Time for our first eliminated team interview for Season 3. Max and Elias were the surprising first couple to go. Surprising because if you looked at all the teams on Season 3, these guys weren't the first ones on the list to be eliminated in the first episode. Just goes to show you though, you never know what's going to happen. Or what task will knock you out of the race.
And note (again), I (Wayne) transcribed this interview very quickly so there will be mistakes. I wish I had the time to fix all of them but I don't. There are some nice photos though. Anyway, on with the interview
G & W - Terrible sorry what happened, how was it to relive it on TV?
Max - We definitely watched it, we watched with friends and family and tried to make light of it, at least had a great time watching with people we care about.
Elias - It’s good to have the people care about you around you when you lose.
Max - We didn’t sit in bed crying to put it that way.
Elias- The filming took place in May so we had some time to lick our wounds.
G & W - Back to the beginning, you guys were dating 5 months and who’s bright idea was it to go on the Amazing race so early in the relationship?
Elias - Your’s truly. Initially I was going to do it with a training partner, but Max, like any other woman, wanted me to want her to do it.
Max - I didn’t really want to do it, I just wanted everyone to want me to do it. Even when they picked us for the show, I was like “Oh, I really didn’t want to do it, I just wanted you to want me to do it and now I don’t want to do it?”… It just looked like a lot of work.
G & W - So you didn’t want to feel that wanted?
Max - I wanted to feel wanted and do it but I just didn’t want to jump off a plank into the middle of Lake Ontario. But I did it. I guess since I whined enough and made enough people want to make me come along I figured I should probably do something.
G & W - So Elias, where did you meet this woman who has this great attitude like that?
Elias - Any bar or club technically. One of her tactics to find a man…(Max interrupts: When I was single) was to throw candy at their heads. So I was lucky to get hit in the head by a Starburst, or was it a Skittles?
Max - I can’t remember, I think it was Starbursts.
G & W - Starbursts are better, good choice
Max - Starbursts are good at the bar cause you can eat it for one, especially after doing shots. And then you can pick up guys with it because they will always find the food source. So here we are.
Elias - It’s like a modern day Hansel and Gretel, finding their candy trail.
G & W - But in a good way because she’s not an evil witch.
Max - (To Elias) Witch at the end of the candy trail, thanks babe (Both laugh). So he Neanderthals to me and in broken in English (Max interrupts: Me Tarzan, you Jane) and challenges me to a Rock, paper scissors contest.
Elias - And I won so I said hey do you wanna play some more games, I’m doing an event on Sunday.
G & W - Classic pick up line.
Max - And I was drunk so let’s be honest
Elias - I looked a lot better because of that.
G & W - Come one, both of you are very attractive so I understand why she threw candy at you and I can see why you walked over to the candy store. Where was the first date?
Max - Elias had an event at the Playdium which is an adult Chuck E Cheese and it was the weirdest date I’ve ever been on. It was 11 o clock in the morning on a Sunday. Who goes on a date on a 11 o clock in the morning on a Sunday.
And note (again), I (Wayne) transcribed this interview very quickly so there will be mistakes. I wish I had the time to fix all of them but I don't. There are some nice photos though. Anyway, on with the interview
G & W - Terrible sorry what happened, how was it to relive it on TV?
Max - We definitely watched it, we watched with friends and family and tried to make light of it, at least had a great time watching with people we care about.
Elias - It’s good to have the people care about you around you when you lose.
Max - We didn’t sit in bed crying to put it that way.
Elias- The filming took place in May so we had some time to lick our wounds.
G & W - Back to the beginning, you guys were dating 5 months and who’s bright idea was it to go on the Amazing race so early in the relationship?
Elias - Your’s truly. Initially I was going to do it with a training partner, but Max, like any other woman, wanted me to want her to do it.
Max - I didn’t really want to do it, I just wanted everyone to want me to do it. Even when they picked us for the show, I was like “Oh, I really didn’t want to do it, I just wanted you to want me to do it and now I don’t want to do it?”… It just looked like a lot of work.
G & W - So you didn’t want to feel that wanted?
Max - I wanted to feel wanted and do it but I just didn’t want to jump off a plank into the middle of Lake Ontario. But I did it. I guess since I whined enough and made enough people want to make me come along I figured I should probably do something.
