The Amazing Race 9: The Winners
The Amazing Race was first debuted by CBS on September 5th, 2001 and the show has continued to reward the fastest and smartest contestants for over five years and nine seasons.
Though they were not very popular with the other Amazing Racing contestants, B.J. and Tyler won the million-dollar prize by winning the Amazing Race in dramatic fashion. The two long-haired hippies were a throw back to the late 1960’s an early 1970’s with their nonconforming beards and tousled hair.
The two contestants known as the ‘hippies’ never lost their composure, and appeared to have more fun than any of the other competitors. It seemed as if winning was second priority to just having fun, which could have easily worked to their advantage. Despite their fun-loving demeanor, they ruffled the feathers of certain opponents, Monica Cayse and Joseph Meadows ‘MoJo’ in particular. Monica and Joseph often had some harsh words for B.J. and Tyler, which made for some entertaining episodes.
For the final leg of the race, the hippies were to face-off against Jeremy Ryan and Eric Sanchez, the ‘frat boys’ and Ray Whitty and Yolanda Brown-Moore the ‘dating couple’. The final leg began as they all departed the Marble Temple in Bangkok and raced to the finish line, which was located in Denver, Colorado.
In the end, it was the ‘hippies’ that would victor over the ‘Frat Boys’, and the ‘Dating Couple.
B.J. and Tyler not only overcame tongue-lashing from other opponents, but they had a couple of close calls along the way. In two of the legs of the race, they were the final team to arrive, but fortunately for the hippies, they were last in two of the non-elimination rounds. That goes to show you that unless you are actually eliminated from the Amazing Race, you still have hope.
B.J. Averall is a 26-year old online tutor from Los Angeles, California and graduated from Howard University.
Tyler Macniven is a 25-year old filmmaker from San Francisco, California and graduated from UC Santa Cruz.
B.J. and Tyler have been best friends for four years and have already shared in a couple of adventures together, even before their Amazing Race voyage.
The two hippies initially met at a Semester at Sea program where they sailed around the world together.
Since then, the two have been inseparable. One of their traditions is occasionally swimming in the San Francisco Bay.
Tyler has learned to speak several languages including Japanese, which may have helped him gain an advantage in the Amazing Race.
B.J. moved out to California as he took up surfing, Frisbee, and karate.
