BJ & Tyler

Brian Jeffrey "BJ" Averell and Tyler MacNiven are a team of Best Friends and the Official Winners of The Amazing Race 9.

Coming into the race with wacky personas and outgoing natures, BJ & Tyler proved to be threats early on, regularly finishing near the top of the pack, along with Eric & Jeremy. By mid-race, however, poor navigation, bad luck, and getting into conflict with other teams, particularly Joseph & Monica, pushed them to the brink of elimination, though were saved when they finished last on two Non-Elimination Legs. Despite their misfortunes, they made it to the final three. Though they trailed Eric & Jeremy heading into the final challenge. their intelligence and knowledge of foreign languages and cultures came to the forefront, allowing them to pass their competitors in the mental final task and win the race.

Profile[]

Retrieved from CBS.com

BJ & Tyler are bohemian best buds who first met four years ago during the Semester at Sea program, where they shared the experience of sailing around the world. One of their most memorable moments was starting a dance party in the streets of downtown Guilin, China, which turned into a mass gathering of hundreds of Chinese men. They have been friends ever since, whether bouncing on trampolines at Burning Man or spontaneously swimming in the San Francisco Bay.

BJ is a graduate of Harvard University, while Tyler graduated from UC Santa Cruz after completing two semesters abroad—one in Hungary, the other in South Africa. Both have traveled the world extensively and speak several languages including Spanish and Japanese.

Both BJ and Tyler share a love of adventure, travel, and good times. After graduating from college, BJ moved to California to pursue surfing, karate and frisbee. Meanwhile, Tyler fell in love with a Japanese girl and decided to impress her by walking the 2000-mile length of Japan.

Their primary motivation for taking part in THE AMAZING RACE is to share in the adventure of racing around the world, meeting new people and, of course, winning $1 million.^[1]

The Amazing Race 9[]

Race History[]

BJ & Tyler's Race History
Episode	Leg	Destination(s)	Detour Choice (underlined)	Roadblock Performer	Placement	Notes
1	1	United States → Brazil	Motor Head / Rotor Head	No Roadblock	2 of 11
2	2	Brazil	Press It / Climb It	BJ	1 of 10
3	3	Brazil → Russia → Germany	Scrub / Scour	Tyler	4 of 9	^[1]
4	3	Brazil → Russia → Germany	Break It / Slap It	BJ	2 of 9	^[1]
5	4	Germany → Italy	Foundry / Laundry	Tyler	1 of 8
6	5	Italy	Big Fish / Little Fish	BJ	2 of 7
7	6	Italy → Greece	Herculean Effort / It's All Greek to Me	Tyler	5 of 6	^[2]
8	7	Greece → Oman	Camel / Watchtower	BJ	5 of 5
9	8	Oman → Australia	Sand / Sea	Tyler	3 of 5
10	9	Australia	Dry / Wet	BJ	4 of 4>
11	10	Australia → Thailand	Used Fast Forward		1 of 4►
12	11	Thailand → Japan	Maiden / Messenger	Tyler	1 of 3
12	12	Japan → United States	Drill It / Deliver It	BJ	1 of 3
				Average	2.33
Legend: The team finished in first place The team finished in last place and was eliminated from the race The team finished in last place in a non-elimination leg The team that won The Amazing Race The team that crossed the Finish Line second The team that crossed the Finish Line third ► The team used the Fast Forward pass > The team used the Yield < Recipient of the Yield
Notes: 1: Leg 3 was a double-length leg, with two Detours and two Roadblocks, shown over two episodes. The placement listed in the first row reflect the order teams arrived at the leg's halfway point. 2: BJ & Tyler initially arrived 5th, but were issued a 15-minute penalty for taking a bus instead of a train all the way to the Isthmos Train Station. This did not affect their placement.

Post-Race[]

A few months after his win, Tyler had a short cameo in the 2006 Academy Award-nominated film The Pursuit of Happyness as a hippie.^[2]
Along with Chip & Kim, BJ and Tyler were frustrated by the lack of contact from CBS regarding a possible invite for The Amazing Race: All-Stars.^[3]
In March 2015, Tyler and his fiancée, Kelly, released a short-film (parodying action-movies) announcing their wedding date in it.^[4]
- The couple got married on September 26, 2015 in the Bay Area.^[5]
Despite living a few hours away, BJ and Tyler still hang out frequently.^[6]

Trivia[]

BJ first applied for Survivor, but was asked to find a friend to compete with and apply for The Amazing Race instead.^[7]
Tied with Eric & Jeremy for the most legs won in The Amazing Race 9, with 5 each.
They were featured in a CBS.com gallery celebrating 'National Best Friends Day' in 2015.^[8]

Franchise Records[]

BJ & Tyler are the first team to use both the Fast Forward and the Yield and later win the race.
First team to win the last three legs of the race.
- First team to win three consecutive legs and ultimately win the race.
First team to Yield another team only to be last in a non elimination leg themselves.
First team to endure two non elimination leg penalties in a season.

External links[]

BJ's Wikipedia page: B.J. Averell

Tyler's Wikipedia page: Tyler MacNiven

Interviews[]

Abe J. Riesman at The Harvard Crimson (03/01/2006): "For Grad, Art Imitates Life's Amazing Race"
Harry Smith on The Early Show (05/18/2006): "Team Hippie Takes Amazing Race 9"
Jenn Basler at RealityNewsOnline (05/23/2006): "This Interview is the Most James Bond Interview We've Ever Had!"
Rochell D. Thomas at TV Guide Online (05/24/2006): "Amazing Hippies Make Bucks, Not War!"
Jane Knoerle at The Almanac (05/24/2006): "Tyler MacNiven and partner win $1 million on Amazing Race"
TARflies interview (05/31/2006): "Hip, Hip(pie), Hooray!"
Rob at RRF Radio (06/07/2006): "BJ & Tyler Interview - Reality TV Podcast #53"^[9]
Logan Saunders & Michael Harmstone at RTV Warriors (08/29/2018):"The TTOW Sugar Society"