G & W - So Elias, where did you meet this woman who has this great attitude like that?
Elias - Any bar or club technically. One of her tactics to find a man…(Max interrupts: When I was single) was to throw candy at their heads. So I was lucky to get hit in the head by a Starburst, or was it a Skittles?
Max - I can’t remember, I think it was Starbursts.
G & W - Starbursts are better, good choice
Max - Starbursts are good at the bar cause you can eat it for one, especially after doing shots. And then you can pick up guys with it because they will always find the food source. So here we are.
Elias - It’s like a modern day Hansel and Gretel, finding their candy trail.
G & W - But in a good way because she’s not an evil witch.
Max - (To Elias) Witch at the end of the candy trail, thanks babe (Both laugh). So he Neanderthals to me and in broken in English (Max interrupts: Me Tarzan, you Jane) and challenges me to a Rock, paper scissors contest.
Elias - And I won so I said hey do you wanna play some more games, I’m doing an event on Sunday.
G & W - Classic pick up line.
Max - And I was drunk so let’s be honest
Elias - I looked a lot better because of that.
G & W - Come one, both of you are very attractive so I understand why she threw candy at you and I can see why you walked over to the candy store. Where was the first date?
Max - Elias had an event at the Playdium which is an adult Chuck E Cheese and it was the weirdest date I’ve ever been on. It was 11 o clock in the morning on a Sunday. Who goes on a date on a 11 o clock in the morning on a Sunday.
G & W - You guys sound very competitive, though?
Max - I’m competitive, the second you put me into a competitive environment, I turn into Alpha Female. And that’s what happened at TSN, I said, “you’re doing this and he said ok. He's a little more competitive when it comes to things he’s good at i.e. fighting. I’m more competitive when it comes to physical assault.
G & W - So when you’re on the race, at the start line, what are you feeling? Are you sizing people up, are you listening to Jon, are you ready to puke like Brent?
Max - It was nerves but it was also me saying to Elias “Hold my hand and drag me.”
Elias - And that’s what I did.
Max - “Don’t leave me behind, drag me with you” because he’s way faster than me. So I was nervous I wouldn’t be able to keep up with him right away and I’d be back at the end of the boardwalk and he’d be with our backpacks.
Elias - It’s a gift and a curse but I’m very aerodynamic.
G & W - Why not just pick her up and go, cause you’re a bigger guy…
Elias - Wait, did you just call me fat? (Laugh)
G & W -No bigger, bigger, we called you bigger. Muscular. Not fat.
Max - At one point he did carry my backpack though. He bought me a backpack with wheels on it.
Elias - Because you didn’t buy yourself a backpack.
Max - No wait, I’m going to explain it. So I was supposed to use his backpack and he had another one from his coach which at the last minute he didn’t want to use, he was worried it was going to be too big so he went and bought another backpack 3 hours before we left. And I thought it was way too small for his stuff to fit in and there are wheels on it. And me being the nice girl that I am, gave him the one I was using and then used the one with wheels on it and I ended up bleeding at the end of the second day.
Elias - It was only flesh wound, she’ll survive.
G & W - So you had all this stuff, including two flatirons, why two?
Max - One because she’s my go-to flatiron. I actually named her. Her name is Bernadette, she’s my original gangster, she comes everywhere with me. And she’s close to dying. And also she doesn’t have dual voltage so if we went to another country that needed an adapter Bernadette couldn’t do so I brought a mini straightener. Or in case Bernadette died. Back up plan. There’s a lot of hair in this relationship.
Elias - I’m the only who wakes up like this.
G & W - What’s the name of the other straightener?
Max - That one doesn’t have a name yet, it hasn't’ made a place in my heart so they don’t get names until they are irreplaceable.
G & W - Like soldiers with their guns?
Max - Yes.
G & W - Elias, have you named anything that you carried.
Max - Elias’s hair has a name?
Elias - It’s called Samson and that’s where all my power comes from.
G & W - That’s not a good idea, do you know how the story works out?
Max - No, what story? (Not sure if she was being sarcastic?)
Elias (Pause) - No, yeah, I’m being ironic… and I don’t actually need it.
G & W - So Elias, what’s the difference between getting ready for a fight and on the TAR starting line.
Elias - I was different (yawn) It’s a individual sport
Max - Yeah he had to worry about me on the race.
