Throng

Tuesday 13 May, 7.30pm

TV2’s The Amazing Race may be in it’s twelfth season, but this year is the first time fashion-conscious Goths have competed.

Kynt Cothron and Vyxsin Fiala are best friends. Best friends who share everything: the same goals, the same out look on life and even the same cosmetics! Kynt and Vyxsin are the first gothic contestants in The Amazing Race's history. With their dramatic makeup and pink and black team colours, their unique aesthetic has been grabbing the attention of everyone who sees them.
Kynt explains that a lot of the other teams underestimated them. "They saw us and they immediately thought 'Man, look at those ridiculous Goth kids, they're more concerned with their eyeliner than taking on a Roadblock'. But the fact is, we played hard, we gave our all, day in and day out," says Kynt.

The other teams soon learnt that it would be a big mistake to write-off the energetic duo. Vyxsin explains "We're kind of like little Gothic Energizer Bunnies. We just don't stop. We're stubborn like that, but in a good way. We work very well as a team in real life and we brought that to the race as well."

Around 50,000 people applied to be part of this season of The Amazing Race. Kynt and Vyxsin feel incredibly lucky to have been chosen to compete. Kynt says: "The Amazing Race is such a beautiful concept. On one hand, it is a typical reality show, highlighting interpersonal conflicts and conquests. On the other hand, it is a lot like National Geographic. Every episode showcases a different country - its landscape, scenery, architecture, culture, and people - right there in your own living room! There is truly nothing else on TV like it."

While the pair are self-confessed road-trip junkies, they hadn't travelled a lot internationally when they applied for the race. Fortunately for viewers, their lack of international experience didn't deter the pair.

Kynt says, "Vyxsin and I really felt we epitomized the 'spirit' of The Amazing Race. Besides our passion for travelling, we both have a genuinely fun, free spirit about us. We're very approachable; we try to be friendly and easy to talk to. So I think many of the locals bonded quickly with us, once they got past the initial shock of our aesthetic and took a moment to converse!" Vyxsin adds: "The people in Africa had most likely never seen a 'Goth person' before. We probably looked like aliens to them. But they were so warm, genuinely helpful, we were literally on another side of the world, yet we felt comfortable."

Both Kynt and Vyxsin say that The Amazing Race is much harder than it looks on television. Vyxsin reveals: "Sometimes you are watching the show, and you hear Phil say, 'Teams must run by foot to the mountain', and then it shows us run up to the mountain like it only took two minutes... when, in reality, that run took over an hour and spanned miles! There just isn't enough time in a one hour program to really show just how difficult the race experience is!"

This week, The Amazing Race takes place in Lithuania. This is where one of Kynt and Vyxsin's favourite moments on the race occurred. Vyxsin elaborates "We arrived at this festival, and were surrounded by people in costumes - as elves, goblins, faeries, maidens, dwarves, giants, and more!" Kynt adds "It was the one moment in the Race where we felt under-dressed! The magical village literally mesmerized us and we momentarily stopped racing, and began dancing and playing with all of the little creatures." The pair suddenly realised they had better get back to racing and were back on their way.

See the Goths in action on The Amazing Race, Tuesday 13 May at 7.30pm on TV2.