The Yak got the chance to chat it up with The Amazing Race 20 winner, Dave and Rachel Brown! Keep reading to see what they had to say!
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The Yak: Congratulations on the Browns’ for winning and busting all kinds of TAR records! They are the first team to have won 8 different legs in a single season. They also are the first to have made it to the finish line mat TWICE in one finale and win!
Dave: Good and bad.
Rachel: laughs
The Yak: Sometimes you have to take the good with the bad!
Dave: Exactly.
The Yak: Would you do it again?
Rachel: Absolutely! It was so unbelievable to see all the sights.
Dave: In a heartbeat.
The Yak: Now aside from the million dollars one of the goals in your pre-show interview was to reconnect, did you succeed?
Dave: Yes Rachel and I were definitely able to improve our communications even though it was edited or shown as such we kept supporting each other through the race and just spending quality time and time in general with each other. It was such a rarity in the previous 24 months I had been gone nearly 18 and Rachel travels frequently for work as well. Being able to spend time with each other was just nice.
The Yak: Now out of all the trips you won for all your first place legs we want to know which will you take first?
Dave: We are both excited about New Zealand.
Rachel: Yeah, it will be so incredible.
The Yak: Rachel how many times did it take you to go down with the sled?
Rachel: It only took two. The first time I slid down on my back and it hurt so bad that it made me so determined not to wipe out again so the second time I made it.
The Yak: You rocked it!
Dave: She completed it in 2, she killed it. I think between the sled and Bollywood dancing, which obviously her past as a dancer, she has been dancing since she was 3 years old! While shaking JJ’s hand I made a comment to him… I don’t know how long you have been here with Art but I guarantee we will complete this task within 3 shots and they couldn’t believe it!
The Yak: You looked beautiful doing it too!
Rachel: I don’t know about that but the guy told me when I said it hurts so bad when I wiped out (on the sled) was just put oil on your back that will help when you fall so I oiled and lubed myself up! [Laughs]
The Yak: Which was your favorite challenge?
Dave: My favorite was in Japan, the Sumo with the photographs. It took me out of the race and something I really enjoyed. I was able to mingle with the locals and get a feel of not just the culture but the people themselves having the opportunity to meet and work the social aspects of it. There were no other challenges that were as social or speaking to the locals as that one.
Rachel: Argentina skydiving hands down it was such a cool experience.
( Dave has yet to skydive so Rachel was happy to be the first to accomplish that and this spring the couple will be going to skydive together!)
The Yak: What was your favorite place to have visited over the coarse of the race?
Rachel: Hands down Tanzania was so beautiful! The animals and the people… no doubt about it the most amazing experience.
Dave: Tanzania was so surreal, serene, tranquil and majestic. The country is absolutely gorgeous. Rachel absolutely loved the “bamboons”!
Rachel: [Laughs ] shush! The kids there were so cute on the side of the road they waved to us and everyone was just do friendly there.
The Yak: Dave, how hard was it for you to sit in the back seat of the helicopter?
Dave: [Laughs] I would much rather be at the controls then be a passenger but it was pretty enjoyable. They had me up on headset so I could speak to the pilot, it was about a 45 minute flight to the North shore. I would much rather be in the cockpit rather than the cabin.
The Yak: How long did it take you to get across to the island since you had to do it twice?
Rachel: [Laughs] The paddle boating, Dave was fast so it motivated me and I would say 10-15 minutes each way.
The Yak: Now how happy were you to see the gators there to drive back to the dock?
Rachel: Oh so happy!
Dave: We see Art and JJ there and realize that we are still possibly vying for first place and then when we are in the gators driving back I see fresh tracks and again we hadn’t seen brendon and Rachel so we didn’t know if they already drove out to the final so we kind of began to second guess ourselves whether we would be coming in first.
The Yak: JJ didn’t tell you! Naughty boy!
Dave: Exactly!
The Yak: What is next for you guys besides taking your trips?
Rachel: We go back to work tomorrow. We are excited to get back to normal life.
Dave: The monotony of normal life sounds pretty good right now and having a Sunday evening where we are not completely enthralled with the race and everything it has entailed over the last few months will be kind of nice.
The Yak: Have either of you been keeping in contact with the other teams?
Dave: I have more so than Rach. I am in touch with Bopper, Elliot, Ralph and Joey especially.
The Yak: I think Bopper and Mark have kept in touch with most everybody, they are the Mr. Congenialities of TAR 20!
Dave: On the race itself I actually pulled Bopper aside and told him you know America is going to love you all, he couldn’t believe it, is just the way he is, it is his personality.
Rachel: They are America’s Sweethearts!
The Yak: Any other reality shows in your future?
Rachel: No.
The Yak: Perhaps Dave you would want to do Survivor?
Dave: I wouldn’t mind.
The Yak: Did you work it out with Art and JJ after the show?
Rachel: Oh yeah after the show wrapped we all got together had a great night and put our differences aside.
Dave: Again from our standpoint we never had any animosity towards Art and JJ and we couldn’t believe the response to our decision. They were emotionally invested at the time and I think that actually benefited Rachel and I as a team so I appreciated that.
The Yak: Anything else you would like to share with the readers?
Dave: We appreciate the support and Rachel and I really to love each other and no pun intended but it was really amazing!
Rachel: We always wanted to be on The Amazing Race and we just applied!
The Yak: Thank you so much and congratulations on an amazing win Rachel and Dave!
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Well, what do you think? Are you happy Rachel and Dave won the Race? Leave a comment below!