Elias - To quote the poet Vanilla Ice “if it’s a problem yo, we’ll solve it.” It’s a different experience honestly so…
Max - I think with a fight, you know what to prepare for but with this it was “hmmmm, what do we do?” The tasks are all so weird, it’s not like you can practice, you can work out and hope that can help you but when you get to a challenge, if you can’t do it, and you’re at the end of the pack, it’s not going to help you.
G & W - When you came up to TSN and it says “who’s feeling sporty”, what were you thinking?
Max - I was thinking it would be a sporty task. We’re told don’t overthink the clue and I never feel sporty. Ever. So this has got to be for you. And in hindsight, it should have been me and he should have done the more physical one.
G & W - We watched you struggle and then Elias, you said you had dyslexia and our hearts just fell.
Max - We talked about it, and if that leg had come six or seven it might have been different. But it all comes up to what comes up first that you can’t handle or that you didn’t make the right decision that the other teammate should of done. And I found out the same time as you, we had only been dating for a short time and that’s not something that comes up on a second date. He works around it fine, it doesn’t affect him too much in his day to day life, he’s overcome it and figured out how to work around it. I felt that same way you felt because I sent him in there.
G & W - That’s part of doing a roadblock, you see your teammate struggle and there’ nothing you can do.
Max - I’ve never seen him struggle with anything either. He’s that person that’s good at everything he does, so it was a lot to take in. It was hard to sit there and not help him.
Elias - It was just the luck of the draw, it could have gone many different ways, but honestly I deal with it in my sport, losing is usually a much more, intense thing. So I have a bit of a bruised ego but I’m not embarrassed to say I have dyslexia, it’s just more of the idea we lost first. Again, I much rather learn how to lose in a game show than in the cage.
G & W - We were also impressed that despite the frustrations, you kept going. You pushed through and for kids who have dyslexia and see that can realize, I may struggle but if I’ll push through.
Elias - Exactly. My mentality is that I don’t quit. I may finish last but I’ll finish what I started.
Max - And I knew he wouldn’t stop. He was on attempt 15 and I had my backpack on, ready to go.
G & W - So how long were actually there
Elias - Four hours and the teams left barely a half hour before us.
G & W - What were you feeling at the moment Jon eliminated you?
Elias - We were bummed and disappointed.
Max - When you're in it, it feels terrible. But now, we’re okay. If the worse thing that happened is that we were off the cool television show first, I think we’re fine. But at the moment, it seemed like the end of the world because you’re so immersed in it.
Elias - People don’t understand that one leg was 48 hours, two full days with maybe an hour of sleep and it’s so emotional. We were hoping for a miracle, someone had a bad cab but we got there and it was confirmed that “yeah you guys did suck.” But it was emotional, and we were so excited. And we missed some amazing places they were going and we just wanted to be a part of it. But hey, life goes on.
Max - I’m competitive, the second you put me into a competitive environment, I turn into Alpha Female. And that’s what happened at TSN, I said, “you’re doing this and he said ok. He's a little more competitive when it comes to things he’s good at i.e. fighting. I’m more competitive when it comes to physical assault.
G & W - So when you’re on the race, at the start line, what are you feeling? Are you sizing people up, are you listening to Jon, are you ready to puke like Brent?
Max - It was nerves but it was also me saying to Elias “Hold my hand and drag me.”
Elias - And that’s what I did.
Max - “Don’t leave me behind, drag me with you” because he’s way faster than me. So I was nervous I wouldn’t be able to keep up with him right away and I’d be back at the end of the boardwalk and he’d be with our backpacks.
Elias - It’s a gift and a curse but I’m very aerodynamic.
G & W - Why not just pick her up and go, cause you’re a bigger guy…
Elias - Wait, did you just call me fat? (Laugh)
G & W -No bigger, bigger, we called you bigger. Muscular. Not fat.
Max - At one point he did carry my backpack though. He bought me a backpack with wheels on it.
Elias - Because you didn’t buy yourself a backpack.
Max - No wait, I’m going to explain it. So I was supposed to use his backpack and he had another one from his coach which at the last minute he didn’t want to use, he was worried it was going to be too big so he went and bought another backpack 3 hours before we left. And I thought it was way too small for his stuff to fit in and there are wheels on it. And me being the nice girl that I am, gave him the one I was using and then used the one with wheels on it and I ended up bleeding at the end of the second day.
