was a season of surprises, probably not even in a way that like, you know, that producers expected it to happen.
12:43And, and I think, yeah, like, having that experience of being like, okay, we can come back from this, we can come back from anything, um, was, was really helpful, yeah.
12:55Well, listen, I mean, you talk about wanting to bring that silliness into the game. A famous face once said that the Amazing Race is supposed to be fun and good.
13:02Oh, yeah.
13:03And I think, and I think you guys, a fellow green team, and I think you guys absolutely brought that, and I think, you know, it resonated incredibly with audiences.
13:10I, I've seen so much praise for the two of you throughout. I'm sure you have as well, and, and count me into the throng, uh, too, because I, I think just getting the chance to watch you guys truly live out your passions, showcase your personalities in such a way, and have it pay off handsomely in a million dollars, and then some, was so heartening to me.
13:28So, thank you both so much for, you know, everything that you brought to our screens, for bringing your sterling personalities to me today.
13:37I, I, I'm so looking forward to seeing everything you have moving forward, to see this, you know, souped-up D&D show you've got going on with the funds.
13:45It's, it's been an incredible time to watch your campaign over these past, uh, 12 weeks.
13:50Oh, you know just how to talk to us.
13:52No, like, I'm getting emotional.
13:53Talk nerdy to me, baby!
13:55Yes! Yes! Like, thank you so much.
13:58Yeah.
13:58It means the world coming from you, and, and, yeah.
14:01Yeah.
14:01The pleasure was all mine. Seriously, guys, thank you. I know this will not be the last time that we're talking, but for now, I wish you and yours nothing but the best. A huge congratulations, guys.
14:12Thank you so much.
14:12Thank you so much.
14:13All the love. Have a great day!
14:14You too!
14:15Thank you so much.
14:16Bye! Bye!
14:17Bye!
14:17Bye!