With their beaming smiles and goofy-looking facial hair, chances are Joel Strasser and Garrett Smith have already stolen your heart on The Amazing Race!
After the fourth episode of The Amazing Race 35 aired just yesterday (October 18), with two ninth-place finishes, a seventh-place finish, and even a second-place finish under their belts, Joel and Garrett have barely scratched the surface of their potential on the hit competition show — we know that they have the ability to take home the grand prize!
While Joel and Garrett are a true joy to have on our screens every Wednesday evening, who is this best friend duo beyond The Amazing Race?
Keep scrolling to find out everything you need to know about Joel Strasser and Garrett Smith ahead of next week’s episode.
Coming in at ages 42 and 43, Joel and Garrett are both from Idaho, with the former residing in Meridian and the latter residing in Kuna.
Knowing each other for more than two decades, the pair met when they were in the service, where they simultaneously watched The Amazing Race with one another. Tuning into the beloved competition series while they were deployed in Iraq in 2005, The Amazing Race was a way to keep the duo connected, even after Garrett suffered an injury and had to return to the United States.
When Joel was reunited with Garrett back home, the duo said, “We could do this, like we both speak a second language,” and immediately applied for the show, and the rest is history!
In an exclusive interview with KTVB, a local Iowa news station, Joel shared, “The show is just the craziest adventure ever, being thrown into a location you’ve probably never been before in a culture you’ve probably never seen before.”
“When you watch the show on the couch, some of the challenges in the tasks look simpler than others, and you’re like, ‘Oh, I could do that,'” he continued with a grin. “It’s what I used to say, but when you’re in the moment and the adrenaline’s pumping and a million dollars is on the line and you’re trying to finish things before other teams are finishing them, It’s a whole different ballgame.”
How will the rest of Joel and Garrett’s journey on The Amazing Race unfold? We will just have to wait and see…
Tune into new episodes of The Amazing Race every Wednesday at 9:30pm ET/PT on CBS.