An Interview with Corry & Oliver from ‘Race to Survive: New Zealand’

RACE TO SURVIVE: NEW ZEALAND -- “Kahuranghi Coast” Episode 207 -- Pictured: (l-r) Spencer "Corry" Jones, Oliver Dev -- (Photo by: Brian Finestone/USA Network)

It is definitely safe to say that this week’s episode of Race to Survive: New Zealand on USA Network was shocking in nature. For two teams went home, one of which for a rule violation. Since Corry and Oliver unfortunately succumbed to hunger and shattered a rule in the process, disqualifying them from further competition and we here at NTG had the honor of sitting down with both of them to discuss this unfortunate end to their time on the show. 
 
John Betancourt: So, gentlemen, we will get right into it, I simply have to ask, how bad was the hunger? 
 
Corry: Yeah, I mean, totally the hunger was super real. I think honestly, it's, it's hard to fully portray that and fully show what that experience is like for a lot of us out there on the ground, but yeah, the was super real. Yeah, we’d often sit around the fire and just talk about food at survival camp for hours with the other teams. 
 
Oliver: I think that's what made the survival camp the hardest, right? While we were racing, we didn't actually think about the hunger. But then, you know, while we were actually out there sitting around like being hungry, really, actually took away from the overall experience, right? All we could think about was how hungry we were. And I think, at the end there, I don't know if this will make the final cut, but I basically said something along lines of, like, the best way that you can that -- like anyone else that's watching could really understand what we were going through is like, if someone tells you to hold your breath and, like, if you hold it long enough, you can win half a million dollars… as those seconds tick on that half a million dollars becomes a lot less important. And that's where we were at. We didn't even care about the money because we were so hungry.
 
John Betancourt: Now it was very obvious at the end of this episode that it was tough news and a tough reality to work with for both of you. How hard was it to mentally bid farewell to this race? 
 
Corry: It was, it was super upsetting, to be totally honest, there's, there's a lot of things that are part of this story that you know, I'm totally not sure how everything's going to come out in the episode. I haven't seen it, but yeah, it was super, super frustrating, super upsetting. It's been something that's really kind of got under my skin, honestly.
 
Oliver: I think, truth be told, like it, yeah. It was upsetting. It felt like we had let a lot of people down. You know? It felt like we had let our community down. It felt like we let production down, these people that we had become really close with. But I'll be honest, like part of me was, like, a little bit relieved, because I knew we were going to get to get food again. You know, it's like, once we're done, we get food again. And that made it sting a little bit less, if I'm being honest.
 
John Betancourt: Now it wasn’t all sour grapes for this race, you guys accomplished a lot, and I’m also curious about what you learned about yourself in this competition you didn’t know before?
 
Oliver: You know, I think, and this also, like Corry mentioned at some point during the show like he wanted, like they asked us a question, like, why do you want to win this for your partner? I think he said, for me, like he wanted for me to see what I'm actually capable of. And I never really considered myself an athlete before this experience, but going up against some, like, pretty incredible individuals and doing really well against them, like I 100% would identify as an athlete now, which, which is super cool.
 
Corry: I came in, I think knowing, like we came in, knowing that we would be competitors on the physical side and be able to race really well. And if you know something, maybe two things, like, I really, was really proud of how navigation went for me. I feel like I was one of the stronger navigators in the competition, as far as mapping and compasses. And really didn't make almost any mistakes on the navigation side. And I'm really proud of that. Another thing I probably learned was the, you know, just how real the hunger is and what that component actually feels like, right? Like, that's not something you get to test out and really go toe to toe with in a lot of other experiences. And this was very unique in that way.
 
John Betancourt: Now this was, a very amazing opportunity in general, and I’m wondering what each of you are going to miss the most about being out there?
 
Oliver: I think, like going in, we were both kind of on the same page about just wanting to experience the entire thing, right? Like, I think from the beginning, like the money wasn't the motivating factor, it was just to stay competitive enough to make it to the last race. And that's kind of what hurts, I think, more than the loss of the money. It's just like the fact that we didn't get to experience every single aspect of this overall race.
 
Corry: I mean, yeah, that's definitely a thing that that bites a little bit, is we came out of this thing feeling strong, hungry, but strong. We weren't injured. There were other teams that continued past where we got out that were not physically sound, that had injuries, and we, we didn't, and to leave that experience like knowing that we still had a pretty good, competitive foot in front of us, and I think we could have, you know, gone a lot farther, and been able to go through to the end, and to see that not come to fruition is definitely super upsetting. I miss the companionship at survival camps we had with the other teams. There was definitely a kind of tribal bond that formed that doesn't get a lot of attention in the show, but it was very real. Being out there and being in the situation together.
 
John Betancourt: Folks have obviously been following your journey here closely, what do you hope they take away from it? 
 
Corry: Don't underestimate the river guides. 
 
John Betancourt: I like that, watch for the river guides. 
 
Corry: Yeah, watch out for the river guides, They're not out here, just all drinking beer. 
 
John Betancourt: Now I know hindsight is 2020 but I am very curious as to if you if you had to do anything differently regarding to the lead up point, what would you guys have done differently in this race? 
 
Corry: There's some teams I maybe wouldn't have trusted. 
 
Oliver: I think Corey and I are, like, we're very outgoing, friendly individuals, and, you know, I think we were the ones that kind of got the ball rolling in terms of that, like, tribal mentality, where, like, at survival camp, we all kind of come together, you know, there are these communal fires, and you see that on the show. Occasionally, you'll see us all sitting around one fire, and we saw these people as friends, you know, and this is like a… we maybe saw it more as a bonding experience. And I think Corry’s spot on, like there's maybe too much trust in these people and, yeah, it wasn't like that, that tribal-ness and that friendliness wasn't maybe reciprocated, because that's what led to all of this.
 
John Betancourt: That’s so very interesting. I’ve not heard that before, so that’s very intriguing. Now, if you ever get the chance to come back to the show and do this again, would you? 
 
Oliver: You know, that's a question that I got asked a lot, and for the longest time I was saying yes, but honestly, it's one of those things where I think, like, after the fact, like, I'm going to be honest, like it kind of profoundly affected our relationship and our friendship and…. maybe I don't think that was exactly worth it to be honest.
 
Corry: Yeah, my answer would be maybe a little different. If Oliver would have me back as a partner, and it wasn't in New Zealand. Yeah, I'd probably do it again, because I know we could win it. Simple as that.
 
Oliver: We could totally win it. 
 
Corry: We should have won this one. 
 
John Betancourt: Last question I have for you today, mistakes aside, what are you most proud of when it comes to this race?
 
Oliver: We were composed.
 
Corry: There's a lot that I'm proud of. 
 
Oliver: Yeah, I think for me, the if I could pick one thing, I would say our attitudes throughout the whole thing, we were easily the most composed team out there. And I think it really shows, you know, there wasn't any drama we, there isn't any scenes of us like talking poorly about other teams, like we came out there with the intention to race our own race, and we did just that, and never deviated from it. 
 
Corry: Yeah, I think definitely like coming out there, and, you know, we kind of, we said this a lot, but if we're going to win, we're going to win it in the way that, you know, that we are like, we're going to be friendly, we're going to have probably way too much fun. And that's, I think, how we raced, really, through the first two races. And I'm really proud of how we performed in all of those and even when things were obnoxious and rules around survival were not what we thought, and things with dark zones were not what we thought, and we got kind of… some of these obstacles that seemed strange. We still… we raced through them, and we won three in a to. Second team to ever take home a win in Race to Survive.
 
This interview has been lightly edited and condensed for clarity.
741345449862

---