by Gina Scarpa

 

When the teams arrived in Los Angeles to kick off this season of The Amazing Race, they were shocked to find out that one of them would be eliminated at the starting line.  Teams were given a clue and had to find a license plate that matched that of their first destination in Japan.  They looked rows and rows of plates, but only 11 were correct and would advance them to the first leg of the race.  Eric and Lisa were the last team at the challenge and were sent home right then and there.  Today, the couple spoke to RealityWanted in an exclusive interview about their (very short lived) experiences on the show.

 

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: What made you want to try out for The Amazing Race?
A. Eric: I was suckered into it by a student of mine. 
A. Lisa: Someone submitted us without us even knowing.  Once we got into it, we were like, “Why not?”
A. Eric: We were curious, we didn’t know about the show.  We got a call to meet the producers so we went and we kind of got swept away.

 

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: Have the two of you travelled a lot, prior to being on the show?
A. Eric: We own 4 yoga studios and we have been taking people on retreats for the last 8 or 9 years.  We’ve taken hundreds of people around the world…
A. Lisa:  … doing very adventurous things.  Eric called it our “honeymoon on steroids”.

 

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: How did your yoga background help you on The Amazing Race?
A. Eric: Yoga played a great part because if we didn’t do yoga, we would’ve murdered the producers at the starting line.  It played a very significant role in us not going to prison.
A. Lisa: It’s a lifestyle for us and it prepares us to face the challenges of life.

 

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: What was your initial reaction when you found out that someone was going home before the race even got underway?
A. Eric: I thought, “I feel bad for that bastard”.
A. Lisa: Yeah, some poor bastard is gonna go kill himself.  
A. Eric: I was shocked because, having been sequestered, the other contestants… it felt like this was very important to them.  Even though it wasn’t such a big deal for Lisa and I, I know what we had to do to clear a month out of schedule.  We had to get sitters for our kids, put money aside, prepare physically.  When we heard someone was going to get eliminated right there, I felt really bad.
A. Lisa: I felt like someone was really not going to be okay from that.  As much as it did suck, Eric and I could handle it a lot better than other people there.
A. Eric: It really sucked most for the producers because I think, at the end of the day, we would’ve been a team to watch and we would’ve been exciting to watch.  It really robbed the other contestants out of hanging out with us. 
A. Lisa: We have a reality show that’s going to be marketed soon so America won’t be left without us.

 

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: Did you guys see the symbol on your clue early on or not until that challenge was almost over?
A. Lisa: Eric found it towards the end and we were the only team that found the clue besides Zev and Justin.  Everyone said they found it by luck.  You’re holding the paper and it’s a narrow piece of paper so our thumb covered it for more than half the time.
A. Eric: They showed it on tv and it was hysterical because that’s not how the clue was.  On television, they highlighted it so the audience could see it.  For us, it was a symbol but it was so tiny and faded.  They’re screaming at you, “Read your clue!  Read your clue!” so we’re reading our clue!  We’re reading what is there over and over and the clue, of course, doesn’t give you the answer.

 

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: Was there any team on the show that you thought you might have been close with, had you stayed in the race?
A. Eric: It seemed like a really group.
A. Lisa: Everyone was really fantastic.  Eric and I accept people for who they are.

 

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: Any regrets about being on the show, considering how you went out?
A. Eric: We were well aware of the idea that we could’ve gone first but…
A. Lisa: … not like that.  I would’ve liked to have taken that time and energy and put it to something else had I known they were going to eliminate a team from the very beginning.  We probably wouldn’t have gone.
A. Eric: Every day in life is a do over.  You can’t change the past.  There’s no regrets but you can take what you’ve learned and you can certainly apply it to the future.  What we’ve learned is that number one, we have a hell of a partnership.  Number two, we love life.  Number three, anything can happen any day, any time, whether you’re on the race or you walk out your door. 

 

The Amazing Race airs Sunday nights at 8pm ET on CBS.

 

(Image courtesy of CBS)

 

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