Mother-and-son duo Luke and Margie Adams won the first leg of The Amazing Race 14 in Monday night's premiere on SABC3. Here's an interview I did with Luke when the show premiered on SONY ...
There have been many first-time castings across seasons but there hasn't been a contender such as Luke, who's the first deaf contestant to face the race.
In an exclusive TVSA hook-up with him, he shares his experiences on the show with us, spilling what it's all like for him (with no spoilers as to what's going to happen next):
Tashi: I see that you’re a mega fan of The Race - is this why you entered? To live it instead of watch it?
Luke: That's right! I have been a huge fan of the Race ever since I first saw it when it first premiered in 2001. I was just so lucky to have that kind of experience and race!
Tashi: A question that I’m sure you get very often: what impact did being deaf have on you before the race started, if any? Were you concerned about any particular aspect?
Luke: The only thing I was pretty concerned about was any task that might require me to talk or hear which could have hindered my racing performance - I didn't want to put my team at a disadvantage if it came down to that or falling behind.
I was really concerned about that scenario for the whole time when we were on the race. Lucky enough, I was able to avoid a couple of tasks where it required me to talk/hear since I can't hear or talk. What a relief!
Tashi: Your relationship with your mom - chat about that for a bit.
Luke: My mom and I had always been close before we went on the race. She has always been the supportive mother while I grew up and always there for everything I do!
I was really lucky to have her as my mom - she's the greatest mom in the whole world! The race made us pretty much super close. I'm glad that I had a once in a lifetime experience with her.
Tashi: Were there any advantages to you communicating through sign language instead of speech? For instance in countries where people don’t speak English - did anything interesting happen by way of communications?
Luke: We definitely had an advantage in foreign countries where I was able to gesture with people that didn't speak English. It came in handy a lot.
One of my favorite parts about the communication that never made it on the air was when my mom and I needed a direction to the pit stop in Germany - we found this nice married couple that helped to lead us to the pit stop.
The husband only spoke German, the wife spoke German and English. My mom signs and speaks English. I only sign. Four languages between four people. That was a pretty awesome example of how four people communicated with each other in four languages.
Tashi: What was the toughest aspect of the race that you feel wouldn’t have been as difficult if you were able to hear?
Luke: The toughest part was that I wasn't able to hear other racers talk so, for most of time, I had no idea what other racers were talking about when I was around them. They even could have strategized right front of me and I wouldn’t have known what they were talking about!
I had to rely on my mom to see what other people were talking about. That was definitely tough for me - to trust people on the race. Jaime and Cara were the only ones that I trusted 100% completely on the race, along with my teammate!
Tashi: What “sounds” did you hear as you raced? Did the different countries “sound” different to you? If so, how?
Luke: I don't know how to really describe that one. But, I know I can tell you that being in other countries does feel completely different from being in America! It is just hard to describe the feeling. The only way to understand what I am talking about is to travel to countries and experience it.
For example, I broke down in India from seeing the poverty, there's no way I could describe the feeling - you have to go there and experience it and feel it in order to understand what I am trying to say. No words could describe it.
Tashi: What’s a moment in the race that was a highlight for you?
Luke: One of my favorite highlights is the end on the first episode that has gotten everyone pretty much weepy and emotional when my mom and I stepped on the mat in Switzerland and saw Phil sign to us that we were in first place. It was a big victory for both of us!! That's something that I have been waiting for since I was 16 years old!!
Tashi: Tell us one thing that we won’t get to see on the show that you think we should know about.
Luke: There was one part that didn't make it on the show which would have been funny to watch. I was on a bike and there was a Chinese man that was startled by me signing to Jaime (one of redheaded cheerleaders) while riding on a bike. He just pushed me and rode away. I fell and crashed onto the ground!! My bike got all crunched up.
I had a travelocity gnome in my bike basket, it got all smashed up! Afterward, I had to carry all the broken Gnome pieces. It was funny, I didn't get hurt badly.
Tashi: Which team did you get along best with?
Luke: Jaime & Cara. I adore them to death! They're amazing women to race with.
Tashi: Who is your favourite racing team of all time (besides yours of course)?
Luke: My favorite racing team of all time would be Kelly & Jon from
Season 4!!
Ends
RELATED LINKS:TVSA's The Amazing Race 14 Show Page (includes bios and pics of all of the teams):
The Amazing Race 14