Shanghai Rush: Saying "zai jian" to Matti and Justin
The most recent episode of Shanghai Rush, the first English-language reality show of its scale in China, saw intrepid Shanghai newbies, Matti and Justin get kicked off. Ultimately, a streak of terrible luck and their inability to communicate (often with hilarious results) caused them to come in last in a competition that took them all over the Songjiang district.
So what are they doing now that their three episodes of fame are over? We had a chat with them after the episode.
How did you guys decide to join Shanghai Rush?
Justin: Actually i didn't know about the show , Matti told me he had sent an application form to join the show with his friend Timmy and said it would be a good idea for me to apply with my sister. So it all started as a joke in class, but then they called us in for an interview which made us believe it a little more. We all went to the interview together and made out like we didn't know each other, which was really funny because we over-exaggerated it.
Both teams got into the show which was really exciting , but unfortunately nor my sister or Timmy could do the show, but Matti and me where really exited and wanted to get in no matter what. So we asked if we could do the show together, and the rest you know!
So what happened your last challenge that you think made you end up coming in last?
Matti:We were very quick in the boot camp but we had a series of unlucky events throughout the day beforehand which made it impossible to catch up.
First we couldn't find the [first] ticket, which put us in last place, then our taxi driver got lost trying to find a cathedral. At the cathedral a wedding photo shoot set up in front of the last ticket so we could not find it for a long time. UNLUCKY ALL DAY!!!
Justin: Before the day started we already knew we would have to finish the day in a boot camp which we knew we would dominate, but as we know finding the first ticket is crucial.
There where many kids running around the area where the tickets where placed and we think they must have been taking the tickets so we really struggled to find ours. I think we where nearly an hour away from the 8th team, plus our taxi driver got lost.
We had a real bad day, there was noway we could catch up in the boot camp.
If you could do things differently, what would you do?
Matti: Get a better taxi driver. If I could find that guy now I would definately have a go at him.
What was the hardest challenge you encountered during the event?
Justin: The hardest challenge was the archery. It was extremely nerve racking. It was the first episode and nobody wanted to go out first and there was a lot of pressure on us all teams.
But personally, i think my biggest challenge was the language. It was really stressing and made things double the hard. Maybe we could have changed things in our strategy if we had some mandarin knowledge.
Matti: The hardest physically was the boot camp, but it was good fun. Its not every day you get to abseil down walls, run around in fat suits and charge through a wall of dudes who really don't want to let you through, all whilst getting tomatoes thrown at you! Hardest challenge overall was getting around in taxis.
What challenge was your favorite?
Justin: There is no doubt about it, the racing was my favorite. I felt a little bad for Matti because he lost the coin toss and i drove the car, but at the same time i was really happy it happened like this because that's a once-in-a-life-time experience.
Matti: The F1 challenge in Episode 2 was definitely a highlight. Justin may have driven during the timed lap but we were all able to have a practice lap beforehand around the F1 track going as quick as we liked.
So what's in the cards for you now that Shanghai Rush is over? What are you up to?
Matti: Finish up at Jiao Tong University in June...and then begin my career in hotels. Do you know anyone that has a good position going for a Chinese speaking Aussie?
Justin: I suppose i will have to go back to the real world - go back to my mandarin studies and learn a few more words . It's a little embarrassing, I'm only remembered due to my phrase, WO XIHUAN MIANBAO. The funny thing is that i don't even like bread - i hardly eat it. So i need to get back to school and learn how to say i like meat or fish , which is more accurate!
Any teams you're particularly rooting for?
Matti: Hudd and Anna all the way! They seem to have the right attitude and smarts to win it.
Justin: Well as you may have seen in the show we started bonding with Hudd and Anna, so obviously they are our favorites and we hope they win. We also believe they are one of the strongest teams and wont have too many problems to make it to the end. I have to say that all the contestants are great, they have really chosen brilliant people, we where all like a big family, all helping each other when we could !!
Ive made some really close friends and i can only wish them all the best and remind them to have as much fun as they can get out of this experience.
