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Race to Survive: New Zealand Winners "Could Have Kept Racing": Finale Interview
Race to Survive winner Tyrie Mann Merrill reflects on his team's big success as smokejumper survivalists.
After a brutal 40 days and 150 miles of survival racing through the New Zealand wilderness, one team ended up triumphant: Ethan Greenberg & Tyrie Mann Merrill.
The smokejumpers and best buddies hailing from Boston, Massachusetts, and Reno, Nevada, respectively, took the crown, and the crate medallions, as the winners of USA Network's Race to Survive: New Zealand.
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While this season whittled down three teams due to injury, one by disqualification, and the rest by elimination, Ethan and Tyrie dominated throughout due to their skills with land navigation, speed, and ability to rip through dense brush (which is literally part of their job as brush firefighters). They also used their friendship to bolster their mental game.
For our USA Insider finale interview, Tyrie joined us (Ethan was working) to talk about their successful mindset, vulnerability, and respect for their fellow teams.
How Tyrie and Ethan Dominated in the Field
From the very first race leg of Race to Survive: New Zealand, it was clear that the smokejumpers were well prepared for what the harsh environment was going to require of them. Tyrie explained that he was recruited for the series via his work supervisor and then enlisted Ethan as his teammate without his friend's knowledge.
"Ethan was actually on a fire in New Mexico," Tyrie said. "He didn't have phone service for like, two weeks, so I kind of suckered him into this. Then he calls me when he gets service and said, 'Dude, I don't want to do the show! I don't want to be on TV and all that comes with it.' But I was like, 'Hear me out...' Once they told me, I knew we were going. And we were pretty confident going in. Ethan and I just kept our eyes on the mission the entire time."
The Turn That Changed Tyrie and Ethan's Odds
Two-thirds into the competition, it became more clear that Ethan and Tyrie were in a tight race with Oliver Dev and Spencer “Corry” Jones. But when that team was disqualified in Episode 8, their biggest rivals were suddenly out of the running.
Tyrie said that turn of events shocked them. "Corry and Oliver getting taken out at the time they did, the whole thing was just a super disappointing deal," he said. "It didn't make anything of the game livelier. It didn't change nothing. We kept the same pace and the same game plan. We just kept performing the way we know. Ethan and I are the type of guys [where] we don't allow ourselves to be victorious. When I'm with my family, that's what I'm gonna celebrate."
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In turn, as Ethan and Tyrie got deeper into the race, they became a lot more vulnerable about their back stories and mistakes on camera. For Ethan, it was his father's death and for Tyrie, it was about a car wreck that changed his life.
"We realized very soon that this race isn't about any individual team. It's really about the stories and the people that make it," Tyrie observed. "Ethan and I, we agreed on putting ourselves out there because if we're going to do it, we're going to do it. That was tough because he had that day about his father and I know how hard that is for him. I was so proud of him for that.
"It was really cool because Ethan and I know each other for eight, nine years. We're very, very close. We've worked multiple jobs together. Being out there in the wilderness, Ethan and I were breaking barriers that we didn't even know we could break," he continued. "I don't even think it was the exhaustion, or time in the field, or any of that, to be honest. It was just the fact that we were out there the way we were. I've always been real emotional, especially about my past. I look at it now and I'm very proud that we did it because I come home and kids on the reservation can see it. I think it was the right move. And I'm happy we did it, because it's like a fulfilling thing. It feels really good."
The Thrill of Taking the Final Crate
When it came to the final two days of the race, Ethan and Tyrie went into overdrive to speed through the challenges. Asked if it was adrenaline or good planning, Tyrie admitted it was a bit of both.
"We could have kept racing for another two years, to be honest with you," he said. "I just like being out in the wilderness. In the last two races, we never felt like we were going to take first. It was the same mode, the same plan, and we stuck to it. And the last two races, they were insanely hard. We came into this game only five days out of fire season so our bodies were already beat and torn up. The injuries we had, we were aware of when we're going in. So us being just aware of our bodies a lot helped."
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Tyrie also had nothing but respect for their final three competitors. "Paulina and Creighton, the show does them a dishonor. They are such athletic individuals but they're focusing on divorce, which is a bummer because they're not showing them as a power couple," he said. "They're top three for a reason. Those guys were never out of reach. And Nik and Kennedy, every team proved themselves out there. Ethan and I knew it just takes a twist of an ankle...."
Now back to work and with their families — and $500,000 dollars richer — Tyrie said he's glad they did Race to Survive, regardless of outcome: "I can say that I'm proud that I went on TV, and I never compromised myself. I was a straight arrow. Ethan and I said that in the beginning, 'We're gonna win this, and we're gonna win it straight.' There are moments you have — that choice [can] be good and bad, and we knew if we kept choosing good, we would succeed."
Asked what he's doing with his half of the money, Tyrie joked, "Put it all on black, probably."
Watch all of Race to Survive: New Zealand on USA Network.
