Dan and Sam -- Amazing Race’s gay siblings -- speak out
’The Gay Team’ has become a staple of reality competition series, though the most recent season of CBS’s The Amazing Race offered a new twist on the formula :: gay brothers competing for the million dollar prize.
In the fifteenth installment, which ended this past weekend, Kansas City natives Sam and Dan may not have come in first place but, in talking to EDGE’s Jim Halterman, the guys clearly have no regrets about being second, any of the more crafty moves during the race or their decision to be out and proud on a popular television series.
Crossing the finish line
EDGE: Sorry you guys didn’t win The Amazing Race. How long has it been since the race actually ended?
Dan: It’s been about four months so it’s been really hard to keep it a secret for that long.
EDGE: Now that the show is over, how do you feel overall about the experience?
Sam: We’re definitely very relieved that everything is out in the open. We’re fine being in second place and it was a great place to finish. We got to run the whole race and that’s all that mattered to us; we got to cross the finish line.
Dan: With a lot of reality shows, like Survivor and Big Brother, second place is related to being a loser, but with this show you get to race around the world on someone else’s credit card; nothing can compare to that.
EDGE: How was it watching your selves on the show as the episodes were airing?
Sam: It was weird.
Dan: Five minutes before each one we’d get so nervous because even though we knew what had gone on we didn’t know how they were going to edit it. story continues on following page.
Watch the volleyball game where CBS blurs the brothers’ crotches.
Done things differently?
EDGE: Looking back, is there anything you would’ve done differently? Would you still steal that cab from the other players?
Dan: Heck ya!
Sam: Yeah, 100%. If we would do it again we would totally take their cab. We wouldn’t even hesitate.
Dan: And then not telling Big Easy the word and only giving him the ’F.’ We think we ran the race exactly how we wanted to.
EDGE: The show portrayed you guys bickering a lot! Is that really how you guys are together or was that exaggerated a bit?
Dan: So much! The other teams had the same kind of fights and they’d just show one team being whiney but it’s fine. Sam and I know our relationship is strong and that’s just how we work so if people have a problem with that we don’t really care.
Sam: We don’t really fight that bad in real life. We had a few blow up fights on the race and, of course, that’s what they focused on. We bicker like siblings and if you have siblings you know what that’s like.
EDGE: Things seemed to get very heated during the haystack challenge where you had to unroll stacks to find the clue. Was that the most intense time?
Sam: It’s so funny. When they showed that challenge it seemed like such a volatile moment for us, but in the entire 4 hours we did it. I was just unrolling stuff, and we’d be talking; then the episode made it look like we were going crazy on each other the whole time. It was hard but it was more like 4 hours of tough physical labor.
EDGE: In the beginning, did you question whether you wanted to proclaim being gay during the race?
Dan: We were debating that. Sam was kind of wanting to do it at the finish line when we step on the map, but I just thought everyone was so competitive that ’No, there’s no way we’re going to make it to the end’ but we held off a little bit because I felt like we didn’t need to say that about ourselves from the very beginning. But we wouldn’t change anything with our gay story. We’re so excited to be where we’re at now and our family and friends are very supportive.
EDGE: I know you may have been busy with the race but was there any time where you might have had some ’fun’ with any tourists or locals you may have met along the way?
Dan: Absolutely not! Whenever we were at stops, we were sequestered to our hotel rooms and literally didn’t see anyone but each other. In Vietnam, we did walk around one night and we were in Stockholm during their pride and see some of the booths. Everything was over by then but we got to see where everything had happened. It was fun to see that kind of stuff but we were exhausted. story continues on following page.
Meet the brothers.
Dating life?
EDGE: Here’s a tough question - Amazing Race host Phil Keoghan. Hot or not?
Dan: He’s a very handsome guy and his personality is even better. He’s got a great spirit and is just a wonderful person.
EDGE: Is being on the show going to improve your dating life?
Sam: I think we actually might get a little more hesitant.
Dan: We’re both single right now so...
Sam: ...we’ll see where it goes.
EDGE: What do you guys do career-wise?
Sam: I just graduated from college and I’m doing my medical school applications now.
Dan: I graduate from school in May so I’m looking at my options and see if I want to move out of the area. I’m going to Africa in the summer so I’m planning on that trip and will worry about the rest later.
EDGE: Did the race change your relationship at all?
Dan: I would say we’re a lot closer because we’re so honest with each other and everything we talk about. I think the race brought out a little bit more fight than we usually do, obviously.
Sam: Imagine being with your sibling, family member or significant other for 27-28 days, within 20 feet of each other and never leaving each other’s side. It’s really tough and really taxing in your relationship because everything was so real but we did get closer and now we have this great story that we’ll never forget.
EDGE: What was the toughest challenge for each of you?
Sam: I think dragging the Golem across the streets of Prague was the toughest.
Dan: Definitely the license plate challenge [which was the first challenge held before the race actually began] because I had dreamt about this my whole life and we had prepped so much for the Race and it could have been over in five minutes.
You can catch episodes of The Amazing Race 15 on Hulu.com. The Amazing Race 16 is currently filming and will premiere on CBS in 2010.
Watch the brothers sound off on the Globetrotters.