Elias - It was only flesh wound, she’ll survive.
G & W - So you had all this stuff, including two flatirons, why two?
Max - One because she’s my go-to flatiron. I actually named her. Her name is Bernadette, she’s my original gangster, she comes everywhere with me. And she’s close to dying. And also she doesn’t have dual voltage so if we went to another country that needed an adapter Bernadette couldn’t do so I brought a mini straightener. Or in case Bernadette died. Back up plan. There’s a lot of hair in this relationship.
Elias - I’m the only who wakes up like this.
G & W - What’s the name of the other straightener?
Max - That one doesn’t have a name yet, it hasn't’ made a place in my heart so they don’t get names until they are irreplaceable.
G & W - Like soldiers with their guns?
Max - Yes.
G & W - Elias, have you named anything that you carried.
Max - Elias’s hair has a name?
Elias - It’s called Samson and that’s where all my power comes from.
G & W - That’s not a good idea, do you know how the story works out?
Max - No, what story? (Not sure if she was being sarcastic?)
Elias (Pause) - No, yeah, I’m being ironic… and I don’t actually need it.
G & W - So Elias, what’s the difference between getting ready for a fight and on the TAR starting line.
Elias - I was different (yawn) It’s a individual sport
Max - Yeah he had to worry about me on the race.
Elias - To quote the poet Vanilla Ice “if it’s a problem yo, we’ll solve it.” It’s a different experience honestly so…
Max - I think with a fight, you know what to prepare for but with this it was “hmmmm, what do we do?” The tasks are all so weird, it’s not like you can practice, you can work out and hope that can help you but when you get to a challenge, if you can’t do it, and you’re at the end of the pack, it’s not going to help you.
G & W - When you came up to TSN and it says “who’s feeling sporty”, what were you thinking?
Max - I was thinking it would be a sporty task. We’re told don’t overthink the clue and I never feel sporty. Ever. So this has got to be for you. And in hindsight, it should have been me and he should have done the more physical one.
G & W - We watched you struggle and then Elias, you said you had dyslexia and our hearts just fell.
Max - We talked about it, and if that leg had come six or seven it might have been different. But it all comes up to what comes up first that you can’t handle or that you didn’t make the right decision that the other teammate should of done. And I found out the same time as you, we had only been dating for a short time and that’s not something that comes up on a second date. He works around it fine, it doesn’t affect him too much in his day to day life, he’s overcome it and figured out how to work around it. I felt that same way you felt because I sent him in there.
G & W - That’s part of doing a roadblock, you see your teammate struggle and there’ nothing you can do.
Max - I’ve never seen him struggle with anything either. He’s that person that’s good at everything he does, so it was a lot to take in. It was hard to sit there and not help him.
Elias - It was just the luck of the draw, it could have gone many different ways, but honestly I deal with it in my sport, losing is usually a much more, intense thing. So I have a bit of a bruised ego but I’m not embarrassed to say I have dyslexia, it’s just more of the idea we lost first. Again, I much rather learn how to lose in a game show than in the cage.
G & W - We were also impressed that despite the frustrations, you kept going. You pushed through and for kids who have dyslexia and see that can realize, I may struggle but if I’ll push through.
Elias - Exactly. My mentality is that I don’t quit. I may finish last but I’ll finish what I started.
Max - And I knew he wouldn’t stop. He was on attempt 15 and I had my backpack on, ready to go.
G & W - So how long were actually there
Elias - Four hours and the teams left barely a half hour before us.
G & W - What were you feeling at the moment Jon eliminated you?
Elias - We were bummed and disappointed.
Max - When you're in it, it feels terrible. But now, we’re okay. If the worse thing that happened is that we were off the cool television show first, I think we’re fine. But at the moment, it seemed like the end of the world because you’re so immersed in it.
Elias - People don’t understand that one leg was 48 hours, two full days with maybe an hour of sleep and it’s so emotional. We were hoping for a miracle, someone had a bad cab but we got there and it was confirmed that “yeah you guys did suck.” But it was emotional, and we were so excited. And we missed some amazing places they were going and we just wanted to be a part of it. But hey, life goes on.