The 39th season of the reality competition show “The Amazing Race” kicks off Wednesday night on CBS and features a USC Trojan.
Public relations and advertising sophomore Dylan Matter and his grandfather, Doug Matter, are contestants this season. Viewers will see them travel the world as they try to win the $1 million prize.
“I’ve watched every season with him. It felt surreal,” Dylan Matter said. “To get the call that we were going to be racing around the world for $1 million, there’s no feeling like it, honestly.”
The reality show, which has been running for 25 years, features pairs of contestants who hunt for clues in different cities around the globe, completing different mental and physical tests along the way. Duos get eliminated from the show when they come up short on a challenge.
Separated by 54 years in age, Dylan Matter participated in the race with his grandfather, Doug Matter.
Both are originally from the Chula Vista area of San Diego, where Doug Matter retired after a long career as a fire chief with the San Diego Fire Department.
Dylan Matter began watching “The Amazing Race” with his grandfather when he was 8 years old. Young Dylan Matter made his “Pop” promise that they would apply to compete on the show once he turned 18.
“He kept his promise,” Dylan Matter said.
The grandson recalls being notified that they would compete in the race. He said, “It felt incredible. I had been dreaming about this my whole life.”
Dylan Matter reflects on the age difference between him and his grandfather and what makes their pair unique.
“I think some people saw it as a disadvantage,” he said. “But for us, we kind of looked at it as an advantage.”
“[My grandfather] was going to handle everything that involved heights and building things,” Dylan Matter said. “On my end, I was going to handle memory-based challenges and technology for getting directions while we were out there racing, to use our unique age difference to aid the game rather than hurt it.”
The duo has gone on many adventures together while Dylan Matter was growing up.
“We’d go to the zoo, the beach and go mountain biking together,” Dylan Matter said. “When I turned 18, we went skydiving, and we’re both super into camping. We’re trying to go to every national park in the U.S. We’ve been to 40 now.”
Contestants start the race in Vancouver, Canada, at Jack Poole Plaza.
Remembering what it felt like to compete on the show he had admired for years, Dylan Matter said, “Just standing there on the starting line with everybody. We were surrounded by such incredible competitors. It was intimidating, but honestly just so exciting.”
“I’ve never felt that much adrenaline,” he said. “It was everything I’ve been hoping for for years, my whole life practically.”
The dynamic duo will make their debut on the new season of “The Amazing Race,” live on CBS on Wednesday, Sept. 30, at 9:30 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time/Pacific Daylight Time.
“We have practically called every day since,” Dylan Matter said. “It was just incredible to spend that much time with my grandpa, something I’ll cherish forever.”
Edited by JohVonne Roberts and Ally Nakamura